A Birthclass: Focus On Labor And Delivery

Two childbirth educators, Beth Shearer and Cathy Romeo, are the presenters in this informal workshop on a wide range of birthing options given to a class of four pregnant women and their spouses/partners. The tape is divided into five segments (an introduction, a discussion of the stages of labor, techniques for coping with birthing pain, additional comfort measures, and post-natal tips). The program's biggest asset is its natural and informed presentation by the educators, who are both quite knowledgeable and well-versed in their subject, whether explaining contractions or fielding questions about leg pains. What keeps this from being an excellent tape, on the other hand, are: 1) the noticeable audio background hum running throughout the class segments, and 2) the pointless cutaway shots to "actual couples," which are too brief and infrequent to add anything. These drawbacks asides, A Birthclass: Focus On Labor and Delivery is recommended on the merits of its information, rather than its less than optimal production values. (Available from: The BirthSense Corporation, Box 2267, Duxbury, MA 02332; (617) 834-5955.)