So I keep hearing everyone talking about all the classes they are taking and I just do not have that kind of time! I am in grad school, finishing a residency, and working full time. My husband co-owns/manages a small business and normally is not home until 8:30pm or later so we maybe have 2 hours together before I have to go to bed because I am up at 6:30 for work. He gets 1 week day off a week that changes all the time and I have weekends off. We probably spend about 12-15 hours together a week (excluding sleeping) and it?s at very odd hours. We basically are trying to tie up all the loose ends we have going on before December so we can have more time together as a family once the peanut arrives. There is no way I can think of that we could do a 2 day a week for 4 weeks class. So I guess my question is- Will I die during labor if I don?t have an associate?s degree in birth?
I was also wondering does anyone knows of any reputable online classes that we could do on our own time? I have looked into a few (but not that hard because I am only 18 weeks) but I don?t know what I really need and what?s just fluff I don?t need to waste time/money on. Thanks for your help ladies!
Re: Do we need to take classes?
i think a lot of the different labor management methods have associated books. i'm very much a solo learner, so i'm doing a home study for my method of choice, and H is planning on reading "The Birth Partner".
we're tentatively planning on taking a one day 7-hr class at our hospital, but i'll be in school this fall and i'm not sure how that will factor into my schedule. we'll see.
you'll be fine without classes.
If you plan on doing a specific birthing method then you may benefit from classes.
You'll do fine. The birth class we took was helpful but definitely not necessary. I don't think my birth experience would have been much different without it.
You can find a lot of the same info online anyway...and I'd recommend YouTubing similar stuff re: breastfeeding, because our BFing class was super helpful.
We took some classes with our first and I would say for the most part they were helpful but really not necessary. They were all run through the hospital and were pretty cheap. so I figured we had nothing to lose.
I ended up having a c-section though, so the birthing class did turn out to be a waste of time!
This. I would suggest you take an online class together if you really don't have the time for a classroom class.
Yeah that is my other big concern. I have placenta priva and even though it is obviously way too early to call I might need a C-section. Plus my family is notorious for large babies/rough deliveries resulting in C-sections. My brothers and I were all C-sections (1 breech, 1 emergency-that was me, 1 too large and got stuck, 2 ?just too GD big!) My female cousins who have all had children already were all C-sections for various reasons. I would like to go natural if I can but my Dr. said with my family history there is a pretty good chance I am getting a C-section so there really is nothing I can learn to make that easier.
Mom+Dad+Josie+May 2015=2 under 2!!!!
We took a 5 week once a week class. I really enjoyed it but wouldn't say if absolutely necessary. Some of the pros were that it was a nice bonding experience for me and my husband, we met lots of other couples that I still stay in touch with, and the instructor of my class was a RN as well as a LC, so I met a valuable resource when I had questions on nursing after DS was born.
I went into labor so I did use the breathing and pain management techniques. I ended up with a c section, and honestly I still used the breathing techniques after my surgery to get through the pain I was in.
If you and your DH have crazy schedules, it might not be feasible to attend a class but I would definitely watch some videos when you guys have time later on
We took a class that was 2 evenings. I consider myself to "know" a lot and I felt like I was already pretty well educated and prepared. However, it was so nice learning the different stages of labor, ways your partner can help relief pain/ discomfort. How to really count and track your contractions. We found it was helpful and worth it. Our class was not that expensive and was taught by a Doula. I personally think they taught me to labor at home, not just rush to the hospital.
Everyone is different. They are not required.
Our hospital had take home DVD versions of the childbirth & Breasatfeeding classes. We took those home & watched them in like an hour.
Dr. Sears' book I thought had really good info on pain tolerance techniques for natural childbirth too.
My 2 December boys