A few more days passed by in a flash.
While the (scheming) missions were ongoing, Alterra witnessed a few Births the past week. There were litters of goblin babies, for one, and about a handful of human babies.
Melissa, Juni, and Winona’s had all given birth within a few days apart. That fact still baffled so many people.
Was giving birth contagious like how yawning was? Maybe?
Or maybe the gals just spent too much time together and their due dates started to align?
Speaking of this, the pregnant women really did spend a lot of time together, primarily due to the prenatal classes that began a few months ago, making lifelong friendships.
When there were people announcing pregnancies left and right, Mathilda pretty much mandated it. As an old mother of two, she knew full well the difficulties of the gestation period—especially in this world where a lot of the conveniences they took for granted were no longer available.
She gathered many experts for childbirth including the midwives (they had two so far) and in other races, too. Of course, the three half-orcs didn’t have such an expert among them, but the goblins did.
After a few weeks of planning, Prenatal Classes were implemented in Alterra, and it was a requirement for all pregnant women to take. It was also completely free of charge, with some freebies given away if both halves of the couple made an appearance.
The husband had a duty to make things easier for their wives, after all.
Fortunately, they rarely had the distant dad type of guy, and if there was, people would guilt-trip them into attending.
There were classes about understanding what really goes on in pregnancy. The basics, like the milestones, the birth plan and preferences, and what to expect during labor.
The parents were also briefed on what changes happened in the woman’s body, so everyone was on the same page.
If a husband didn’t know this, how would they adjust properly? Pregnancy could make a woman do a lot of things.
With the minimal gap in knowledge, a lot of heartache and misunderstandings would definitely be avoided.
They were also taught more about active listening—what to do when the mothers were experiencing periods of anxiety and stress—as well as techniques on how to help them relax.
For instance, gentle massages, breathing exercises, and so on.
There were also labor and delivery classes, which would teach the signs of actual labor, the role of the birth partner, and so on. They were also taught what to do before help arrived or before they reached the hospital.
Of course, there were also things like postpartum care, the emotional changes could happen, and the care needed to manage them.
Finally, the basics of caring for the babies were also discussed in this class. Having a child was the responsibility of both parents. They would be taught the basics of how to hold, how to feed, and how to change the baby’s diapers.
This would give the parents confidence in handling the babies instead of being scared of holding them.
They were also taught how to bond with them, encouraging them to hold them often, to talk with them. They were also taught to understand the babies’ sleep patterns and soothing techniques.
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