Childbirth classes

[minionkeeper]

I took classes with my first and they didn't really tell me much more than what I'd already read. I was wanting to do it for this one but only for fiance to have a good idea but our schedules don't give us time.

So I would say as long as you do some reading up in your free time you'll be fine.

[tarheelmom]

You may want to ask the people running the class if they know of any weekend classes. Our hospital's regular classes were only scheduled once a month and they wouldn't let you sign up until you were at least 32 weeks :/

I wasn't comfortable with the 35-38 week time frame and they recommended a weekend class (I think it was 6 hours each day, sat and sun) that I could take at 33 weeks. It was someone connected with the same hospital and highly recommended.

Honestly, it didn't help a great deal other than make me feel better that I wasn't missing anything major in preparing for birth. I had already done a lot of reading and it was more for peace of mind than anything else.

[yummeecookee]

I thought they were pretty good as far as learning exactly what happens. You can read all the books and websites you want but its nice to have an actual human who can explain things to you, so I liked that aspect of it. The pain mangement techniques and breathing exercises pretty much went out the window when it was time for labor, so I think nbd if you miss that stuff.
Talk to your instructor bc she may be able to give you a brief summary and provide any handouts of what will go on in the last class in case you dont make it.

[lormor]

How about joining the current class and then catching up the few you missed in the next class? That way you'll finish in plenty of time. That's what we did.

[jumpingpuddles]

I didn't find mine that educational. I learned more from online research, reading, and drilling my friends who had already been through it.

[silverspoon]

At first I didn't care to take them and now I'm interested. I don't know about six classes. That seems excessive. But what do I know, I've never done this before. I looked at the hospital website and it seems like their classes were all one day or night.

[tngrl3]

i had planned on taking several classes with DS but since I was on bed rest at 32 weeks and had a c section at 34 weeks, I never made it to any. I had read some books on breast feeding which were really helpful. Since I didn't go through labor I felt okay not having classes. I'm still undecided about taking any this time.

[onyx]

I didn't do any with DS because I was on moderate bed rest at 33 weeks. I honestly don't feel like I missed out on anything. Doing my own research prepared me plenty. Also, once you are actually in labor the nurses coach you and give you plenty of information anyways. Most hospitals have a lactation consultant as well if you need help BF-ing.
I've never heard someone IRL say they thought they were worth the time or money. I guess like PP mentioned it could be the quality of the class, though. The only thing I would say is make sure you do a tour of you L&D and maternity ward. It's nice to know where to go.

[Laverne]

I liked it because I like visual aids also mine was taught by l&d nurses so they gave a lot if insider tips, also they were able to explain the practices at my hospital, which helps if you want to simplify/tailor your birth-plan. One warning the videos can be tedious and they actually made DH more worried about the whole process..

[obie1680]

I never took any classes with DS. They offered 2 classes for one week after work or one all day Saturday class. Well MH & I work almost every Saturday, and the classes offered during the week started too early for us to get to with work. Plus we had to pay like 200.00 bucks for them so we opted not to. I read up on it a lot talked to many of my family & friends who delivered at my hospital. The nurses were great at my hospital so I was fine with my birthing experience with their help.

[ugotstarbucked]

My hospital tour was incredibly helpful, I'd highly recommend at least doing that. My hospital does birthing classes that are a bit more interactive than what PP mentioned - they include more practice and techniques to help with a med free labor and what to do while Laboring at home. But everyone's experience is different. I think the classes are important to help DH know what to do and what is normal since he hasn't really done any reading.

Are you planning on having a doula? Their pre-labor meeting with you might be more worthwhile than a class in your case if you are going that route.

[obie1680]

Jun 28, 2015 18:09:14 GMT -5 @buttmonkey said:

Jun 28, 2015 8:49:07 GMT -5 obie1680 said:

I never took any classes with DS. They offered 2 classes for one week after work or one all day Saturday class. Well MH & I work almost every Saturday, and the classes offered during the week started too early for us to get to with work. Plus we had to pay like 200.00 bucks for them so we opted not to. I read up on it a lot talked to many of my family & friends who delivered at my hospital. The nurses were great at my hospital so I was fine with my birthing experience with their help.

