Curriculum Topic: Group Activity, Virtual Friendly
Activity Type: Multi-topic
Purpose: Everyone experiences some form of "fear" during pregnancy. Fear can be a good thing since, when addressed, it prompts you to seek help or learn healthy coping skills.
Time Needed: 20 min with discussion
Supplies: Index Cards
Basket
Instructions:
One non-threatening way to jump-start the discussion is to give each student multiple cards and ask him or her to write one fear per card (as many as they want) and drop the cards in a basket. You can then read each card and facilitate a discussion about the best way to deal with the fear expressed on the card.
Talking Points:
Providing a safe and supportive environment in a Lamaze class for students to discuss fears is an important way to build confidence. You will probably see expressed: fear of the pain of labor; fear of the unknown (due to prior conditioning from family, friends, and the media); or even the fear of dying when giving birth. Some may fear the prospect of becoming a parent. Just getting the fears out “into the open” and learning that other women and/or partners have the same fears helps many women.
Sometimes the fear is something that can be easily allayed with reassurance and clinical information; i.e., the fear of water breaking in the grocery store. (Reassurance that for 75 to 85% of women, the water breaking is NOT the first sign of labor; that spontaneous rupture of the membranes seems to happen most often late at night; and that if it does happen in public, it will make a great story someday.) Often a discussion of fears leads to difficult, but necessary discussions about unexpected outcomes. Acknowledging fears, having discussions about the realistic possibilities of those fears coming true, and discussing coping measures can reduce fears and build confidence.
Reference: Adapted from Lamaze Toolkit
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