Questions about childbirth classes

ball.and.chain

I'm trying to nail down and register for childbirth classes. I have the option of taking them from any of four hospitals/health care organizations, which theoretically leaves me a lot of options, but my wife's work schedule, which is not very flexible and includes some night and weekend hours, limits things quite a bit. Hypnobirthing is out because none of the hypnobirthing classes work with her schedule, but I can do Natural Childbirth or the standard Prepared Childbirth class.

That said, there seems to be a lot of variation in how the classes are structured. One is 5 classes, 1 night a week, for 2.5 hours each (12.5 hours total). One is 7.5 hours on one Saturday -- intense, but then you're done. There are a couple of others that are just one Saturday but are shorter (one is 5-6 hours and one is 3.5 hours).

Obviously there is a big difference between 12.5 hours of childbirth education and 3.5 hours of childbirth education, and I tend to lean toward more rather than less. But I'm wondering if some people who have BTDT can offer some perspective. If you took only a class that was only a few hours, did you think it was enough? Is 12.5 hours more than I really need? Is 7.5 hours in one day going to be overwhelming? Has anyone ever done an online childbirth class? I tend to think in-person is better for this, but I obviously don't have any experience with it.

I asked my OB about this, and she basically said, "Take the one that is easiest to fit into your schedule -- we'll support whatever kind of birth you want to have." Advice or recommendations? You were all amazingly helpful on the childcare topic so I have high hopes for my childbirthing friends to come through on this one! Thanks.

newmompeanut

I took both an online birth class and one offered through my hospital.  The one through my hospital met once a week for four weeks and two hours each time.  So 16 hours total.  I thought it was a bit overkill.  I really enjoyed the online class (free thru baby center I think) because I could then pick and choose the topics I wanted to learn more about. 

One thing that I thought was really nice about the in-person class was the tour of the hospital.  It really made me feel more at ease to know where the birthing rooms and recovery rooms are.  I'm very much a person that takes comfort in knowing how things will go and I don't do well with surprises so this helped ease my fears quite a bit.

KH826

So I haven't BTDT yet, but I am going to jump in anyway, because why not?!?!

I recently signed us up for our birthing class, and we decided to go with the one-time Saturday class that is 8 hours for us. Part of our decision was based on scheduling (the once a week for 6 weeks option was a much bigger time commitment), and part was based on a friend who recently took the 6 week course at the same hospital and told me she felt that it was overkill. I also know how tired I am in the evenings after work, and the option to take the class on a Saturday morning when I am rested and ready to go (in theory) seemed like a much better option for me.

We also decided to go with the basic Preparation for Childbirth class and not the one geared specifically toward natural birth. I am still weighing my options in terms of which route I want to take (epi v. natural), and I liked the balance of information that the basic class seemed to offer based on the course descriptions I found online.

I also took the class at the earliest time that they would allow me to (April 5th - I will be 32 weeks) -- this gives us time (presumably) to follow up and supplement after the class if we feel there are gaps and things we still need.

Soooooo, with all of this being said, I will let you know what I think of our class, and two-ish months later I will let you know if it was a good decision. HAHA - To super loosely quote a really smart lady we both know (ahem @2mamazinseattle), peeps have been squatting in fields and pushing out babies for centuries upon centuries. No matter what, the baby is going to come out and mom and baby will be fine. I'm just going to keep thinking about that and try not to psych myself out...

ATXmommas

I took a 6-week course that was 2.5 hours one evening per week.  Maybe it was 5 weeks, but I think it was 6.  I didn't think it was overkill at all.  But, I took a Birthing From Within Course, so it wasn't entirely about the ins and outs of labor.  The course also covered topics such as pain coping techniques and coping with unexpected and/or undesired outcomes of child birth.  I thought it was a great opportunity to think about such things.  Unfortunately, we didn't talk about BF in any great detail.  I would recommend a BF class if your child birth class doesn't cover it (I know some do).

I definitely would recommend an in-person class.  Sure, the internet can give you lots of info about the stages of labor, etc, but it doesn't give you the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from a person who has lots of experience with labor and childbirth.

