Childbirth Class

Re: Childbirth Class

• sad5781

  January 2012

  I think it depends on you a little.  

  I did not take anything, sort of by chance (delivered at 35 weeks) but also by choice... not sure we would have taken anything and 95% sure I would have skipped the childbirth one.

  My doctor with #1 told me that, unless I'm the type of person that likes to see all the information and know everything, that the childbirth class might freak me out more than help me.  She said lots of her patients didn't like it.  She recommended that if I take something, I should take the Infant Care Class.

  In my delivery, I just don't know what a generic class could have taught me.  I am lucky that it was a fast labor I guess, so I don't know if I'd labored a while if it would have been different.  I also knew I'd get an epidural. I had an awesome nurse and really, she just told me what to do when.

  We went to the Infant Care crash course the hospital offers after DS was born.  It was short (1hour) and very informative.  This was the stuff I didn't know and wasn't going to have a nurse around to help me with.  

  Just my 2 cents.  Since I never did the class, I have no clue what I might have learned.  

  

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• melrrr

  January 2012

  I took the class at my hospital so I could learn about hospital policies and see everything (I'm one that isn't bothered by that stuff). Even then the nurse who taught it wasn't in total agreement with certain things that are common, such as making you hold your breath as you push. 

  I did a home study course with Hypnobabies and will start it again for this one in a few weeks.  

  

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• SageBeginnings

  January 2012

  c2c2j22:

  Has anyone taken childbirth classes before?  Is this something that is helpful and that I should take if it's my first pregnancy?  I have heard from a couple of people that they didn't take it and they were fine, but I don't want to miss out on something that might make my experience easier. 

   I think it all depends on what you hope for out of the birthing experience.

  • If you are wanting to have a natural birth or go as long as possible before getting medication, a birthing class can definitely help you, but I would recommend more of a relaxation and natural labor technique class such as Bradley, Hypnobabies/Hypnobirthing or a Weekend of Relaxation class rather than your standard hospital class.
    
  • If you are wanting the All-American birth with an epidural, a hospital-prep class can help you to know what to expect from your hospital's policies, procedures, and expectations. That way, you are not surprised during the process when x,y,z occurs or is encouraged. But, in most cases, they won't teach much on how to cope effectively with contractions before you can get medication.
    

  Either way, I think, especially for first time moms, that birthing classes can be a great help to prepare families for what to expect and how to cop. They would teach how to time contractions, what the roadmap of labor looks like, how to stay relaxed and as comfortable as possible until you can get medication (if that is what you choose) and some (especially independent childbirth classes) combine pregnancy, labor and birth, and breastfeeding/baby care/postpartum all in one series, rather than have you take individual classes.

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• Crumcakefl

  January 2012

  I took the hospital offered course and was glad that I took it. I wasn't sure about when to come to the hospital, what would happen when I arrived, and what to expect. Maybe I got lucky, but our instructor was great about explaining both what to expect from a typical hospital birth (epidural, episitomy, etc) and if that wasn't what we wanted how to voice our requests and what to expect on that end. {She was a former L&D nurse who had her children naturally}. This class was also VERY helpful for DH as he had no clue about L&D.

  I took a breastfeeding course one evening for a couple hours at my delivery hospital too. It wasn't as helpful as the L&D one, but I did learn a couple tips that I've used.

  I also took a Life with Baby class at the Texas Women's Hospital - it was almost a full day and really helpful for both me & DH. We were both pretty baby-ignorant and it helped to be introduced to things like how to bath baby, how to swaddle, etc.

   I would encourage you to take classes, if nothing else, it will reduce surprises.

   

  

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