The one with the movie

We're back from another Army-sponsored childbirth class, and boy do I feel enlightened...
Tonight we got to look at all kinds of labor & delivery devices such as the fetal scalp monitor and a set of forceps. You know how when you watch those baby shows on TV and they show the forceps, and you think to yourself "there's no way those are that big"--well, I'm here to report that the forceps are every bit as large and scary as they appear on TV.
We also got to watch a video of some live births, shot in the 80's if the hairstyles were any indication. My favorite couple was the chick with the David Lee Roth 'do married to the guy with the mullet. The video wasn't any more graphic or disturbing than watching a live birth on the Discovery Channel or TLC. And I don't think it was as informative as "Birth Day" on the Discovery Channel.
The best part of the video had to be our instructor's commentary after the thing was over...especially when she compared the delivery of one baby to "arriving on a waterslide". I don't know if it's because she's a soldier and a nurse or if it's just her personality, but she does like to tell us gross and disturbing stories. Maybe she's just handing out little doses of reality to all of the 18 year-old-moms-to-be. It's hard to tell.
Watching other women in labor always brings to mind the question of how I'll handle it. I'm going to go ahead and assume that I'll be a wimpy whiny mess, and that way if I handle it better I'll be really pleased with myself.
It's all about low expectations, people.