Birthing Class or No Birthing Class?

Jolene when my sister was pregnant with her first she went to a birthing class. it was good for her it showed her ways to get past the pain of the contractions. well to deal with them a little better. it also helped her with proper breathing. she found it interesting. although some of it is common sence. also her first child was 6 years ago,some things change. good luck

Thanks sweetie. Yeah we will probably do it, but im very good with pain and dealing with it in my own way, but I think it will be good prep for hubby thats for sure :)

Well, for my first pregnancy,Dh and I took the class.I think it is more helpful for Dh but, in some ways also good for the soon to be mama.Its an experience we shared together and at the end of it all, we received a certificate.I put it in Natalia's baby memories/scrapbook.

Good post Jolene,

I too have been trying to decide between classes and not going to classes. In a way I want to go because I think it would be something nice for both me and my hubby to do together, but at the same time I almost wonder if reading a book would be better! My sister who is a few years older went through the birthing/childcare class and she said it was a compelete waste of time. She said it was all common sense stuff- and was definitely geared to the 15-18 year olds in the class. She said there was 5 or 6 young girls and their moms/boyfriends, her and one other couple that was in their 30's. This is probably going to sound really dumb- but in a way I don't want to go because I feel like me and hubby are going to be "old parents" ha ha... can you believe that- OLD! I am 25 and hubby is 28! I know that is not old- but comparing to MANY of the girls pregnant- I AM old!

True.I basically did know what they were teaching already.I think that receiving a certificate is what motivated me to take the class.LOL.

Lisa-You are not old parents!You crack me up..LOL

Well here is my take on this......

If you are having an epi and therefore really don't have to manage pain and the contractions then I really don't see much of a point. the nurse sat there and coached me the whole time. She told me what to do and that is what we did during the pushing. my docs advice was take it if you want. It can't hurt, but if you don't the nurses are there for you and you may forget everything in the heat of the moment any way. My husband and I are both in science and knew what actually happens during birth so I really didn't think that would be a great benefit for him either. But once again each to their own and you need to do what is best for you and your dh. We did take a baby basics class which teaches diapering, feeding, bathing, baby proofing and so on. It was good and it gave some great literature. So that may be an option too.

Jolene.......weirdly it comes naturally. Your body just kind of "knows" what to do. You just assist! :) But that being said I also had a very normal, text book birth. So I can't speak for anything else. Take care and as always hugs!

Jolene - I agree with Fran- we took it, waste of $ in my oppinion

HOWEVER- our hospital offered a breastfeeding class, we did take that, worth every penny (for DH too) it tells them how they can be of help with a nursing mom

and the baby basics class was also good :)

PLUS I had a section so didn't even need the birthing class :)

Hubby and I didn't take a class with my daughter and didn't this time my thinking was my body knows what it is doing and I just have to let my body do it, plus I didn't want to put the money out to attend a class...but I think it really depends on you...

My hospital offered us a free class and it was a combination of baby basics as well.I did have a c-section as well,so if I had to pay for the class than it would have been a waste of time.

If you're a reader..like if you've read all the pregnancy books and watched a little Discovery channel..don't waste your time. It was a good class and all..but a waste of my wkend b/c I knew it all already.

Thanks ladies and I agree. I watch the TLC stuff and Discovery Health stuff a lot, and I really think I know what to expect. I just feel its going to be a waste of 60dollars and a waste of a weekend. I think im just not going to do it. I feel like I know I will be able to handle myself in that moment.

Lisa you arent old...haha, im 23 and hubby is 27 but I know what you are talking about feeling like the older people in the group.

I just really feel like its all going to be so common sense to me, plus I love the medical field so much and love watching births on TV that I feel I will be prepared, and yep DEF having an EPI, so again feel its pointless for us.

