RARE "Natural Child Birth Pioneer" Robert A. Bradley Hand Signed 3X5 Card For Sale

Up for sale a RARE! "Natural Child Birth" Robert A. Bradley Signed 3X5 Card.

ES-4879

The Bradley method of natural

childbirth (also known as "husband-coached childbirth") is a

method of natural childbirth developed

in 1947 by Robert A. Bradley, M.D. (1917–1998) and popularized by his

book Husband-Coached Childbirth, first published in 1965.

The Bradley method emphasizes that birth is a natural process: mothers are

encouraged to trust their body and focus on diet and exercise throughout

pregnancy; and it teaches couples to manage labor through deep breathing and

the support of a partner or labor coach.

Teachers of the Bradley method believe that—with adequate preparation,

education and help from a loving, supportive coach—most women can give birth

naturally, without drugs or surgery. The Bradley method emphasizes measures

that can be taken to help keep women healthy and low-risk in order lead to medical intervention. The primary goal of the Bradley method is

healthy mothers and healthy babies. The method holds that, in most

circumstances, a natural (drug-free) childbirth is the best way to achieve that

goal. Proponents of The Bradley Method claim that 86% of Bradley mothers have

vaginal births without drugs. The classes breathing as pain management techniques along with active

participation of the husband as coach. Parents-to-be are taught to be

knowledgeable consumers of birth services and to take responsibility in making

informed decisions regarding procedures, attendants and the birthplace. The

method itself is first of all an application of what Dr. Bradley termed

"the six needs of the laboring woman", most notably deep and complete

relaxation and abdominal breathing, but also including quiet, darkness and

solitude, physical comfort, and closed eyes and the appearance of sleep.

Secondly, the Bradley Method relies heavily on training fathers to be labor

"coaches", or partners. Bradley Method teachers usually supplement

these primary techniques with training in different labor positions and comfort

measures. In order to master the ability to relax completely as a pain relief

tool, couples are taught several different relaxation techniques and encouraged

to practice relaxation daily, so that the mother can rely on a conditioned

relaxation response to her partner's voice and touch. Bradley entered into

obstetrics in 1947; at the time mothers were restrained in large cribs and wore

protective helmets to protect their heads from hitting the sides of the crib

due to the effect of the medication they were given. Terming this era as "knock-em-out,

drag-em-out obstetrics", when "twilight sleep" and general anesthesia were

common in hospital deliveries, he decided to develop his own method. Having

been raised on a farm and having witnessed many animal births as a part of farm

life, Dr. Bradley believed that women, like the non-human animals he had

observed growing up, could give birth without drugs or distress. Based on

observations of mammals during labor and birth, he developed a childbirth

method to teach women to do the things that animal mothers do instinctively.

Soon after starting to implement his new childbirth method with pregnant nurses

as a trial, Dr. Bradley began to believe that the presence and support of the

father during labor and birth was important to the mother's success in

achieving a natural birth. He became a pioneer in including fathers in the

birth process and eventually expanded his childbirth method to include

extensive instruction of the father as labor coach. Bradley method instructors

are certified by the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth™ (AAHCC).