Classes Necessary

macy42

Hey girls This is my first time posting on this board but have been stalking for about 2+ months. After reading all of the positive birth stories on here and reading (and watching) other birth stories, I've decided that a natural birth is for me.

My mother had 3 natural births and is very encouraging. DH is on board and is also very supportive of my decision. However, it seems like everyone else is being a wet blanket. All they do is share their horrible stories and tell me that I should sign up for the epi now. It's rather discouraging.

Anyways, like I mentioned, I've been doing some research on breathing, visualization, and other birthing/coping methods, as well as getting a good understanding of what happens and when. I will add that I have a very supportive MW who's very knowledgeable about techniques and such.

So, with my research, a 'general birthing class', and the support of my mom & MW, do you all think it's possible to be sufficiently "knowledgeable" for natural birth?

I know a lot of women swear by the hypobirthing/babies and bradley methods, but there aren't any instructors in my immediate area. Will I be "prepared enough" without completing one of these courses?

(sorry if my questions seem juvenile, I just want to be as informed as possible. It seems like everything I read states that knowledge is power in attaining a natural birth.)

I want to finish by saying that I am also completely aware that sometimes things don't go according to plan. This being said, our health is #1.

*LrCg*

I never took classes and had wonderful homebirths and never felt overwhelmed.  It's my opinion that my body was designed to give birth so I'm not sure what a class could teach me.  I'm also very against lamaze.  I did read Ina May's Childbirth book and it had a TON of postive natural birth stories and I took tips from those stories that really helped me.  Also, I did read the Bradley Way to give birth book but more or so to explain what your body does during birth, etc.  In the end, I felt my midwife really prepared us well for the birth- I was just very comfortable in what I was doing.  In fact, she almost missed our first birth because I waited so long to call so we really did it all on our own.

macy42

Good to know! Thanks so much

I will say that I was partially nervous and honestly, somewhat skeptical, about my choice/ability to have a NB until I had a very in-depth convo with my MW last week. She really helped put my mind at ease and helped me truly understand that this is what we are built for. She discussed techniques that I've never read about online- something about tug-of-war during the pushing stage.

nosoup4u

I think it's good to have a game plan about how you'll cope with contractions, but I don't think you need to have a specific method in mind. 

I took a prenatal yoga class that had an emphasis on med-free birth. It really helped me figure out how to really relax and breathe, which was the main way I got through labor with both my sons. The teacher also had a one-time labor positions class, which was helpful, but we never used any of the moves she showed us. Netflix might still have some prenatal yoga classes on their streaming site.

If you take a general childbirth class, try to find one from an independent birth center/birth educator. The hospital ones can be pretty pointless and unhelpful. 

Good luck!

drpayne

I don't think you can be too prepared, so I don't really want to say "Nah, the classes aren't important."  At the same time, I don't think I learned a ton that I couldn't have read on my own.  What WAS important, in my opinion, was getting DH involved... the classes definitely did that and we enjoyed them.   

chelseakopperud

I took a general labor and delivery class at my hospital when I was pregnant with DS. It was a waste of my time, but I took it so I could get a tour of the L&D area, which in the end made it worth it. I didnt take any natural child birth classes. I read a lot (Ina May is amazing). I felt 100% confidenta and fully prepared when I went into labor and it all went smoothly. Good luck to you!

macy42

chelseakopperud:

I took a general labor and delivery class at my hospital when I was pregnant with DS. It was a waste of my time, but I took it so I could get a tour of the L&D area, which in the end made it worth it. I didnt take any natural child birth classes. I read a lot (Ina May is amazing). I felt 100% confidenta and fully prepared when I went into labor and it all went smoothly. Good luck to you!

If I do take the class, it would be more for DH than for me, I think. However, it's not at the hospital where I will be giving birth so perhaps my time and $$ would be better spent on some good books. I have heard a lot of positive reviews about Ina May's books and it's sitting in my amazon cart. I think I'll go make that purchase! Thanks ladies

jennadoll87

When i was pregnant with DS my H and I took a Lamaze class at a local pregnancy center...honestly it was a complete waste of time. It reminded me of HS sex ed "and this is a vagina".... yeah....it really wasn't up to par IMO lol. 

Im sure there are other classes out there that would be more helpful - many are not held in my area. For me, the research I've done on my own (reading books, talking to other moms, switching to a MW etc) has been FAR more helpful then my class experience

vintagejjane

I never took a class either and I loved my home birth. It was long and difficult but so worth it. I just did lots of research online.

Charliebear84

I took one general birthing class at our hospital but felt it was a waste of time as I had already done a lot of reading and research myself. What I did to prepare really was spending a lot of time thinking about labour and delivery and how I would handle the pain. I thought about what I would tell myself when I hit the wall...things like "you can do anything for a few hours"etc. I felt I didn't need a method or anything to prepare as long as I knew the different stages of labour and what was normal etc. I wouldn't panic ad lose my s**t

Good luck and your noodle bear is beautiful!! 

AmyRI

macy42:

If I do take the class, it would be more for DH than for me, I think. However, it's not at the hospital where I will be giving birth so perhaps my time and $$ would be better spent on some good books. I have heard a lot of positive reviews about Ina May's books and it's sitting in my amazon cart. I think I'll go make that purchase! Thanks ladies

I had a successful natural birth in a hospital with an OB, sans doula and specific techniques, so it certainly can be done. We only took the hospital's birthing class. No specific NB classes or methods, although I did do prenatal yoga so I got a lot of ideas from that. However, I found the birth class to be really really useful for DH. He wasn't into reading up on birth like I was. It was a really useful 4 hour course one afternoon that included ways to help me labor, hospital protocol, and a hospital tour. It didn't help with a NB, but it did help with a birth. Even if it's not at your hospital, I think it would be good to take something so your DH is familiar with the stages of labor, possible interventions, and what would happen if me or baby was in trouble.

Joyfullnoise

Do you practice yoga or run? I think the ability to remain calm and focused is what the various courses teach and that you can attain it yourself with practice, but that you need to figure out how to bot panic before ld starts! Good luck!