Thanks so much :)

Jolene I think you should do it if not for you for your DH. Even though I watch the birthing stories and read and stuff like that I found my class helpful and Scott found it even more so. Really, what do you have to lose? I think you should do it!

took it with my 1st and didnt with my 2nd. They cant prepare you for the pain or how you may deal with it. I wouldnt take it again if i got preggo. I used nothing from the class at all but it was good for my DH to go and see what was up. Good for him to know what to expect and good and bad things to do.

Really there is no way anyone can prepare you for labor or be able to tell you how you can ease the feelings, you will do what feels good at the time with each contraction.

I brought things that were soothing to me - brought my hair brush so someone could brush my hair, brought my fav candle to smell (un lit) and some other things that i have used to calm myself before. Oh, and suckers, they let you have them while you are in labor but not hard candy w/no stick. The suckers were a good distration :)

Thanks im still soo undecided. Im going to talk to hubby and let him make the final decision because I feel like its more for him and not me. I really do feel like I will be able to handle what happens honestly. I feel there is no preparation for childbirth, but maybe going in not knowing to much and dealing with pain the best way I can at those moments will help me more. Again I will let my hubby make the final decision. Thanks girls :)

Oh and a few weeks back I highlighted the labor and delivery section in What to Expect when you are expecting and told him he needs to read this section for sure. So maybe that will help him too...hehe. I just feel as if it will be so much more common sense, of just him being there for me, holding my hand doing whatever I need, and thats about it.

OMG, just thought of this..make sure you tell dh its a two down one back process. That is the only thing my dh forgot about and he was freaked out that the baby would come down so far during a contraction..then slip back up a little. He thought something was wrong. LMAO

Absolutely birthing class. I had no desire to take one, I thought everything would come to me, I thought I knew everything, and I had every intention of taking pain meds. With all of that being said, I went begrudgingly and found it invaluable.

It prepares you in ways you don't even know are possible, because you don't know what you don't know. And it does do great things for the males who could get the crap scared out of them if they go into this thing blind...the number of men who think their babies are stillborn because the baby is lifeless and doesn't breathe until the umbilical cord hits the air...they'd all be much happier had they taken the class.

It teaches you ways to speed up the birth, the right way to push, what questions to ask your nurse, what to look for when/if your water breaks, what to log during those first few hours of labor, how to deal with the pain (even if you're taking drugs, and even if you think you can do it on your own, why not get additional techniques)...just invaluable stuff.

Finally, thank God I had a perfect birth, but the class teaches you what to do in the event you don't. What your options are, what certain things mean, what you might see. It prepares you so you aren't scared.

So, there's my vote.

Good point, thanks so much :)

Its so hard to decide but that is a VERY good point in everything you said!

Thanks a million!

Ok I have opted after talking to so many of my friends that did them, and didnt do them, not to take the class. I feel like with knowing im going natural with epi, that I have no control over the situation at hand, I will be doing whatever they tell me to do. I will find my center of peace during contractions. My husband and I are both calm type people and in situations good or bad we are calm till we know the outcome. If something goes wrong there is nothing we can do about it, and no preparation for that.

I think we will do fine, but I am looking at classes online to watch videos and what not, so when I find good ones im making hubby watch them as well.

I dont feel I will be scared going into lbor, nervous but not scared, im more excited then anything.

Anyways thats our decision and I just didnt want to walk out of that class thinking it was a waste of money and a waste of one of the only free weekends we have left before he gets here, as we are booked pretty solid from here on out. Plus that was the only weekend my mother in law could do the shower she is throwing for me, from her church friends and all her sisters. So I think we will do the shower then, and then I will have my second shower on October 10th with my big group of friends.

Thanks for all the advice!

Here is 1 site I found so far with childbirth classes.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/childbirtheduc/a/cbeclass.htm

Also with doing these classes im copy and pasting the good stuff, and im printing it for hubby and he will be reading over all of it. Then we are going to watch a birth online together.

This is the best decision for us with the time frame we are looking at and having so much going on.

Thanks :)