Classes (childcare) During Pregnancy

ejz98ric02 · November 2014

Hey All!

My local hospital offers many classes for mothers and couples to take, pre and post birth. Some examples include breastfeeding, infant care/cpr, diapering, basic childcare 101 weekends, grooming, and even exercise classes for the moms. Most range in price from $30 per person to $70 per couple....and prenatal yoga is 8 classes for $100.

Some of my friends have said these are just money makers and when the time comes, I'll remember nothing.

Personally, I'm highly interested in the prenatal yoga and the couples retreat ($70 per couple).

What classes, if any, did you take? Were they helpful? Do you wish you saved your money or do you wish you were able to take ones that you didn't?

lindsayanne14 · November 2014

My DH and I took a "preparing for childbirth" class, it was a Friday evening and all day Saturday. It was helpful to hear about different birthing options, medication side effects, how to prepare for going to the hospital, etc... I'm glad we went. We also took an infant safety/CPR class and had a tour of the hospital. I thought about taking a breast feeding course but decided to use a lactation specialist if I needed one. Overall, I didn't feel the ones I took were a waste of time. Also, sometimes your insurance will cover certain classes so you may not have as much out of pocket expense as you think.

sagehens47 · November 2014

I'll be taking a childbirth class for sure, am thinking about breast feeding. As for the other stuff, I'll be using my in-town mom who is a child-education and early care specialist. It's free!

amandamarie2 · November 2014

FTM without experience, but we're planning to do a preparing for childbirth/baby class. I think the infant CPR would be a good one to take if you've never learned it because of how valuable that knowledge would be if anything ever came up.

miahbelle · November 2014

Honestly, it really depends on how familiar you are with child care, child birth and yoga. I would love to be able to afford a prenatal yoga and would take it if I could.
I didn't really need the child care classes, but my husband really needed it as he was never around children.
The child birth classes were also more useful to my DH than me, but I did enjoy them.
If you can't afford them, then you can order dvd's off of Netflix.

lexyraejay · November 2014

My hubby and I read a lot, so we didn't "need" to take classes, but we did take childbirth and breastfeeding classes. It was worthwhile to us, because it gave me reenforcement and confidence in those sleepless first weeks.

bowman958 · November 2014

We took Breastfeeding, Birthing, and I took infant CPR (H has to be certified for work so he skipped that one). I found the classes helpful as a form of preparation and/or transition. I did retain a lot of information and really appreciated the booklets that came with the classes.

MagalinaH · November 2014

Luckily, our hospital offers all their childbirth/prenatal classes for free. We're doing a 5 week prenatal class together that focused on labor and delivery. Another dad recommended taking daddy bootcamp where brand new dad's meet with expectant dad's and give them the lowdown on what it's really like the first few weeks-month. I also plan on taking a breastfeeding class. If they had cost money, we probably would just do the 5 week prenatal class.

ejz98ric02 · November 2014

Thanks for all of the replies, ladies!

CivilMommy · November 2014

I took a birth education class (not a specific coping method...but more of a this is what happens, these are the things you will see in the hospital, these are the basics of nursing and infant care) and I also took a CPR class.

I highly suggest taking a CPR class.

Since I am going to try for a med free birth this time (no longer high risk - so I get to have spontaneous labor instead of induction this time) I will be taking some sort of med-free oriented class. I haven't decided on a specific method yet and may just take a general course on coping strategies and not a "name brand" class.

Really though - if you do nothing else - take the hospital tour and a CPR class. You can survive without the rest of them - but CPR is so important to know when every second counts. You learn about rescue breathing and choking maneuvers. I have used the choking maneuvers on my infant and toddler before. I am glad I knew what to do to help them safely.

