Birthing Class

Boston2Bermuda

So I am still on the fence about taking a birthing class.  I am looking for input from those of you who have taken one.  Some of my friends said their class was great and others said it was cheesy and they spent most of the time staring into their partner's eyes trying to find a comfort zone or something wacky like that...How was your experience?

MrsCole

Waste of time for me - nothing I didn't already know.  And as for DH, nothing he hadn't already heard from me.
 

shari_rngleson

i didnt take any classes so have no advice...but, my dr. didnt seem worried about it!

Brian&Nikki

I really like our class.  The instructor keeps things moving and it just gives you a basic education which we found to be helpful. There were things we didn't know and it made us more comfortable and feel a bit more prepared.

MrsL.inMarch

I think it depends how informed you want to be. We've taken 1 of our 2 classes and it was informative but nothing that you can't read about so far.

They showed us everything we might encounter during L&D. Epidural needles (and photos), catheters, fetal scalp monitors (which are freaking scary... they screw them into the top of their head... WTF), epidural consent form we'd have to sign if we want an epidural, enema buckets....etc etc etc. 

Next week is positioning, breathing, relaxation and a tour of the hospital, L&D, and the NICU. I would say regardless you need to do the tour, everything else just depends on how much you want to know beforehand. 

pivey

Birthing class from a hospital or otherwise? What are you looking for - natural method, Lamaze, some general hospital course? How much do you want to know? Are you thinking of going med free or with an epi?

I think it all depends. I love our Bradley class but I am committed to it, want to know a lot, and willing to do a lot of work/reading...

Solelle

It can be an eye opening experience for some.  Our class was based around the Bradley method, which I thought was helpful.  We learned birthing positions, what to do to shift posterior babies, pain coping techniques, etc. 

MandBBewley

I was signed up for it but skipped it last minute for sleeping in and baby preparation.  I heard it was a waste of time but I also heard it was good to just know what to expect.  It probably depends on your anxiety level about delivery.  

MrsL.inMarch

It also really depends on the teacher, ours has been awesome. She's had vag birth, c-section and VBAC so is a true pool of first hand knowledge and stories. Every topic she explains if she had it done, what it was like etc. So that part is more helpful than just passing foleys around.

jbaron

So far, we have only been to one out of the six classes, but we both enjoyed the first one.  It went over a lot of the anatomy of a pregnant body, what is happening, what will happen, and tips to help feel more comfortable.  I thought it was good, but was worried that my anatomy teacher husband would be bored.  He really liked the class.  I think liked hearing about what was happening with my body.

He mentioned that he was kind of dreading the class, but enjoyed it once he got there.  We are both looking forward to Wednesday and he said he would even go with me to the breastfeeding class on Thursday, which is a BIG step! 

I would recommend it!  Good luck!
 

Connors10

We took one long class instead of going for 6 weeks or whatever. Ours wasn't the "look into each other's eyes" type (thank God lol)...it was informative, especially for hubby. I got some lovely back rubs outta the deal when the instructor was teaching the coaches some massage moves, so that was great lol.

My main reason for going was for H, so he knew what the lingo was once we would be in the delivery room so he wouldn't have to ask me and I wouldn't have to get annoyed by answering questions, haha.

 So, all in all, it was worth it.

californiaclaire

We're going to take one at the hospital, but it's more for DH than for me. He seems to need to hear all the details from the professionals!

dereks_wife

I recommend taking the class from one of your friends that liked it.  We found ours very helpful.  We went through the signs of labor, stages of labor, relaxation techniques, exercises I can do to prepare, what to expect when we get to the hospital, what we should bring to the hospital, post partum care for the baby and I, etc., etc., etc.

Quiksilver620

we started our class this past Saturday and I loved it. I knew a lot of the stuff, but I also learned some things along with DH. I wasn't looking forward to the class before we went, but now I'm looking forward to going back.

EcoBaby

We took the 1 day class, and it was great for DH. I underestimated how little he knew about the whole process. I've been researching since before pg, him - not so much. It made him less nervous. I liked the massage and the hospital tour.

I would recommend it - at least the express class if nothing else. It really doesn't take that much time out of your life.

marsha3times

Sadly, ours wasn't that useful and we could have made it without the class.  I think it was just our instructor though, she was new.  Ours was also at night from 7 until 9.............that had an impact too.  One really useful aspect was meeting with pediatricians.  The last class had all of the pediatricians in the area on a question panel.  We really enjoyed this class and that one flew by. 

BearsMrs

I've done a ton of reading & really didn't get any new information out of the class... 

emmybyers

I really liked our class. It was 6 weeks. It was good to know where to go when I go into labor and what happens once you get to the hospital. I figure the more I know now, the less stressed I'll be in the moment.

jwt6

Mine was a five week class and it was very helpful in the aspect of what is actually going to happen. You get to ask questions and listen to other peoples questions that you may not have thought of. It was horrible when we had to learn relaxation and breathing techniques. Maybe me and dh are too immature but we just kept making fun of everyone else. But I did learn valuable information for the rest of my prenancy, birth and even bringing the baby home.