This will be us. There is a four hour Saturday class for $200. We are not going to do it most likely, but we will do our tour and I'll take the free breastfeeding class. I've also heard they're not always necessary.

They could be beneficial from what I have heard. My hospital is known for its maternity ward, so LC's there were very helpful also. I lucky that I get to go back to that same place for this LO.

[anonymouseliza]

Eh. A lot of what they teach is stuff you probably already know. If you don't, read up on the mechanics and stages of labor, which you can easily do from home. A tour is an excellent idea - our hospital tour was nearly 2 hours long - super detailed, went all over everything from parking to triage to l/d rooms (and when you might be moved from one to the other), surgical areas, visitor policies, l/d policies, what to bring, what to leave, their standardized birth plan, the post-partum rooms, the menus, everything. We felt a lot more secure and comfortable after that, knowing where we were supposed to go and what we could expect.

[risscaboobs]

We plan on doing the birthing class, but again - I'm mostly doing it for MH's benefit, so he knows more of what to expect. We also can't sign up until my next appointment. I'll be two days shy of 30 weeks. We're also going to take an infant CPR course. That one I am excited about because what I know from that is from 9th grade health class haha. I was CPR certified when I was in college, but not for infants.

[kaeguri]

The info itself was stuff I already know, but DH learned a lot (since he won't read the books I have). They also gave specific info just for the labor coaches/partners as to their role and how they can help the mom. I just liked how they went over all my questions regarding hospital policy and normal procedures for a lot of things I had questions about (rooming in, skin to skin, c-section procedures, etc.). And a tour.

All in all, I felt like it was worth it and now it seems more real.

[Deleted]

We opted for the take home DVD option from our hospital. We checked out the childbirth & the breastfeeding DVD for $25. Perhaps your local library has them?

Understanding Birth 2nd Edition: A Comprehensive Guide
Understanding Breastfeeding: Your Guide to a Healthy Start

Both are from injoyvideos.com/ & it appears they have other titles out there that may be helpful to some. I'd check your local library for resources, but at the same time, these did not have more info than the books I had either. Videos were easier for me to sit & watch though.

[brettanomyces]

I registered for the online classes that are available through the government website. So far I haven't learned anything I didn't already know, but I've only gone through the first few lessons.

I watched a bunch of you tube videos on breastfeeding. Some were actually very helpful.

I'll definitely register for a hospital tour.

I'm not inclined to pay for classes.

[lormor]

Also, friends. Most of the other people in my class were just awful, but we are still very good friends with one family we met there, three years later.

Also, I've got a friend who still has reunions with their class, five years later, because they all got on so well, and have children the same age.

[silverspoon]

I decided to check the hospital website again. Apparently you have to sign up by 20 weeks. That seems a little early, maybe not. I'm back to thinking we will just go with the hospital tour. I do want to take a breastfeeding class, but we will see.

[Sparkly]

I personally found my hospital birthing class really beneficial, mostly just for practical reasons. The tour, the hours and where you can enter after hours, knowing exactly how to get to the maternity floor/wing (it's slightly complicated at our hospital), how and when to preregister online, and their normal procedures and protocol (so that I could specify in my birth plan if I wanted anything different).

It was all stuff I *probably* could have asked about or called and gotten the info, but having it all in one place, as well as some of the stuff about labor and birth... I did really appreciate it as a FTM. We were reimbursed by insurance, so to me it was worth my time since it was essentially free. I won't be doing it again, but I always recommend it to FTMs, especially if you're very type A like me.

[kelle017]

We didn't take any childbirth classes and I don't think I missed out on anything.

We did a hospital tour and a infant first aid/cpr (non certification) and that was good for us.