Parents gather hints and help

Megan Everett is 18 years old, unmarried and preparing to have her first child in June. Like many of those attending Sunday’s Baby Fair at the Spokane Convention Center, she’s working on ways to gain parenting skills and find helpful kid-care tips.

“It’s scary, it really is. I don’t feel super-prepared,” said Everett, who graduated last year from Lakeland High School in Coeur d’Alene and now works for Clearwater Springs Bottled Water, in Hayden.

The Spokane Baby Fair, hosted by Clear Channel Radio, has been around for 10 years. But only after Everett became pregnant did attending it make sense to her. It’s helped, she added, that she had a good high school friend visit Coeur d’Alene this weekend to join her at Baby Fair.

After spending four hours at the fair, Everett came away with three plastic bags full of fliers, brochures and product samples.

“I learned a few things. I enjoyed listening to the presentation on baby massage. I even met a few pediatricians, so that was great to talk to them.”

She plans to go through the materials and look for coupons and good deals on items she needs: affordable baby photos, for instance. And where to buy a safe and sturdy car child seat.

A good student in high school, Everett said she hopes to start taking online classes later this year. Her goal, in a few years, is to enter college and become a teacher.

More than 60 area businesses and groups had booths at this year’s fair. Many were firms that sold clothing or safety equipment, or provided services like diapers. Others on hand were groups that made cases for specific techniques to improve the experience of childbirth.

Catherine Donnelly and Jen Trunkey stood next to a poster describing the advantages of the Bradley childbirth method. Like Lamaze, the Bradley method extols the advantages of natural labor, claiming most women are not given enough information about not using drugs when they deliver a child.

“Last year during this event, not many people we talked to knew about this,” said Trunkey. “This year more people are saying they know about the Bradley method. That’s good, I think more people in Spokane are receptive to natural birth.”

Their poster and pamphlets noted that 88 percent of women who take Bradley method courses end up giving birth without the painkillers, labor inducers or medications often used in childbirth.

“We’re not anti-medicine,” added Donnelly. “We just want to help women take responsibility for their health and the health of their babies. There are times when induced labor makes sense, or for other medical interventions.”

Added Trunkey, who said she learned of the Bradley method nine years ago, preparing to give birth: “It changed my life and taught me a new way to manage what I do with my health. I do this now because I want to pass this information to other women.”