It sounds like you have narrowed your options down to classes offered by the hospital?  I didn't take a class offered through the hospital where I delivered, but still had the option of taking a tour of L&D (which, I didn't end up taking).  Maybe that's an option for you if you have any classes on your radar that aren't affiliated with a hospital.

As a side note, I did not create a birth plan.  I had one in my head, but my OB/midwife practice  already do things the way I wanted (such as delayed cord clamping, immediate skin-to-skin, not pushing interventions unless medically necessary).  As such, I didn't find it neccessary to write things down. 

2MamazInSeattle

We're doing an 8-week once a week 2-hour class. This is one I assisted with for a few years so been through it many time but 100 years ago.

I know she breaks it down into topics like: stages of labor; pain medications and interventions as well as coping with labor techniques; there's is a breastfeeding class and a newborn care class included as the last two, so it's 6 weeks on labor, then those two for post-birth. She covers the whole gamut so everyone from "medicate me!" to "I'm open to whatever" to "natural birth please" are included, but also informed for if they need to take a different path.

there is definitely some getting to know you time and practice of early labor positions (when the hospital won't take you but you can still be having to cope at home through some painful contractions).

I'm sure whatever you pick will be good, but 3.5 sounds like not enough to me, just based on all that was covered in the classes I went thru.

ball.and.chain

Thanks everyone!

The hospital I am delivering at (MGH, for locals) used to partner with an outside company (Isis Parenting) for childbirth classes, and Isis just went out of business suddenly, so now they have nothing until they can set up their own program (which will be too late for me).  Thus I cannot actually take classes at "my" hospital.  They are offering L&D tours though, so I will set one up separately.  There are a lot of hospital programs available in the area (there are a lot of hospitals), but the only class I've found that isn't offered through a hospital or health organization is significantly more expensive than the hospital classes.  Also, most of the hospitals offer separate bfing and newborn care classes, so I'm guessing they aren't covered in great detail, if at all, in the childbirth classes.  I haven't found an option that covers everything, but I do plan on taking the other classes, or at least the bfing.  Has anyone taken a newborn care class?

@KH826, I'm with you on the night classes!  One of my options is Wednesdays 6:30-9.  I'd have to go straight from work and I wouldn't get home until 9:30 -- no thanks. 

@Mamosey and @stringy813 -- if either of you would recommend the particular class you took, I'd be interested in knowing where it was (you can PM me if you'd prefer).  Right now I'm choosing between Mt. Auburn, Newton-Wellesley, and two that were recommended on the BIDMC website (Baby Beginnings and Vanguard).

ball.and.chain

Mamosey said:

Mine was Isis

:-q
Oh well.

Jazibel

We did a weekend intensive, Friday night, all day Saturday and most of Sunday. For us it was the perfect amount if time (and it was nice to not have to commit our evenings once a week since we were both working). We covered all stages if birth, coping mechanisms, labor and newborn care. We did some Birthing from Within exercises and since it was geared toward LGBT families we talked about our unique experiences.

This class was heavily geared toward natural birth (I believe per the perspective of the instructor). I think those people who wanted more information about different options (from a positive perspective) were disappointed.

That said if you're exploring different options I might look for a class that speaks openly about both a natural and medical perspective.

I also liked having laboring techniques included, like positions, etc.

Good luck :-)

KH826

So I don't live in MA anymore, but my family is there and I still have many friends up there. With that being said, I have heard super great things about Newton-Wellsley for childbirth, so I am assuming their classes are all top-notch. Also, @stringy813 I think you are right about BWH using Isis as well, since BWH and MGH are affiliated/owned & operated by the same parent organization (Partners Healthcare). I can imagine there is a big scramble going on to fill that gap...

I have also heard good things about this place (some friends posted about it on FB) - https://www.bostonbabybeginnings.com/index.html - looks like they are affiliated with Beth Israel, but that anyone can take their classes and they also have a Wellsley location (if that is closer to you).