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April 2011 Moms
virginiagirl11
member
Went to my first birth class last night (long)
virginiagirl11
member
One word: disappointment
I think it was probably just our situation given our location and the (lack of) resources in general that tend to be available to this rural area. Bear with me while I vent for a minute.
There were two components of our disappointment with this class, one having to do with the class itself and one having to do with our fellow attendees.
The nurse running the class ran it very loosely and free-form while I prefer more structured instruction. She basically just sat on a table and talked about whatever she could think of and checked her notes a couple of times for main points. However, that meant that some of the notes I have are incomplete because she wouldn't always come back to where she was if someone interrupted her (which happened a lot). Also, she showed a poor-quality, shaky VHS video that literally must have been from 1992. I'm sure the newborns in it are heading off to college at this point. Much of what she said and what was shown in the video are things I've learned from reading online and visiting these forums, actually. 
The interrupting brings me to my second point. Many of the other couples in my class seemed to be awfully lacking in basic pregnancy knowledge. One couple was surprised to learn that the mother's love for Mtn Dew and sweet tea was probably contributing to her swelling and just not a good idea in general due to the sugar and caffeine. She was truly baffled at the suggestion that she work on hydrating with more water because wouldn't that just cause her to pee more and defeat the purpose?
Another guy kept interrupting the nurse with random, unrelated comments about himself. He could literally not go more than a couple of minutes without making a terribly ignorant comment and it slowed things down considerably and interrupted the nurse's pace. He and his girlfriend also seemed surprised to learn that drinking lots of sugary drinks was a bad idea. There was yet another girl in the back of the class doing something similar, interrupting randomly as if she knew all about this stuff even though it was her first child and she was signed up for a birthing education class? And some of the things she said were just not true.
So yeah. Between how little I learned and how completely annoying and sort of depressing our classmates were, we felt like it was a waste of 3 hours (30 min. drive each way + 2 hr class).
We're just going to teach ourselves at home with some You Tube videos from here on out and have SIL show us what she learned at her classes, which she also took locally and said were pretty bad aside from a few key things she'd show us.
Bummer. I'm really hoping that the more focused one-night classes like BFing and Infant CPR will go better. Good luck to those of you who have signed up for classes. I hope your experiences are nothing like mine!
natural m/c 7.1.10 
: sticky baby 4.25.11 : #2 due 5.18.13
: sticky baby 4.25.11 : #2 due 5.18.13
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Went to my first birth class last night (long)
I think the fact that we spend our time reading about pregnancy and birth topics, and participate in a discussion board specifically devoted to the same, we'll naturally be somewhat ahead of the game when it comes to information over someone who just asks their doctor whatever questions they think of once a month. The internet, in my opinion, has done away with the need for a structured information-dissemination class.
The reason that remains for attending a class, is to build confidence in your skills and what you already know and maybe meet some other families in your shoes. I'm sorry that your class wasn't better at providing that. It doesn't sound like you have much in common with the other parents there.
We're taking a series of classes next month based on the book Birthing from Within. Hopefully they don't suck. I don't think they will.
I am having a wonderful experience at my class. It's very unfortunate that the OP is having a bad experience.
I'm not attending a class because they are all scheduled when I'm teaching, but the hospital gave me all of the books, etc., for free. The books come with a website and informational online videos. If you'd like me to pass the website on to you, I can when I get home (I obviously don't have it here at work with me :-)
Sorry you're having a bad experience.
Mac and cheese lover!
I'm sorry, but I about died laughing at this. Then I realized that it is really, really sad that people are getting basic information - like that water is good for you - at a birthing class, when they are already well into their adult lives.
I watched this video and it was helpful - you might know a lot of the info from being here and reading on your own though. The host is awful but if you can find the video through the library maybe it won't be too horrible.
me too! I am halfway through my 6 hr class and am very happy with it. There are some similar classmates (idiots) but the teacher is great. I'm so looking forward to our last session!
My class starts next week and I'm a bit nervous about this too!
Even at the hospital info evenings I was shocked at some of the "stupid" and odd questions some couples had. I know not everyone has the time to read all the books etc. on pregnancy and birth, but come on people!!! COMMON SENSE!