Childbirth Classes? No Thanks
Ahhhh, birthing class. Breathing exercises that made me feel like a (lightheaded) idiot, the uncomfortable chairs, the truly horrifying videos (“There is a BABY’S HEAD sticking out of that woman’s LADY PARTS!”) — let’s just say the fact I can skip them this time is yet another thing that makes the second pregnancy so much more pleasant than the first.
According to this article (citing another one in November’s Fit Pregnancy) many mothers-to-be are choosing to skip childbirth classes entirely. Media depictions of birth as dangerous and pregnant women’s busy schedules are somewhat to blame, according to experts cited in the article. So is a growing acceptance of pain relief such as epidurals.
Although my instructor was lovely, my childbirth class was essentially useless and not just because I had an emergency C-section. We talked more about the hospital amenities than about actaully having the baby. Not to mention I had this wackadoo German couple in my class who challenged the instructor with “But we don
Emergency C-Section here, although I did the whole labor through transition without drugs and so I feel qualified to tell Dr. Bradley his methods were whack. However, I did meet AWESOME parents through my class whom I still hang out with to this day. So I look at my class more like a sorority (pay some money, make some friends) than any kind of educational endeavor.
I loved my childbirth class and I’m not a “I loved my childbirth class!” kind of person. I really think that my class is one of the reasons I had such a good birthing experience. Three hours of hospital labor and ten minutes of pushing. Lot’s of breathing and zero drugs. I was totally informed about all the apparatus and what they would be using in the room and I was able to make important decisions that I know other people were not able to make.
OK, I’m glad I’m not the only one who skipped classes. We had limited time in our schedules, and getting an unruly, 85 lb. puppy trained seemed like a bigger issue. I ended up with an emergency c-section, anyway.
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YEah….I think for newbies to meet other newbies it is cute.
I appreciated the tour so I knew where to go and that was pretty much it.
I think these days with so many books and the internet and so on…..many women feel they are just as informed as they would be attending a class by a bored nurse.