Learn About Birth Education: The Bradley Method and ICEA

What are the most popular birth education classes in America? In our current series of posts, we’re describing the differences between birth education methods available all over America in online and in-person formats as well as group and private classes.

Today we're highlighting The Bradley Method and ICEA. Read our post about HypnoBirthing vs. Hypnobabies here and our post about Lamaze and Birthing from Within and here.

No matter which classes you take, you can rely on The Birth Deck to act as your cheat sheet in labor. The Birth Deck will support all the methods listed below as a reminder of many of the techniques you will learn in your classes and teach you so many more!

Xoxo

Bradley Method- Heavily focused on natural birth, nearly 90% of Bradley Method parents deliver without the assistance of medical pain management like an epidural. This comprehensive birth education course covering everything form physiology of birth to bringing newborn home. The course emphasizes inward focus and relaxation to overcome fear and pain around birth rather than utilizing distraction, as many other methods do. Bradley classes are only taught in person over 12-weeks but there are several Bradley books that can be very helpful as birth preparation. 

ICEA- International Childbirth Education Association certifies childbirth educators to teach a comprehensive prenatal course. ICEA courses include physiology of pregnancy and childbirth, the stages of labor, potential complications and pain management techniques. Unlike the other birth education methods we’ve described, ICEA courses do not subscribe to one particular comfort method but instead teach a variety of techniques in every course. Many ICEA certified teachers will have a secondary training in a specific comfort technique, like Bradley or Alexander Technique. ICEA courses run 12-18 hours in a variety of in-person and online formats.