Childbirth Preparation Class- Need Advice

lhp1980 · November 2010

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in a few weeks and can't decide if we should take a childbirth preparation class. I've heard mixed reviews about it...Has anyone taken this class and would they recommend it?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated...Thanks so much!

mingaling2 · November 2010

We took the one-day one offered at Piedmont and it helped tremendously. I highly recommend it!

slwprincess · November 2010

Here's my take on it. I pretty much knew all that they told us just from lurking on these boards :-) DH, on the other hand didn't have a clue and really benefited from going and hearing it from someone other than me in a setting that included other clueless dad's who weren't afraid to ask questions. I ended up going straight for the c/s so we didn't use any of the labor prep that they taught us, but even so, it was really useful for DH to understand what was going on. I think he would have panicked otherwise. Truthfully, for both of us, we got more benefit from the other classes we took. We both went to the Breastfeeding class at Piedmont and DH also took a Daddy Boot Camp class at Kennestone. I always remind people that the labor/birth experience is so short but you should really spend more time preparing yourself for the long term baby care.

dany2006 · November 2010

We did the one day class at Northside and were glad we did. My husband didn't know much about labor or realize how much I would be laboring at home before the class, so he got a LOT out of it. I used a lot of the relaxation/breathing techniques I learned during labor. We both felt we learned a great deal and were glad we did the class. It just made us feel much more relaxed and prepared for the birth.

MrsKLB · November 2010

dany2006:
We did the one day class at Northside and were glad we did. My husband didn't know much about labor or realize how much I would be laboring at home before the class, so he got a LOT out of it. I used a lot of the relaxation/breathing techniques I learned during labor. We both felt we learned a great deal and were glad we did the class. It just made us feel much more relaxed and prepared for the birth.

I agree with this. It was helpful for my DH to know what to expect and helped calm some of my anxiety, too. We took it at Northside because that is where we were going to deliver.

JoelsGirl07 · November 2010

As a birth instructor-to-be, I recommend you take SOMETHING. The type of birth you want to have would determine what type of class I would recommend. I have taken hospital and non-hospital classes. Babysteps offers a short (I think it's 1 day) class that covers interventions, risk/benefit, stages....the basics. Just make sure you know where to go when the time comes!

lrn327 · December 2010

We took the breastfeeding class at Piedmont and thought it was really good. I also asked about the 1-day childbirth class when I was trying to decide. Some people really liked it and others did not. I think I would have gone for it had the class been spread out over a few days, but this wasn't the case. I was pretty certain that DH and I would both be so tired from sitting through a day-long class that we wouldn't retain very much. Besides, my insurance wouldn't cover the cost so it would have been out of pocket for us. What I DID do though (and we'll see in a few days if it was helpful!) is thoroughly read and practice the childbirth, relaxation, positions, and breathing sections of the large pregnancy/childbirth book that you get from your OB if you deliver at Piedmont. The book is pretty old-school but I've read a lot and thought this by far the most informative and instructive that I have found. I read the chapters several times and we have both spent time going through the exercises that we think will be most helpful.

Mrs.RCH · December 2010

We took several classes at Kennestone and I'm so glad that we did.While some information was redundant, it helped us become familiar with the hospital and eased a lot of my anxiety about the unknown. We won't do them the second time around, but I would recommend any classes for the first baby.

Childbirth Preparation Class- Need Advice

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