I've read some interesting stories recently about the declining interest in childbirth education classes and wondered how many Raising Maine Moms decided to skip this step when having their first child. The classes were radical in the 1960s, when talking about the nitty-gritty details of birth was new, Lothian says. "There were no books, there was no Internet, there were no TV shows" depicting births, she says. Even experienced mothers and grandmothers were poor sources of information, she says, since most had been heavily sedated during their own labors. The classes became a mainstream rite of passage as women embraced the "natural childbirth" era. Pain-numbing drugs were out; breathing techniques were in. "The peak was probably in the 1980s," Lothian says. But a recent study from the non-profit group Childbirth Connection (www.childbirthconnection.org) shows attendance dropping rapidly, from 70% of first-time mothers in 2000 to 56% in 2005. Just 9% of experienced mothers attended. By contrast, 68% of pregnant women watched cable TV birthing shows. Read rest of USA Today story on this trend The authors of the Official Lamaze Guide offered a more detailed explanation of their opinion on the subject later What do you think about this trend?