1st Time Moms...Are you taking a birthing class?

blessedinthewest · October 2009

At my docs office they have a midwife that meets with us every two weeks and discusses L&D and breathing but it is not very indepth. I feel like I should have signed up for something else. Though if I'm going to do it I need to do it now because I am already 31 weeks.

JaiKriBaby · October 2009

We watched one on DVD and it was very helpful. FWIW, we didn't watch it until I was 36 weeks.

ETA: Obviously I have no idea how "helpful" it will be for labor, but it has been helpful with identifying some of the pre-labor signs I'm experiencing and what to look for re: actual labor signs. My DH found it very informative too.

mommys.gummy.bear · October 2009

i am not taking a birthing class.. simply do not have the money, the classes here are relatively expensive.

Johnna&Ralph · October 2009

We aren't taking birthing classes. I know it sounds funny, but they're too damn expensive!

ChristmasBride06 · October 2009

We decided not to do a class because it wasn't going to work well schedule-wise.

We are renting some videos (Laugh + Learn series) that were made fairly recently (2007) ---on childbirth, Lamaze, breastfeeding, newborn care.

I'm sure they're not quite as good as going to the class at our hospital where we would get info specific to the hospital procedures, but we will get most of the info this way.

ChefHeather82 · October 2009

JaiKriBaby:
We watched one on DVD and it was very helpful. FWIW, we didn't watch it until I was 36 weeks.

ETA: Obviously I have no idea how "helpful" it will be for labor, but it has been helpful with identifying some of the pre-labor signs I'm experiencing and what to look for re: actual labor signs. My DH found it very informative too.

Which DVD did you watch? And where did you find it?

We're not planning on taking the hospital birthing class (it's $$ and I've heard not very helpful) but now I feel really unprepared!

SRose27 · October 2009

We have been doing the Lamaze classes for the past 4 weeks and we absolutely love it. It is so informative and helpful even if we do decide to go with the epidural. They discuss everything from breathing techniques to the epidural and other drugs so you know what to think about and decide. We love it!

heyhay82 · October 2009

Since we're having twins, possibly by c-section, and if it's natural I'm using drugs, to block out the pain, my midwife told us not to worry about taking them. Plus DH and I work in the medical field, so it wouldn't really help us. But, SIL took them and now she's a so-called expert on child birth.

wallycat · October 2009

I am just a few days ahead of you. We did a birthing class through our hospital and I would definitely recommend it. Our class was 8 hours on a Sunday which was a long day but we didn't want to have it drag out by doing an hour or two a week. We had a great nurse teaching the class - I would definitely say that the person teaching would make or break the class.

MsMoseley · October 2009

No, we decided to pass on the birthing class. We have just been doing extensive reading, and those televised baby programs (Birth Day, Baby Story, etc) help a lot as well.

Leap08 · October 2009

We did a HypnoBirthing class and loved it. I feel so much more prepared to give and kind of empowered. I think it's totally up to you and depends on what kind of birth you want. I want a natual birth and felt like I needed to do something to help me prepare for it.

jrnewhook · October 2009

The information they gave at our prenatal classes was everything I had heard before, however it was very helpful to know specific things about the hospital I'll be delivering at.

BakerMommy · October 2009

Leap08:
We did a HypnoBirthing class and loved it. I feel so much more prepared to give and kind of empowered. I think it's totally up to you and depends on what kind of birth you want. I want a natual birth and felt like I needed to do something to help me prepare for it.

Exactly. Me too. Smile

mrs_sherod · October 2009

No because it simply does not fit in our schedule.

blondie315 · October 2009

Yes, we are taking a child birth class. It is not offered by our Dr. but is offered by the hospital that I will be delivering at. It is the first 3 Wednesdays in Nov and last 3 hours each time. I will be 31w5d at the first class.

JaiKriBaby · October 2009

ChefHeather82:
JaiKriBaby:

We watched one on DVD and it was very helpful. FWIW, we didn't watch it until I was 36 weeks.

ETA: Obviously I have no idea how "helpful" it will be for labor, but it has been helpful with identifying some of the pre-labor signs I'm experiencing and what to look for re: actual labor signs. My DH found it very informative too.

Which DVD did you watch? And where did you find it?

We're not planning on taking the hospital birthing class (it's $$ and I've heard not very helpful) but now I feel really unprepared!

We watched the Laugh and Learn About Childbirth mentioned earlier. It's a 2-DVD set of I think 6 segments (about 30 minutes each). I found it on Ebay for $15 brand new. The latest version is the 2007 version. The teacher's humor is annoying, but I felt like I learned a lot. HTH!

littlemaybaby · October 2009

Obviously you can give birth without going to classes. However, I've found my classes VERY useful and even more so for DH - who has done a whole lot less reading/prep than I have for what to expect. I just like to feel prepared and feel like with the preparation we are getting from classes that I can be more of an active participant in the process than I would have been without the classes.

ibis · October 2009

Yes, we are signed up for the hospital class - it's only $60. Starts when I'm 30 wks.

amanda1128 · October 2009

We did, my hospital offers them for free though or we wouldnt have. I enjoyed it, even DH admitted he learned a lot.

nicte83 · October 2009

Our hospital class was very flexible with scheduling. We took the two Saturday morning approach. They went in to what all the terms mean and basically walked right through the birth plan with how they do things and let us know what we'd have to talk to our doctor about and get signed off on if we wanted to do something different (which in the end was not much for me).

