Comic childbirth nurse asks “Who loves ya, baby?”

Monday, Feb. 12, 2001 | 8:48 a.m.

For Beth Regal, a stand-up comic and Childbirth Education Coordinato for Sunrise Hospital, it's all in the delivery.

The quick-witted registered nurse literally has bundles of material to work from when it comes to humoring her audiences about trimesters, uterine contractions and, of course, pushing a baby into the world through a small canal over a long period of time.

"I've always been the class clown," Regal said as she dabbed on lipstick before her three-hour Prepared Childbirth class at Sunrise Hospital's Center for Healthy Families. "I've always had a quick wit."

For Regal, a funny thing happened on the way to teaching childbirth classes.

"After 13 years I developed a routine," she said. "This material could (otherwise) be quite mundane."

From weekend childbirth education getaways for parents to online childbirth education classes, childbirth classes are popular.

There are several organizations nationwide dedicated solely to childbirth education. Most hospitals offer them as an educational tool and support for expectant mothers who can endure the fluctuating emotions common to pregnancy. (Such classes as Lamaze and "HypnoBirth," both designed to relax the mother with breathing techniques, are also available in some areas.)

There is a lot of fear surrounding childbirth, including the fear of pain, Regal said. "There's good pain and bad pain. This is good pain. You get a wonderful prize at the end."

"If you go into something better prepared, it's not as frightening. Sometimes overwhelming things can happen -- emergency C-section, nausea, tubes going into (the) uterus."

At 39, Regal is pretty familiar with the birthing process. She was a labor-and-delivery nurse for four years in Southern California and has seen "thousands" of babies being brought into the world.

The mother of an 8-year-old son and two stepchildren, Regal is also attempting to conceive another child.

She has taken her knowledge -- and humor -- to the stage at the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana a handful of times, placing twice in its annual April Fools contest.

"Most of what I do is all about childbirth," she said, referring to her onstage performance. "It's pertinent. It's universal." Audience members have either been pregnant or know somebody who has been, she said.

The humor helps to break the ice in her classes. People are usually nervous the first night of class, Regal said. "They don't know what to expect. They feel silly because they are carrying pillows and towels with them."

Anyone who has never experienced a childbirth class might find it educational and interesting.

Strangers from different walks of life converge in an open forum and discuss the wonders of the reproductive system -- particularly their own -- as they share the pros and cons of their pregnancy.

Usually by the end of the class they're spread out on beach towels and blankets, bellies turned to the side and learning breathing techniques to use during contractions.

From ultrasounds to heartburn, nausea and other physical changes during pregnancy to pre-admitting at the hospital to the birth of the placenta, Regal's classes are graphic and informative.

"I don't sugarcoat anything," she said. "I call it as it is."

"She gives you more comfort," said Sandra Bejarno, an expectant mother who recently attended Regal's class. Marco Bejarno, her husband, said Regal made it easier to endure the long class.

Regal understands. "For the most part, dads (during) Week One are (thinking), 'I can't believe she's making me do this,' " she said.

The classes run continually and Regal is one of four teachers from Sunrise Hospital who lead two to three classes each month at three area locations. The classes draw up to 25 couple per session.

A recent class led by Regal drew 14 couples, who strolled into the darkened medical building with pillows and oversized bellies.

It didn't take her long to get start in with snappy comebacks, one-liners, humorous body gestures and facial expressions.

"Mood swings. Has anyone had them?" Regal asked the group early in the class, which prompted a roll of laughter as they related to the understatement.

"One minute they're sobbing uncontrollably," she said about expectant mothers. "The next they're chasing you with a meat cleaver." When explaining the different types of "amniotic rupture" (also known as the breaking of the water), she says that there could be a small trickle or a "gushing."

"If it happens in public, people are going to react very differently to you," she explained to her students. "Mom knows she's going to be in Albertson's in Aisle 5 when it happens."

She continued to explain, in humorous detail, the physiological changes that typically take place during the third trimester of pregnancy.

The humor created a comfortable atmosphere, but still couldn't prepare expectant mothers and their birthing coaches for a video of a birth that left most wincing, grimacing and gasping.

Regal initially joked with the class that the video was in 3-D. "Glasses are under the chairs. Baby comes flying out at you.

"(The students) still get all the information, learn all about childbirth. They just get it in a more humorous and fun way."

After the first hour of class Bryan Harper, who accompanied his wife, Stacey Harper, said the lecture was not at all what he had expected.

"Delivery time (will be) stressful, (but) my wife and I both have a good sense of humor. It might be helpful to look back and laugh," he said.

And that's a good thing. According to an ongoing poll featured on the website parenthood.com, 66.78 percent of new parents said they used the skills they learned in childbirth classes during the labor and delivery process.

Because of her clever witticisms, Regal has made a name for herself among nursing students at the Community College Southern Nevada, where she was recently the keynote speaker at the class' December graduation. Her theme: "Educated Minds, Trained Hands, Caring Heart."

All humor aside, Regal told some recent childbirth-class students, "Parenting is the best thing you'll ever do."

archive