American Yard

I've been reading American Yard, a book of poems by Dolores Hayden. I especially liked the poems about child-rearing. Consider the opening of Postpartum Pantoum:

We used the diapers up three days too soon.
She's wet five outfits and the bottom sheet.
I brushed my teeth at one this afternoon.
Our childbirth class was rather incomplete.

I really like that. It set me to wondering - how did anyone cope with babies before there were childbirth classes? For instance, how did my mother cope with me when I appeared fifty four years ago to the day?

I guess back then it was normal
For the teaching to be quite informal.