Hypnobirthing, natural childbirth or Bradley method (not sure which), newborn essentials(more for dw), infant cpr ...
Which are you taking, and in which order are they important to you? How did you decide?
(No, I am not yet pregnant, but I think we have chosen a donor, and will be starting inseminations soon. I am on this topic the last couple days because I am researching what my health insurance will cover.)
Re: classes you are taking, in order of priority?
Last time I took Hypnobirthing & did a standard birthing/newborn class w a nurse through our MW/OB practice (more to familiarize ourselves w hospital procedure & for DH to learn newborn stuff).
This time I took prenatal yoga from 12 - 38 wks & did a homestudy Hypnobabies course. Our doula also holds 2 pre-birth teaching sessions where she fills in any knowledge gaps you have on birthing, does nutritional counseling & then shows some comfort techniques for DH to do before she arrives.
Its hard to recommedn what would be most helpful without knowing your background - I am the kind of person that does alot of research/reading on my own so alot of things were duplicative, maybe you are like that too. But preference wise, I would say that Hypnobabies was most mentally helpful, the yoga was most physically helpful but also emotionally/physically helpful, and the standard childbirth class was most helpful for getting to ask specific questions & learn practical babycare stuff.
We live in a rural area so our options are limited. We are taking the hospitals labor and delivery, breastfeeding basics, newborn care, and infant cpr. Newborn care is more for my husband since he hasnt had alot of time with infants. We are reading the Bradley books on our own, the closest class is over an hour away - not really feasible for a 12 week clas.
I expect that I will read whatever books I find. So far I have read a couple about midwifery and home birth, "Pushed" by Jennifer Block, and a couple others. My current plan is to birth at a birth center, though home birth is intriguing. I am fortunate to have her health insurance which is amazing. My wife works in cardiac surgery and is very holistic in her approach to pregnancy, though she has no experience with childcare. She will want me to take the cpr, she will want the newborn essentials, and beyond that we both are seeking the support that would help us manage an as-intervention-free-as-is-healthy birth. I get stuck when I think of needing to take BOTH the Bradley/natural birth classes AND the Hypnobirthing, but if that is what is called for, so be it.
I am also questioning whether I will want/need a doula. The birthing center is VERY supportive of the natural course of labor, and my wife is an amazingly supportive trained medical care provider. We will see as we come to that point whether she wants to learn as much of the role of a doula as possible, or whether we will want additional support.
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2w73hq9.jpg
1. Prenatal yoga 2. non-hospital-based childbirth class 3. anything else
With my first pregnancy, we took a general birth ed class at a local non-hospital affliated center. It covered everything, lasted forever, and was so-so in terms of prepping for birth...I think it helped my DH more than me, as I had already read tons of books and done my own research. I also took prenatal yoga, and I think that helped a ton more for actually preparing myself for labor - like someone said, it physically and emotionally helped me out. We also took a one-time class with my yoga instructor about partner-based labor positions (which we didn't realy use? but it was still nice to get ideas...).
We didn't take any newborn prep classes or breastfeeding classes - but, we did consult Dr. Sears "The Baby Book" quite a bit those first few months. If you have close family and friends who have breastfed, I don't think a class is super-neccesary...
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
First time around we took 1. Bradley Classes and 2. every class that the local hospital offered, except that we gave birth the morning of the CPR class and missed that one. The hospital classes weren't that helpful, particularly since we weren't going to give birth there, but I'm still glad that we took everything that we did just for piece of mind. There weren't any breastfeeding courses available although I did go to a LLL meeting before birth.
This time I'm taking a babywearing class & cloth diapering class through our midwives because I'm intimidated by the options in diapering and I'd like to wear #2 a lot more than I did #1.
We are taking Bradley and probably a breast feeding class. We are both already infant/child CPR certified and I have loads of baby care experience. DH might take a daddy boot camp. That is up to him.
I would say that a childbirth class and the CPR class would be the most important. You can find help for the rest as you go along.