?? For 2nd+ time moms... How helpful were your birthing classes?

CarriMat · April 2014

I am trying to decide which pre-birth classes to take. I'm just wondering how you would rate your experience taking these classes. I obviously don't know everything as a first time mom, but I have read a whole lot and feel somewhat prepared. I'm just wondering how beneficial it is to actually sit through the classes for labor and delivery, breast feeding etc. please let me know how helpful you think the classes were to you and your experience as a first time mom. Thanks!

amroke · April 2014

I thought the L&D class was helpful, but mostly for my husband! I think it have him a much greater understandin of what I'd be going through and what he could do to support me.

chillypenguin · April 2014

My classes were helpful because even though I was planning on getting an epidural, you never know, so it was helpful to do the breathing techniques. I think the most helpful part was learning about the hospital policies and how they do everything, it made me feel a lot more prepared. For example, they showed us that sometimes they have to hook a little monitor to the top of the baby's head while you are in labor to get more accurate monitoring, which they did with DD, so I felt much better about it since I had already seen it and held the little hook and knew it was NBD. But I am very Type A and want all the information I can get.

spacepotatoes · April 2014

There's a similar discussion happening on 3rd tri, you may find it helpful:

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12317372/how-much-do-childbirthing-lamaze-classes-help

My own thoughts are there, though I'm FTM.

The best part about the classes for me was that we actually got to practice pain management techniques with our partners so we could get a feel for what we liked/didn't like and get feedback from the nurse about whether or not we were doing it correctly. We also got to practice breastfeeding positions (with dolls), proper swaddling, etc. The hands-on aspect was really good, especially for DH.

Mr. & Mrs. Woodtick · April 2014

I thought the classes were really helpful. I didn't know much about babies though and I was really anxious.

yvanehtnioj · April 2014

Kimbus22 said:

amroke said:

I thought the L&D class was helpful, but mostly for my husband! I think it have him a much greater understandin of what I'd be going through and what he could do to support me.

Class was NOT a good idea for my H. He was watching the video and got as far as them explaining an epidural with a diagram before he passed out cold. I was yelling and slapping him in the face. He refused to go back after that...

Haha!!

Xath · April 2014

I thought the birthing class was informative and useful enough. I knew I was having a cesarean, so it wasn't a necessity, but it was still nice to have.

I thought the baby care class was especially useful for my H. He'd never really been around babies before, and it gave us practice changing diapers, bathing, and learning what to look for in sleep patterns and infant illness.

The breast feeding class was by far the most useful. It helped both of us learn effective feeding techniques. My hospital also offers an in-hospital version you can take in the L&D ward, and I took that one again this time, even though this is my 3rd kid, as a refresher. Since DS2 is in the NICU, I couldn't bring him to the class, but the LCs helped the other moms troubleshoot their specific concerns with their LOs during class.

Marcella05 · April 2014

FTM, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think the child birth class was very informative. Even though I could have read all of it at home, I mostly was happy to have my husband there to understand the reality of what's about to happen.

jenb_99 · April 2014

We watched childbirth and breastfeeding DVDs instead of going to classes. They didn't do jack for us. I ended up having a c-section and DS ended up in the NICU, which led to total breastfeeding failure. I was glad I didn't spend the extra time or money on hospital classes.

JKTTC1 · April 2014

We didn't take any classes! DH is a nurse and we have been around babies forever so everything was second nature! I also was learning to breast feed but spent the first week at the LC office for help after he was born but we were good!

dakota01 · April 2014

Kimbus22 said:

I just took a lamaze birthing class. It was okay but there wasn't anything that I couldn't have gotten from reading the book and taking the hospital tour.

Ditto

MrsT2008 · April 2014

Meh. Honestly, it was kind of a waste of my time (MH felt the same way). The hospital tour was good but I could have done that without the class. But I'm usually in the minority in feeling this way.

PrincessJess19 · April 2014

Never did them. Still delivered. Not doing them this time. But I think if I were going to BF, I may have done one on that.

MamaFantastic · April 2014

A14er here to read the erbear drama, but i figured i'd chime in too

as a FTM, i took the following:

breastfeeding: not very helpful for me, but a good class for my husband so he knew how to support me and what was normal as far as BFing went.

hypnobirthing: eh, it was only sort of helpful. i was a lazy student, so i didn't feel like i really used it as well as i could have. i did have a med-free delivery, though, so it wasn't a complete wash.

infant care: again, i knew most of the stuff already, but it was a SUPER helpful class for my husband.

this time around i didn't take any classes (well, we did a big sibling class for my 4 year old kiddo) and i didn't regret it. we definitely didn't need any additional education this time around.

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