GTKY: Classes Classes and more Classes

spicysurro

So ladies here is my question for you today... What classes are you taking and why? Are you doing Hypnobirth, Hypnobabies, any of the other thousands of offerings? How do you feel about your class and if you have previously given birth, did it work for you?

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday!!

tndalles

I am a FTM planning on taking a pregnancy and child birth series at the hospital I will be delivering at (they take $250 off your bill if you take the entire series), Bradley classes and hypnobabies. I really want a natural birth and hoping all this education will get me there. I have also been reading books from the Bradley method required reading list for educators as well as the doula certification required reading list.

aylafsu88

@hollywoodvibe18 This is a great post, especially for moms who are trying to decide what is best for them! Thanks for posting it.

We took the Bradley classes.  I wanted my H to be my main coach and support during L&D.  I liked that the classes focused on teaching him how to be a great coach, educating him on childbirth, the emotional signposts to look for, and positions/pressure points that can be used to help me with the discomfort.
We learned a lot from the class and thought it was worth it.  It really paid off in my L&D and I had a wonderful birth.  Since I knew what to expect and how labor progressed I was calm and collected in the first stage.  I was prepared for contractions and we had lots of ways to deal with them. My H was an amazing support person and he remembered a lot of stuff we had learned in class.  I did not handle second stage labor (pushing) very well.  I freaked out and screamed. My LO had a nuchal hand and I don't think there was any way I could prepare for that. Overall I attribute my Bradley classes and my doula for having such a wonderful birth.

msjanet02

I took the standard classes offered through my hospital, Kaiser. I looked into the other methods, but found that I had neither the money nor the time. Ok, I could have probably made time, but the money was an issue.

I'm super glad I took the free ones at the hospital, and the $100 birthing class series where we learned about positions and how the labor partner could help.

I also loved my prenatal yoga classes, where they showed various stretches and positions good for laboring.

I found that the book Then Birth Partner was useful to my DH.

I'm so glad I went to my acupuncturist weekly in the last month. I believe she played a huge part in helping to turn baby and to make sure I was healthy.

I'm glad I got prenatal massage. I'm glad my DH played relaxation music during the labor. I'm glad i used the hot shower. I'm glad i just listened to whatever my body told me to do, because that's what worked best. And my amazing doula, keeping my head in the game.

I kept my eyes on the prize, which was my birth plan. I maintained focused breathing. When I panicked i had the worst contractions. Controlling them was so mental.

So what I'm saying is, I just really let my body do its thing and my doula was a huge factor in helping to make it happen. Had i taken any other classes I think it would have all just gone out the window in the moment Who knows?

sschwege

I took a Hypnobirthing class with my first and it was amazing!  I didn't take a class the second time, but used the CDs and information I had learned last time.  Big believer in Hypnobirthing!

HanaLouise

My husband and I took the Bradley class because he and I both wanted him to play an active role in the labor and delivery. He loved the class (which is strange, because I always hear dads complaining about childbirth classes). It was definitely geared more towards the coaches and giving them tools to help the mom through labor. We'll see if it pays off during the birth!

I think I would like to try some sort of hypno-class next time around. I've been watching birth videos like crazy, trying to get myself prepared, and the hypno moms are the calmest laboring women I have EVER seen! I expect that I will be doing a bit of hollering, myself...

Arielle27

I did hypnobirthing before my first child was born in 2010 and relied on the method for that birth and my daughter's birth in 2012, and will again for our next child due this month.

I didn't do a refresher course, but looked over all the materials each time and have literally listened to the CDs almost every day since 2010 (they are an amazing way to relax, and I'm not a meditation/visualization person usually!).

Obviously I loved it and felt it was effective!

KateLouise

I took a birth centre based ante-natal class. It was very general and covered all the basics of labouring and birth and a little on BF and newborn care.

It was very even handed in terms of the material, but the woman taking the course had had three heavily medicated births and was clearly not that supportive of/familiar with natural births.

The class was great for me because we made some good friends who we still hang out with.