We did go over breathing and support person massage. They kept it simple which was good for DH because I think he was overwhelmed enough by all these things he didn't know. We learned that I need an unmistakable signal for 'stop what you are doing' during massage because he never caught any of the subtle cues I was giving.

Most of all I just feel better knowing I won't be fighting with them to keep the baby in the room, or about pacifiers since I'm breastfeeding. It was a huge peace of mind to take the hospital class even if it was expensive.

Mrs. Erin · October 2009

Yes, DH and I are signed up for a birthing class and a breast feeding class. I just feel like I have NO idea what to expect.... so anything that will help me prepare more is going to be beneficial.

DiaMT · October 2009

We attended a childbirth class at our hospital. It didn't cost much and we thought it was well worth the time and money spent. I feel a little bit more prepared for what's to come. Also, it was taught by a labor & delivery nurse who's been in the field for over 20 years so it was great being able to ask her questions.

JaiKriBaby · October 2009

One more thought...several insurance companies reimburse for the cost of childbirth classes, so that might be worth checking out too!

wnk1029 · October 2009

I took the 5-week Hypnobabies home study course and would highly recommend it. Not only did it give me lots of information about the birth process and what to expect, but the Hypnobabies scripts are GREAT for helping to relax and stay focused on a positive outlook.

ahappygilmore · October 2009

We just started our birthing classes and I love them. We have done the breast feeding class and have the newborn prep tonite. Next week starts the childbirth prep.

I would recomend taking classes, I am someone who likes to be prepared and why not get all the info you can? I also have read lots of books so I dont think it will be a ton of info, but I'll take all I can get.

BethD76 · October 2009

We took parenting, breastfeeding and child birth. Parenting was tuesdays for a month. Breastfeeding was just one two hour class. child birth will be most of next saturday and part of sunday. It was only 160.00 for all three classes. We get a tour of L & D with the birthing class.

I loved parenting. I didn't babysit a lot as a teen. Dh doesn't have a lot of baby experience either. He loved the class too. The breastfeeding info I had already learned a lot of on my own. It has still been really informative.

Goldengirl16 · October 2009

We're not. We're just watching some dvd's.

nealbl · October 2009

We took a birthing class and I don't feel like it was something I really needed to do. Some information was helpful but most I already knew from being on thebump.

ella.mabel · October 2009

We're doing an all day "Just the Facts Labor & Delivery" for 35 dollars per couple. I'm also doing a breasfeeding and a 2 day Baby Basics. My OB said that classes aren't necessary, but i'm just trying to get as prepared as possible.

brainwashxx · October 2009

We took the class. It basically went over everything I had been reading. I took the class provided by the hospital that I plan to deliver at so she kinda mentioned some of the rules of the hospital and we took a tour. I found that helpful. I think it helped my SO the most because he hasn't been reading anything and now he has all these plans on how to help me through labor and such. I think it helped him a lot

jdouglas84 · October 2009

Yes we are just doing the condensed, 6 hour class. When I had registered for it in July, the first class that was available for me was in November.

Teenie61006 · October 2009

we just finished our 5 wk class. The "plan" is for a natural water birth so I found the classes to be really helpful. They talked about everything it wasn't just for people who plan to go natural/water birth. We didn't really have the money either but I definitely thought it was worth it to be educated and know exactly what you'll be going through and the options you have.

ashdonne · October 2009

Yes we are and we didn't start our 5 week classes until we were 32 weeks.

scchapman · October 2009

We started our class last week and it was offered by the hospital. It has been very informative, I don't know what I would have done if we didn't take the class. I suggest taking a class, there is a lot of information.

CourtneyAnn · October 2009

We took the free Caring for Your New Born class that our hospital offered and as a shower gift step MIL gave us the $60 for the birthing class b/c we didn't' have the money for it otherwise. I found the birthing class helpful. I gave me a much better understanding of the science of birth and the whole process. Also it gave a lot of great ideas of how your partner can help during labor, which was helpful for both DH and I.

TheCoulters · October 2009

My DH & I decided the preparing for childbirth classes would be very useful being this is our 1st child. They were $90.00 per couple and were 3 x 3 hr classes. Both DH & I highly recommend taking a class as our instructor answered questions/concerns in the class, we watched dvds, and worked on breathing techniques. In addition, being a woman we talk about our questions/concerns with other women but my DH went into the classes knowing lil to nothing about what to expect. After the classes he tells all our single/married friends without kids to take the classes.

catherine24 · October 2009

We're taking a class this weekend. It's more than I wanted to spend, but I figure this is one of the things I'd like to know as much about as possible before going into it.

megs68 · October 2009

We did a childbirth marathon class this past weekend, all day Saturday and half day Sunday. We were going back and forth on whether or not to do it, it cost $90 and we really didn't have the time, but we went ahead and signed up and I'm glad we did. We hadn't talked too much about the labor part of the pregnancy so it got us in the mindset and made us start thinking of things we hadn't discussed before. We practiced breathing, learned more about the process, got a tour of the units, etc. I think it was good for both of us, especially DH, to get him more involved and understanding of what's going to happen.

lovebug630 · October 2009

I'm planning on getting an epidural, but I thought we should go to the birthing class just in case, since you never know. I think ours will be pretty in-depth, since it lasts from 9-5. We're going this Saturday.

Want a personalized experience?

1st Time Moms...Are you taking a birthing class?

Re: 1st Time Moms...Are you taking a birthing class?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards