Birthing Classes???

jojala4911

Hi there! I am a first time mommy 28 weeks preggo with a very active little boy and I was wondering what everyone's feelings are on birthing classes. Do you feel as if they are/were beneficial? Are you deciding not to take them? Did taking one help you when you when you were in labor and/or with pregnancy and the baby? How did your dh/partner feel about taking them with you or did you take them alone?  Thanks for any replies!

shella923

I regret taking the birthing class as it was not helpful to me, and it was long. Two Saturdays, I think it was 4 hrs each.  DH came but started falling asleep.  But maybe the teacher was boring.  But I think it's good to know what to expect, so if I did it all over again I would maybe just buy a book or video. DH should definitely participate.  Once the contractions started coming I forgot about the breathing and was crying for an epidural. Best invention ever!!!

I took a CPR class and infant care class too.  I wish I had taken a BF class. I was NOT PREPARED for how difficult that was going to be, holy crap.

LightBright515

I self taught myself Bradley and hypno birthing techniques.

SO and I went to a breast feeding, infant care, and hospital tour/classes. If you need structure, then I'd say go to class.

I was able to labour med free for 18 hours this way before ending up with a c-section.

angelashly

BunkinMama said:

I never took a class. Oops!

Me either we were poor and it was almost $200 for all the classes

NeneCakies

Well, you could just watch many many episodes of A Baby Story on TLC, skim some books, and plan to figure it out when you are admitted like I did and be perfectly fine, but some actual preparation couldn't hurt if classes are available to you. Especially if your birth plan does not include an epidural. Good luck to you and your little one!

thebanich

I didn't take any classes because I was dumb and I thought I knew everything.

Not saying you are dumb if you choose not to take them, it was the reasoning behind me choosing not to take them.

Do any of your local OB offices offer Centering Pregnancy groups? We have one here and the results coming out of those groups are stunning.

SpaceGirlSpiff

I only took a CPR class, I feel that is most important.

My plan for birth was to just...go with the flow and it worked out well enough (but I fully acknowledge I may have been lucky...epi worked, all that).  I did reading and everything on my own but... meh@classes.  My hospital wanted to charge too much for me to bother with it.  But I am sure taking a class would be very beneficial regardless.  This is just my own risk I took by skipping it.

Breastfeeding... I read about and nurses/LCs helped when he was born but we had multiple struggles none the less which led me to stop after 2.5-3 months of trying and struggling and baby not gaining enough, etc...not so sure a class would have improved that, I'm thinking not.  I had plenty of info.  Just...didn't work out.

SpaceGirlSpiff

I learned everything I needed to know from TheBump!!!!

::partial comic sans::

SpaceGirlSpiff

I really hope this next baby acts right and all works out fine with the breastfeeding.  I don't want to fucking buy formula.

SpaceGirlSpiff

Hell yes

"3 Year Old Survival 101"

I would pay all the money.

ShakeyJakey

pobrecita said:

K3am said:

Birthing class? Yes.

Breastfeeding class? Not so much. The only thing helpful we got out of that class was the hierarchy of feeding - you feed baby. That's your ONLY job. SO's job is to feed you. That's HIS primary job. Friends and family can take care of the rest, or you can let it slide. 

By the time we'd had her, I had no idea about ANYTHING from our BF class, the nurse showed me how, and it all went fine.

Good for you.

That is not the case for other people.


I was eventually successful without classes too, but a class would have saved me A LOt of time and sanity if I knew what to expect beforehand. It's not something you can really practice, but it's definitely good to have all the information you can beforehand, if you're interested in it, OP.

We showed up to our class on the wrong day so we missed it. I ended up having a CS so I guess it didn't matter, but it's good to be prepared as long as you are okay with everything not going perfectly according to your birth plan.

vandelay

TyrannosaurusLex said:

pobrecita said:

K3am said:

Birthing class? Yes.

Breastfeeding class? Not so much. The only thing helpful we got out of that class was the hierarchy of feeding - you feed baby. That's your ONLY job. SO's job is to feed you. That's HIS primary job. Friends and family can take care of the rest, or you can let it slide. 

By the time we'd had her, I had no idea about ANYTHING from our BF class, the nurse showed me how, and it all went fine.

Good for you.

That is not the case for other people.

Plus also the effectiveness of an instructor telling your DH it's his job to feed you and feeding the baby is your only job should not be discounted.

I forgot, I owe that woman a seriously heartfelt thank you card.

Some of my nurses were seriously clueless about breastfeeding. One of them told me that if DD went to sleep while eating, that meant she had eaten enough and was full. That is dangerous misinformation, and I was glad I had been educated on breastfeeding beforehand so I knew to ignore that advice. I would absolutely take a BF class if you plan to BF.

tattooedtragedy

Another vote for going to the classes especially the infant CPR class.

And if you plan to breastfeed that class too, but also see if your hospital/birthing center offers a breastfeeding group. Mine did and it was SOOO amazing, the LC that lead the group was awesome and I really connected with other moms that were struggling with the same issues that I was.

Seriously, I'm sending the LC a gift & thank you card for all her help in getting me to my goal of 1 year of nursing.

ridesbuttons

I took a class before my first, I think it was 4 classes once a week from r 2 hours. It was ok. DH attended too. Hard to remember what it covered entirely but it was pretty broad spectrum. We had nurses, police officers, lactation consultants and social workers who came in to lecture. Talked labour and delivery, breastfeeding, car seats, baby equipment needed and not. Nothing earth shattering. But I will say it was well worth it for my DH to hear "every 2 to 3 hours" from an expert re: breastfeeding. That was eye opening for him.

jojala4911

Thank you everyone for your replies! You've all been very helpful.

Bythebeach09

With my first I took a marathon 8 hour class that covered everything but CPR. That I had already taken. The main reason I took it was because it included a tour of the hospital and I got to see the "devices" that can be part of the birthing process, including what they use for inductions and water breaking, etc. Knowing what those monitors and gadgets and stuff looked like and how they worked made it a teeny bit less scary when some of them had to be used.

The Lamaze part of it went in one ear and out the other.

I would recommend going for the first baby.

myfriendscallmemeg

I had TB BMB—& was at the end of the month, an older sister with 2 babies, 2 different birth stories, plus my Mom was in midwifery school when I was in highschool. So now 6 years later all she can talk about is midwifery & baby delivering.

I felt comfortable enough with my personal background knowledge plus the people around me that I didn't feel like I needed the classes.

The only thing I wish I could have changed is the nurses turning my epi down/off when I started pushing. Cause 2 hours later I could feel PLENTY when I started to get stitched up.

Unknown

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