Another open question for those who have done this before ...

[spritelyone]

Did you take childbirth classes? On one hand, I'm all about learning what will help me cope and help Craig be more prepared. On the other hand ... are they hokey? I can see a real opportunity for these classes to feel more silly than useful, depending on how the class is run

Comments

[spritelyone]

Well, that's one big vote in the yes column. :) I realized I had no information to draw on, either for or against, when it came to classes. And since I'm 5 1/2 months today (whee! :) ), that 12-week window is about ... now.

And it's a good point about the husbands. Craig has done little to no reading, although he has watched a few episodes of shows with me. He's great at supporting me in general, but it might be good to give him a more detailed idea of what to expect and specific things he can do to help when it gets difficult. I suspect I'll be about as helpful as any other woman in a great deal of pain, which is not very. *grin* Maybe the course is even more for him than for me.

[pleasantlyevil]

My ex-wife and I did not go through a mid-wife, but we took the one-day class given by the hospital at which our twins were born. Totally valuable, I think, in giving us a decent idea on what to expect. The nurse giving the training was also knowledgeable enough to tell us what to expect based on a twin delivery. Nothing happened during delivery too far out of the ordinary, but I understood everything that did happen and what the implications were. It didn't hurt that the staff at the hospital was very helpful and communicative, though the doctor was a bit of a dick when my ex wanted to try longer to deliver and he wanted to go to a c-section (which was absolutely necessary by that point). Knowing what I'd learned, I was able to help her make decisions when they needed to be made and she was too frantic, tired or exhausted.

[spritelyone]

OK, this sounds like the one-day childbirth class I found at the hospital. It might be good for Craig (and me) to get more exposure to possibilities on the medical side, and be able to help with decisions there, and we would hear it from the people we'll be dealing with and get a feel for the hospital. It definitely sounds like this class has value, too.

[spoondave]

My impression of the classes was that they were a very good opportunity for first-time parents to meet people in the same boat, compare notes, bond a little bit, see the hospital, tour the maternity unit, and demystify the environment and procedures. I think much of the stuff they taught Heather about how to better manage (insert late pregnancy or labor-related experience/sensation here) went out the window when the reality actually arrived. One of the other moms in our class delivered the same day as Heather, and (IIRC) they both seemed to agree that all the breathing exercises, etc. turned out to be pretty useless. The classes weren't a waste of time, but I don't think they did much to "prepare" us for childbirth, per se. I hope Heather posts her own perspective (which will obviously be more germane than mine).

[spritelyone]

Was this a Bradley class, or something else?

I'm not so much interested in meeting new people based on having this one thing in common, since I'm not so isolated that I don't have people who can share their experiences with me through this. We did take a quick tour of the hospital before I chose doctors, just to get a general feel for it. So, we've seen a room and the little nursery already. I guess I'm afraid that the hospital class might be 70% fluffy talk and maybe 30% real information - 98% of which I already know.

On the other hand, I'm afraid that the breathing exercises stuff (or other practice items) at the Bradley classes will just make me feel stupid, and self-conscious, and resent being there, and annoyed at having to do stuff like this in public for critique, blah, blah, blah. I'm uncomfortable committing to 12 weeks of classes and hoping it's a good idea. :/ Maybe there's a video ...

[heldincontempt]

It wasn't a Bradley class; it was more of a generic class, like Brett and Amy mention below. I don't know that the actual breathing exercises helped at all. I had a doula, but she wasn't particularly helpful -- but I think that was a function of our doula and not indicative of doulas as a whole. I was induced with Eleanor because of increasing blood pressure and did have an epidural, but I also had a relatively quick labor and delivery (fewer than four hours between the pitocin going in and Eleanor being born), so YMMV.

[dagnabit]

Bradley is the gold standard of natural childbirth. If you want an unmedicated birth, I can't think of anything you could do that would be more helpful.

If you're not that into the idea of an unmedicated delivery, you'll probably find it over long and cheesy.

I poo-pooed the Bradley classes when I was pregnant with Jonah for the same reasons you have- 12 weeks is a looooong time. I wish I had taken them, though. I did a whirlwind quicky class and it was useless.

[dagnabit]

And for what it's worth, the breathing stuff isn't really taught in a Bradley class. You're probably thinking of Lamaze with a scary mental picture of a women with her knees bent huffing and puffing away. :) Bradley is very much more like laying quietly. That's a gross oversimplification, but you know what I mean. :)

[spritelyone]

I like the idea of an unmedicated delivery a lot, and it's my soft goal. I'm just trying not to set my heart on it and possibly a) be extremely disappointed if I go a more medicated route, and b) make the wrong decision at some point because I am not reasoning in the best interest of either myself or the baby.

Oh, OK. That's good to know. I may have been confusing the two with the references on the webpage to breathing. *grin* Maybe Bradley is less hokey than I'm fearing. I have sent an email to a Quakertown group that does classes to find out what sort of schedule they have, so maybe they'll answer soon. With Youth Choir and Bell Choir taking Monday and Wednesday nights, we'll see what might be possible at least. It has to be local if it's that long of a commitment.

Do you think that the Bradley book would be a reasonable substitute for the class, or is the leadership and feedback of the class truly the key to its value?

[dagnabit]

The book should be okay, but make sure it's a recent edition. The earlier versions have been heavily revised.

Have you considered hiring a doula? If you're birthing unmedicated in a hospital they're so, so useful. I'd have given a lot to have had one with Jonah. I did hire one for Ruthie's birth but the birth center vibe is so different than a hospital that I wound up not needing the extra support. If I had a hospital birth now, I'd have one for sure.

[bbendick]

We took a childbirth class and found it extremely useful. It was, as mentioned, a good "bonding" type experience, although 9 years later I couldn't tell you a soul who was in there. It's also a good chance to ask questions, and to hear questions asked. For me it was comforting to hear other people with similar concerns. In fact the one dad book I always recommend is "The Expectant Father", because it says "Scared shitless? You should be! And me too!". More or less. :)

It wasn't a "childbirth" class specifically, like learning techniques or anything. It was more about the pregnancy, some about delivery, and some about dealing with the baby.

[spritelyone]

I'm so glad to have the fathers ringing in on this. Craig is definitely a little concerned about handling a newborn, so I want to make sure he gets some exposure to that or at least gets to ask some questions. I'll check out that book, too, and maybe I can talk him into reading it. :)