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February 2016 Moms
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Birthing Class

FLsquirrel80FLsquirrel80 member
in February 2016 Moms
How important is it to take a birthing class at the hospital?  The hospital where I plan on giving birth offers a 3 hour class that includes a bunch of online classes prior to the live class.  The whole thing costs $100.  I have found several free online classes; one being through babycenter.com.  Would that do for a birth class or should I suck it up and pay the $100 and take the live class?  
Me - 35   Hubby - 38 
Married 10/2007 
Baby girl - 2/6/16 




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Re: Birthing Class

  • oxsarah7oxoxsarah7ox member
    I am a FTM but I plan on taking the class for $100 at my hospital. It's birthing and breastfeeding. I figure it's worth my time to see what people in my hospital will be working like and prepare me for how they do things there.
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  • MississippiCatfishMississippiCatfish member
    I would recommend doing the tour to familiarize yourself with the hospital, for sure. This should be free. I don't see any problem with taking a free online course vs what the hospital offers. Just my two cents: I didn't feel like I learned anything in my 8 hour hospital class (birth plus newborn care), but I liked the security in knowing I wasn't missing out on a bunch of info I needed to know. If you can get that online for free, why not?
    *E 10/2012, H 7/2014, F 2/2016*
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  • BBEA2006BBEA2006 member
    I think the tour is nice but with the vastness of online information, I would not do the classes.  I think it also depends on if you are going with a medicated vs. non-medicated birth plan.  Sometimes there are breathing techniques that the classes go through but again, there is a ton of free online information.  

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  • MississippiCatfishMississippiCatfish member
    BBEA2006 said:

    I think the tour is nice but with the vastness of online information, I would not do the classes.  I think it also depends on if you are going with a medicated vs. non-medicated birth plan.  Sometimes there are breathing techniques that the classes go through but again, there is a ton of free online information.  

    I totally agree. If you are looking for an unmedicated birth, I would HIGHLY recommend taking a class specifically for that!! I owe my unmedicated birth (2nd baby) completely to the hypnobabies home study. My epidural didn't work with my first, and the "breathing techniques" that I learned in 15 minutes of the hospital class did nothing for me.
    *E 10/2012, H 7/2014, F 2/2016*
    Pregnancy Ticker

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  • DrillSergeantCatDrillSergeantCat member
    MississippiCatfish said:
    I totally agree. If you are looking for an unmedicated birth, I would HIGHLY recommend taking a class specifically for that!! I owe my unmedicated birth (2nd baby) completely to the hypnobabies home study. My epidural didn't work with my first, and the "breathing techniques" that I learned in 15 minutes of the hospital class did nothing for me.
    Hee hee hee hah hah hah didn't work for you??? Those "breathing techniques" are a joke. 

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  • MississippiCatfishMississippiCatfish member
    DrillSergeantCat said:
    MississippiCatfish said:
    I totally agree. If you are looking for an unmedicated birth, I would HIGHLY recommend taking a class specifically for that!! I owe my unmedicated birth (2nd baby) completely to the hypnobabies home study. My epidural didn't work with my first, and the "breathing techniques" that I learned in 15 minutes of the hospital class did nothing for me.
    Hee hee hee hah hah hah didn't work for you??? Those "breathing techniques" are a joke. 

    It's kind of unfortunate that they even "teach" that, because it was deceiving to me as a first time mom!  I feel like they should be saying, "this might help you in the early stages of labor/with other pain relief methods, but it's unusual that this 20 minute segment will actually help you as much as you would be looking for during an unmedicated birth."   I probably still wouldn't have taken another class because I was all, "I'll go with the flow. Get an epidural if I need it." But still.
    *E 10/2012, H 7/2014, F 2/2016*
    Pregnancy Ticker

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  • FLsquirrel80FLsquirrel80 member
    Thank you all for your comments/ recommendations!   I am all about the pain meds because i'm a wimp when it comes to pain.   
    Me - 35   Hubby - 38 
    Married 10/2007 
    Baby girl - 2/6/16 




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  • cMichelle0423cMichelle0423 member
    I'm pregnant with my third and never took any classes. BUT, I am planning on taking one this time, because I'll be having my first med free experience at a birth center. I've always wanted a med free birth, but never prepared for it. So I always gave into getting an epidural (which never worked for me anyway). The class I'm taking will be taught by a couple local doulas, which target the class towards med free labor as well as helping dads prepare to be awesome coaches.
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  • robinj716robinj716 member
    Check with your health insurance company- I had no idea, but I just found out that my health insurance will reimburse me $65 for a class. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield. After the many times I've talked to them about pre natal care and coverage, nobody ever mentioned it, but I finally got a nice rep who mentioned it to me.
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