Natural Birth
PBear93
member
Pregnancy/Labor Massage Class
PBear93
member
My hospital offers a pregnancy and labor massage class that I was thinking of taking with my DH. But I am not really sure if it's worth it. Has anyone taken one? Was it helpful? Is it worth taking, or could we just figure out all the tips/tricks without taking the class? What all did you learn in the class?
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Re: Pregnancy/Labor Massage Class
DH and I took this kind of class; it was offered by a doula/childbirth educator. We really enjoyed ours and I feel we both learned a lot. The massage part was good for DH especially because it gave him a lot more confidence with where/how to massage me for different types of labour pain. We also got to practice different labouring positions which was very good for us b/c DH is much taller than me and it's good to practice supported positions to make sure it's not killing his back (your partner has to keep up his strength and stamina too!). I think it will make the earlier parts of labour less awkward with less focus on "figuring it out", especially the time we're at home. By the time I'm in active labour in the hospital, we should have a nice rhythm!
I'm sure that anyone could figure it out along the way, but a class like this could help make early labour flow more smoothly, with less irritation on your part while your DH gets his bearings. Especially while you need to be encouraging the production of oxytocin, not getting exasperated!
I've also been wondering about taking a class like this. Were there any 'magic tricks' that it taught you, or was it all just "well, her back will be hurting so massage her back" ? DH is a little cynical about it.