The incredibly true adventures of two mommies in Georgia who are trying to add more kids to the mix.
Friday, August 03, 2007
CURIOUS...
Of those of you who have given birth, how many of you attended childbirth classes? How long before your due date did you take the classes and what did you think?
8 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I didn't attend. I've never liked to sit in a class of any kind and doing so while 8 or 9 months pregnant sounded like h*ll on earth. Plus the only one I knew of around here was for a few hours one day. I didn't think that I could learn anything more in that short time than I had already. I think it helps some people feel prepared and it might be a good place to meet some new friends. Labor turned out to be both easier and harder than I expected. I think I'll stop babbling now. Good luck either way.
Lois was on bed rest, so we didn't attend any classes. Based on her anxiety of giving birth, it was probably the best thing anyway. She just went into labor and listened to the doctor 100% and it worked fine.
We went and it was a waste of time! It all comes natural...most women have that natural Mom in them and it takes over. If you are going to breastfeed I would say take one of those classes b/c it was helpful. Just give up by teething time....I will never do that again!
I have not given birth however, if you find you have questions, a class may be beneficial. Or...you could check out a local doula (perhaps one in training -- they're free!) who would also be a wonderful resource for information. Most doulas have a lot of books, materials, and local community contacts that would be helpful. I would recommend at the very least doing a hospital tour so that you can learn your way around before R goes into labor. Anyways -- sorry to ramble...if you'd like more information on doulas you can check out www.dona.org to see what's in your local area.
I didn't go to any of the chldbirth classes - they were like 15 hours which I thought was excessive. There are lots of good books out there, I preferred to just read up and then ask my doctor specific questions (e.g. episotomy). I did take a breastfeeding class though and that was definitely worth the time,
I ended up having a c-section after 22 hours of induced labor so the best advice is to not get too set on a particular birth plan.
Joe and I were going to sign up for childbirth classes, but we waited too long and couldn't sign up by the time we decided to. It all worked out well without them for us though. I read a ton of those "what to expect" books through my whole pregnancy so I had a pretty good idea what to expect. The classes may come in handy if you are planning on having natural childbirth with no drugs. I personally had the epidural before any real unbearable pain kicked in, and my doctor and nurses walked me through what I needed to do when Ashlynn was ready to come into the world. :o)
We went and it was boring and not useful. It wasn't until many years later and after i had both of my 10lb babies that i really learned and understood the breathing and the positive impact it can have in many situations, including childbirth and this is when I started yoga. So i would suggest reading or attending a prenatal yoga and/or meditation class to learn the breathing to help your body and mind during labour. I will end with a quote from my first labour nurse-a cool lady from Jamacia-I wasn't getting the breathing thing and so she said, 'Girl, when you breathe in, stick your tummy out, big as a balloon and when you exhale, flat as a pancake:) good luck Lo
8 comments:
I didn't attend. I've never liked to sit in a class of any kind and doing so while 8 or 9 months pregnant sounded like h*ll on earth. Plus the only one I knew of around here was for a few hours one day. I didn't think that I could learn anything more in that short time than I had already. I think it helps some people feel prepared and it might be a good place to meet some new friends. Labor turned out to be both easier and harder than I expected. I think I'll stop babbling now. Good luck either way.
Lois was on bed rest, so we didn't attend any classes. Based on her anxiety of giving birth, it was probably the best thing anyway. She just went into labor and listened to the doctor 100% and it worked fine.
We went and it was a waste of time! It all comes natural...most women have that natural Mom in them and it takes over. If you are going to breastfeed I would say take one of those classes b/c it was helpful. Just give up by teething time....I will never do that again!
I have not given birth however, if you find you have questions, a class may be beneficial. Or...you could check out a local doula (perhaps one in training -- they're free!) who would also be a wonderful resource for information. Most doulas have a lot of books, materials, and local community contacts that would be helpful. I would recommend at the very least doing a hospital tour so that you can learn your way around before R goes into labor. Anyways -- sorry to ramble...if you'd like more information on doulas you can check out www.dona.org to see what's in your local area.
I didn't go to any of the chldbirth classes - they were like 15 hours which I thought was excessive. There are lots of good books out there, I preferred to just read up and then ask my doctor specific questions (e.g. episotomy). I did take a breastfeeding class though and that was definitely worth the time,
I ended up having a c-section after 22 hours of induced labor so the best advice is to not get too set on a particular birth plan.
Joe and I were going to sign up for childbirth classes, but we waited too long and couldn't sign up by the time we decided to. It all worked out well without them for us though. I read a ton of those "what to expect" books through my whole pregnancy so I had a pretty good idea what to expect. The classes may come in handy if you are planning on having natural childbirth with no drugs. I personally had the epidural before any real unbearable pain kicked in, and my doctor and nurses walked me through what I needed to do when Ashlynn was ready to come into the world. :o)
We didn't attend any. It wasn't my thing, buty I watched lots of A Baby Story and that was helpful to me.
We went and it was boring and not useful. It wasn't until many years later and after i had both of my 10lb babies that i really learned and understood the breathing and the positive impact it can have in many situations, including childbirth and this is when I started yoga. So i would suggest reading or attending a prenatal yoga and/or meditation class to learn the breathing to help your body and mind during labour. I will end with a quote from my first labour nurse-a cool lady from Jamacia-I wasn't getting the breathing thing and so she said, 'Girl, when you breathe in, stick your tummy out, big as a balloon and when you exhale, flat as a pancake:)
good luck
Lo
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