Do we really need to take the childbirth classes?

katiebird1127

Wondering if they're actually necessary...as I'm perfectly fine reading and taking some online free classes/watching Youtube even if necessary!  $105 at Mercy could be spent on other important baby things...my sister says they aren't totally necessary either.  

schmood

I felt it was more helpful for DH.  I work at the hospital that I delivered at, so I was familiar with the facility, where to park, etc.  I'm a FTM, but have been in healthcare for 10+ years, so I already knew some of the info, but for someone who isn't in a healthcare field... it may be useful to go. 

mbgreenwalt

I just did a hospital tour so I understood the hospital's process and so I would know what to expect.  Everything else I just read about and if I had questions, I asked my OB.  For me it didn't feel necessary and I don't regret not going.

brooke&ryan&baby

DH and I took three classes through amma. They all were imformative but I liked "Prepaing for childbirth" he best. It was really helpful and calmed a lot of my anxieties about the birthing process. It was also very imformative for DH. We also both agreed we really just liked spending he time together. We probably wouldn't take time out to sit for hours and read baby books together so they worked for us.

preg_amy

I wouldn't take the hospital classes at all. 

I would take a class through Blooma, Amma, or Baby Love.

JenK1108

We took the Childbirth Prep class at Fariview Southdale (ours was the last class at the hospital - Fairview now does all of theirs through Amma).  There were parts of it that I didn't learn much from, but I actually used a lot of the techniques we praticed during early labor at home.  I literally pulled out the book they gave us with pictures and tried a million different things to help with the pain.  So for me, beneficial in the end. 

ajswart

it was helpful for dh he wasn't around/care for kids and in the class they covered everything and plus he wouldn't read any of the books i had either. so he learned alot from the classes it was nothing new for me.

i would definitly take a hospital tour so you know where to park, and how to get up to the birthing center especially after hours.

ariel06

We didn't take any and we were just fine.  

jess60

No, I think the classes were a waste of time & money but I do think it was nice to have a tour of the hospital beforehand.

footnotegirl

We did the all in one day Amma class that covered childbirth, nursing, and newborn care. I'll agree with PP that it was most helpful for my husband, who didn't really know anything about the process other than what he'd seen in movies and TV or what he learned in biology classes. I felt that it was helpful by giving me a quick run down of options for pain management, both pharmacological and natural.

I think a series of childbirth classes would be unnecessary for me, but as with everything, your mileage may vary. Everyone needs something different.

andrea.berg07

We got a take home kit with movies from our hospital. 

MesmrEwe

IMO the only thing that's worth doing is the hospital tour and during that time asking the nurses a lot of questions about procedures for that particular hospital and rec's that they've got.  I learned more in talking to some L&D nurses than I ever learned in the class we subjected ourselves to before DD...

The class we took before DD was through Regions.  The instructor is horrid and has been doing it for 10-15 years at this point so isn't going anywhere.  If anything I found that she instilled so many misconceptions about the whole L&D process trying to make us feel like failures if we ended up having an epi or if it wasn't working that we could ask for a new one (I kid you not, her response to any question about medications/pain control was "it's bad" - and don't get an L&D nurse started on what she's said about them!).  I mentioned this to the L&D nurses and they reassured me that it's still the case and not worth taking the class.  With DS we didn't take the "refresher" and when I ended up on an overnight trip to L&D for complications, I used the opportunity to discuss "what do I REALLY need to know" with the L&D nurses and my second delivery was as if the skies parted and angels sang in comparison to the first by following the advice of the L&D nurses (go in there with an open mind and no expectations other than to get the baby out!  It's all about relaxing the mind and accepting the process for what it is, not exactly glamerous/discomfort free, but with the right pain control meds and mindset, it can be enjoyable!).

Watch some TLC, read up on HypnoBirthing for the concept of breathing/relaxing through your contractions and thinking of them as birthing your baby while working WITH your body regardless of how hokey it feels to sit a certain way if it feels good to get the job done, watch the youtube videos for your particular hospital's L&D, read up on pain control medications available for L&D and what they each spefically do, read up on the Post Partum stuff especially since L&D is a short amount of time, PP takes a while to heal up from and it's a bigger accomplishment to make it through PP without pain control than it is L&D..  and you'll be fine!  Also, plan to wear your maternity clothes home because anything tight around the waist will be a no-go after delivering baby!

ksmel2

I had a scheduled section at the hospital I work at also, but dh wanted to take something so we did a 5 hour express class for him to learn what to expect in the delivery. Afterwards we both agreed it was a waste of time and money. I think we would have felt different had we had a normal vaginal delivery. Seemed like some good tips were given.