From the article: Childbirth Class Options - Lamaze, Bradley, ICEA, CAPPA and more...
Childbirth classes can offer women and their families so much. But some women seem really down on their childbirth classes. My take is that they didn't have the right class or a good class. So tell me, what does a good childbirth class look like? What do you learn? What is the class environment like? How many students? What kind of resources? Share Your Ideas
Childbirth Class
- I have taken an in-person childbirth class for my first baby and it had the same information as this 6 week online class. The one thing I did really like that I am sad to miss out on this time is actually seeing some of the breathing and massages done in person. It is nice to see a demonstration. We also got to watch a few videos of actual births. Being pregnant, it is important to know whats going on with your body, whats going to happen to your body, the different problems that might happen and what will be done if it does, and how things will be after the baby is born. As a first time mother it is scary, and an informative class is great reasurance for the end of pregnancy fears. For second or third time mothers, like myself, it is nice to brush up on the same material so at the hospital your not thinking "how exactly does diallation works again?" I was very excited to find a free class online that had all the information I wanted to remember. Thank you.
- —Guest Mammaof2plus1
very helpful
- i am on modified bedrest. My hospital is 45min away because I am high-risk and the hospital in my hometown cannot handle that. I found out today that I will have to start going to the doctor 2x's a week every week until the baby comes for bp monitoring. I wanted to take a childbirth class at the hospital but that would mean adding 2 additional trips, plus the cost of the class is $150. With me not working, this is just not doable, I am so very happy to have found this online class so that I can still be prepared!
- —shanbell10
Stuck in Bed
- I am stuck in the hospital on bedrest and cannot get up to go to a class. This is a very nice alternative because it is important to me to take this. This is my first child, and I want to know what to expect.
- —kpoland10
Useful Information
- I was going to take a class at the hospital I will be delivering at, but it was $115! Being on partial bedrest and unable to work things have been tight. I decided to check other options and boy am I glad I did. The free online classes have given me more useful information pertaining to my needs versus what the hospital's classes have given me.
- —realisticglam
clothespin analogy
- What is the clothespin analogy referred to by one of the readers- Guest Erin? My interest is peeked. GUIDE COMMENT: When you open and close a clothes pin over and over it's a good example of a contraction by how your muscles feel.
- —Guest barb
Lol!
- Yes.... some classes are crazy. I am 35 year old single mother. I went to one class that was run by a church and everyone else was a married couple under 20. They would not allow me to go out of the class to eat, even though I had just rushed in from work and was in my last trimester. It wasn't geared for me. One class was at the hospital and was once again all young couples. It was informative, so I got something out of it. The next class was held by a doula and I brought my doula with me. The couples in the class were closer to my age. It was informative, relaxing, comfortable, and fun. It depends on the teacher, the other people in the class, and what they teach. If you are having twins, a twins class would be more suitable for you. 3 years later, my cousin still has great contacts from the pre-natal twins group she was in....
- —Guest happy mamma
Information
- I believe a good child birth class is where you can get most of the information you might need for your own childbirth and then personalize them by taking each pregnancy information and to be able to give an advice according to it. To have someone to take the time and answer your questions when you have any "which I am sure there is some."
- —MsEmma24
Clothespin!
- What a great analogy with the clothes pin. I have a much better idea of what I'm heading for now!
- —Guest erin
Include all facts
- The instructor must tell all the facts about a subject, not leave out facts because someone else (a hospital, for example) does not approve of all of them. I believe that it is wrong anyway to prevent someone from saying a fact, and I think any class like that is a bad class.
- —Guest anonymous
A Great Instructor
- Key to me would be a great instructor with good credentials, plenty of experience and excellent references...most likely independent of a hospital where they may be limited to what the hospital wants to allow and sometimes the focus can be on teaching patients to be compliant instead of advocates for themselves. It is one of those things where often you get what you pay for...
- —hostdiane
the doctor said...
- I was told that a class was not necessary wish I would have had a class.
- —Guest me
Organized Lessons
- Ours included several themes-nutrition, the birth process (phases) and pain management techniques. We practiced all the positions, being timed and critiqued. We had an honest, experienced teacher and couples who asked great questions.
- —Guest Beccabee
What a good class is not
- It's easier for me to say what it isn't. For instance, it isn't just one 2-hour meeting. That's what my class was, one meeting for 2 hours, where we didn't learn much of anything, let alone see the birthing rooms. I still have no idea what the hospital position is on birth positions or episiotomies or circumcision.
- —Guest guest
Out of the Hospital
- To me, a good childbirth class is independent and gives unbiased information. I didn't want to learn just about hospital policies but also about all of options. I need info on pain management (both medical and natural), stages of labor, breastfeeding information and practitioner/support team. I liked having a few other couples in the class with whom I could share my experiences.
- —maelli3
The Teacher
- We've had two different classes and the one class was awesome and we learned so much, the other class was awful. Both classes had about the same number of couples (10 ish) but the teacher was really inviting and taught well and listened to what we wanted to learn. The other teacher knew her stuff and just told us what she wanted to say because it was on her paper. BORING!
- —Guest Married2MyMan
