FTM here....what classes should we take

brinkman2013

our hospital offers a variety of classes and I'm trying to decide which classes are really actually helpful while others may be easy to either learn on your own or might be a waste of time. They offer prepared childbirth (7hr class), breast feeding, baby care basics, infant and child CPR, and car seat safety. Any suggestions?!?

alyciamrs

I'm a FTM also. Only class I have taken so far was Getting Ready For Baby, mainly all about infant care. I loved it and plan to take others also. It was so helpful and I really learned so much. I feel much more confident. I would highly recommend doing so.

WDDCH

Baby care and CPR for sure.

I would take birth classes elsewhere if you're wanting a natural birth. Otherwise if you aren't wanting to try for natural do take the birth class as it will prepare you for that hospital's protocol and pain med options, etc.

Breastfeeding class at the hospital... I'm on the fence about this one. I'd seek out a class taught by a certified LC if the hospital's BFing class isn't already taught by an LC. Mine was taught by nurses (not certified in lactation services) and there was misinformation (I learned this later).

hollyberri

With my first, I only took Prenatal Yoga, but I gotta say it helped with natural childbirth (the Ujawi breath helped a LOT). My husband and I are both 1 of 5 and we both knew how to take care of babies, so we never even thought to take the infant care class but a friend of mine who's an only child did it and she loved the infant care class. My husband took infant CPR, and I believe it gave him confidence when our daughter inevitably reacted to solid foods when she first learned how to eat.

Basically, assess what you don't know, what your priorities are, then choose accordingly.

Miz_Liz

I'm a huge believer that everyone should know how to do CPR, so I would take that for sure. When I was pregnant with my first I took the one day Child Birthing class. Honestly, the only useful thing I took from it was the hospital tour that told us where to park, where to check in, where the birthing rooms were, what to pack in my bag, etc. I also took the BF'ing class and I hated it, but that was just me - I personally felt like I could have just held off on that and waited until baby was here and then got the help I needed from the nurses and lactation consultants at the hospital. I would say take whichever ones you think will give you the most peace of mind.

Joie80

I'd recommend the CPR. I took a whole series with my first and can honestly say, I didn't benefit from any in terms of application. I'll probably take another infant CPR this time around as a refresher.

sjra1028

I took a birthing/infant care class when I was pregnant with my son. I loved it! The instructor didn't sugarcoat anything. She went over all of the unexpected things that can happen during delivery. She taught us CPR and basic infant care. We also got to take a tour of the maternity ward. I highly recommend it! I loved being able to meet other moms-to-be.
We just signed up for the tour for the hospital I'll be delivering at. They just renovated everything. Very excited!

brinkman2013

Thank you everyone! That is very helpful!