PinkDahLia44 · November 2014

We took a childbirth and labor class, and a newborn basic care class, and of course CPR and first aid. I really liked my childbirth and labor class. I would absolutely sign up for prenatal yoga for that price and the couples retreat sounds like fun too. Even if the information doesn't end up being something you value, I feel like DH and I really used these classes to bond and discuss what we were excited about and what our fears were.

kread8 · November 2014

We took a childbirth class, newborn care class and a breastfeeding class. I ended up with a c section so the childbirth class didn't really help, but I would still recommend taking all of them. ESPECIALLY the newborn care class. That class made my husband feel a lot more prepared (even though you're never really prepared) and less 'deer in the headlights'. The class also included learning infat CPR, which IMO, is a must for new parents to take before baby gets here.

cwiceangel · November 2014

I actually talked to my dr about the ones that are offered at our hospital. He basically was like you can take whatever you want but basically was like I think they're a waste of money. (Ours doesn't offer cpr). He said a lot of the Lamaze type classes are out of date and he was like it'll come naturally to you, women have been doing that since the beginning of time. And the other one he was like you've been around babies, you've taken care of them... Your parents have taught you. The basic parenting class you should already know. Ie) changing a diaper. But my husband wants to take the daddy boot camp. I think just for shits and giggles and it's free. Only free one our hospital offers. And I'm thinking about the breast feeding one because the whole process really freaks me out.

RIngReady · November 2014

With our first we took a 7 week childbirth class, as well as Happiest Baby on the Block class. Yes we could have done without childbirth class, but it gave DH and I an opportunity to actually stop for 2 hours a week with no other distractions and think and talk about baby together. I also found it helpful for getting DH and I on the same page regarding many things about baby we never would have discussed without the class i.e.: what my expectations were of him during labor, what he was afraid of ect. Our class was actually instructed by an old L&D nurse who was also able to give us some pointers on what to ask for when going into the hospital (make sure to ask for a room with a tub, not all of ours have one apparently)

My favorite thing though was having the chance to meet other couples who were going to have a baby about the same time. We made some great friends in class and they have become the people we now do playdates with regularly and who have become a great group of support for each other.

We loved Happiest Baby on the Block and recommend that class to all our friends. There is also a video and a book though if it isn't.

be888 · November 2014

We took the Lamaze classes the hospital offered, and the teacher was awesome. Lamaze have really updated their teachings. It was eye opening for my husband especially. I was dealing with a breech baby at the time, and the teacher gave me all sorts of exercises to do to try to get the baby to turn.

We also took a Breastfeeding class, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Megispreg · November 2014

I only took infant CPR, and I would highly recommend that. I never felt like I needed a childbirth class.

topaz7777 · November 2014

I already knew child/infant CPR but I absolutely recommend it to all mothers! 6 minutes is an eternity when your kid is choking on something and you don't know what to do other than wait for an ambulance.

I took the infant care class and the breastfeeding class. Both very helpful.

dancinbaby123 · November 2014

Great question and really helpful responses! I was just thinking about this recently and plan to ask my OB for recommendations on what classes to take at my next appointment. Good to know what some of the options are.

GingerDS02 · November 2014

We took a childbirth class, a breastfeeding class and a hospital tour. DH had signed up for a Daddy Bootcamp class that lots of first time dads we know had taken and found very helpful. Unfortunately it was canceled but maybe your hospital offers something like that.

I had totally dreaded it but the breastfeeding class was absolutely priceless. Most of the spouses attended with their wives and I have to say, my DH was so helpful in reminding me some of the tips and tricks we'd learned in that class when we were having latch/sleepy baby issues at the beginning.

We also ended up taking infant CPR while DS was in the NICU (it was required for discharge).

Ashgal · November 2014

I didn't take a labor and delivery class because I had unexpectedly given birth at 22 weeks with my first pregnancy, so I felt like I knew what I was going into with my first son's birth. However DH and I did take an infant care class which lasted about 3-4 hours and included infant CPR. I felt like it was very beneficial.

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Classes (childcare) During Pregnancy

Re: Classes (childcare) During Pregnancy

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DD 7/2010, DS 3/2012, #3 due 4/24/2015

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