Thursday night is ante-natal class night. I've missed the last two, but went tonight with Deb. I don't know if we'll make any friends out of the class - we're halfway through already and haven't much got beyond the pleasant small talk. Driving home we talked about it, and agreed there was a slight air of forced friendliness; like, "We know we're supposed to make friends here, so we'd better smile".

Mind you, it's been so long since I've made a new friend, maybe I've forgotten how!!

The class is held in children's playgroup room. It's cheerful, bright, and everything is designed for people 4' high. We break into groups a lot. The group I was in had to discuss assisted delivery, specifically forceps and vacuum extracted delivery. We discussed inserting salad server shaped instruments into vaginas, whilst munching on popcorn. The popcorn was a treat provided by the course facilitators - nice&buttery. I had to report back to another group on this. I really didn't know what I was talking about.

We also discussed pain and methods for relieving it. In spite of the holistic approach, and alternative means, and stimulation of nerve endings, drugs seem to be the answer! I can't imagine the pain. Deb says think of a golf ball being pushed through the tip of your penis. I told her I appreciated the analogy.

It's really interesting for me as a male in the class. Men aren't marginalised as such, and we're included in everything, but it's women's knowledge and experience and wisdom that is valued. The men are very much the junior partners of the couples. A change from most environments.