In terms of birthing the best thing it did for me was a handout on different labouring positions. It helped me as I was standing int he shower and then squatting and leaning down through each contraction, to know that what I was naturally doing was working to move baby down.

rooftop

I did hypnobabies and really liked it. Just a heads up @tndalles, if your taking hypnobabies its suggested not to take other classes since its based on reprogramming your thoughts about birth and other influences can compromise that. However, I personally wouldn't discourage the extra prep. It didn't give me the painless birth I was hoping for but it was a major part of getting through my 75+ hrs of labor naturally, and I was always able to handle the pain I did have.

hamiltks10

We took Hypnobirthing (offered through our hospital) before DS was born.  I enjoyed the class and I think it was really, really good for my DH.  It helped to reinforce the idea that our bodies are made to give birth and gave us both confidence that I could do it without many of the interventions common today.  With that being said, I didn't really use the Hypnobirthing techniques during my labor and delivery.  

I took prenatal yoga classed and LOVED them.  This helped me a ton with focusing on my breathing and staying calm and relaxed even through pain.

I visited a chiropractor throughout my pregnancy and would highly recommend that as well.  My office is very women and pregnancy friendly and is very focused on helping women to have a natural birth (by providing other resources and emotional support).

And I went for acupuncture treatment on my due date.  My water broke within 24 hours and I had a quick and fairly easy natural childbirth.  I can't say for certain that the acupuncture helped to put me into labor.  But, I would go for treatment again in a heartbeat.

KatieEl

FTM-to-be here, so I can't speak to effectiveness of what we've chosen, but I feel very prepared!

We're doing hypnobabies as our primary course (and I just love it, I feel so relaxed and in control!) and we also took a day long childbirth class with our doula.  Our doula has had 3 hypnobirthing/babies births, and I really felt the way she taught her class was a nice compliment to the hypnobabies philosophy.  As rooftop mentioned above, it's generally not recommended to take other childbirth classes with the hypnobabies program, but I really felt it worked well together in this case, and my husband especially got a lot out of it.

I also am signed up to take a two hour breastfeeding class at the local lactation center.

I don't have any acupuncture/chiropractor plans at the moment, but if baby gets out of an ideal birthing position I will be signing up for it all!

MrsP7309

For actual classes, we took Hypnobirthing. I loved it. I felt calm and in control my entire labor. I also utilized Spinning Babies and my chiropractor to get DD into the best birthing position.

Life is Exciting

Hi. I'm new to this board. Mostly hang out on the Oct board, 3rd tri board, and cloth diapering board. I'm due Oct 21st with my first - a little boy. DH and I took a natural birthing class and a hypnobirthing class.

The natural birthing class was fantastic. It put a lot of emphasis on positions and the partner's role, which is what really got DH on board. Now he's my biggest NB advocate.

The hypnobirthing class was also good. I learned that I'm not easily hypnotized, but even if the hypnosis didn't work, the meditation and guided imagery lessons were great to help calm me and ease my labor fears. I'm going to being my hypnobirthing mp3s to the hospital with me when it's go-time in the hopes that it'll help me to relax during contractions (or surges, as they're referred to in The Mongan Method).

asilwhite

FTM who hasn't given birth yet, but we took a Bradley class. I really wanted MH to be my coach and after reading "Husband Coached Childbirth" I knew this was the class we wanted to take.

It was great, we learned a lot about different positions and pain management techniques to try, talked about diet and exercise during pregnancy which I found really helpful and also had discussions on breastfeeding. Our instructor was currently breastfeeding her youngest and had a lot of great knowledge to share. Obviously I don't know the results yet after taking the class, but I feel confident and prepared.

I've also been going to the chiropractor, which I know isn't a class, but let me tell you it's made a huge difference and I'm much more comfortable than I think I would have been at this point. I was told that my pelvis was misaligned which could have caused some issues with pushing, so I'm glad I've been going to open and loosen everything up for labor. 

JCWhitey

I did a GentleBirth and BlissBorn Birth Hypnosis home studies.  Both were great.  I found more value in GentleBirth since BlissBorn focused a lot on overcoming fears and I never had fears about birth.  But if you find you do it's a very, very valuable resource.  I also did The Pink Kit home study.  It's really great if you are more science-based and want to know what's happening during labor and why.

The only in-person class we did was a local program where you watch videos on various subjects and earn points to shop at their boutique.  If you can find something like that in your area do them!!  I learned a ton of information and we got all of DS's clothes for free.