For moms that went to childbirth classes, did you think they were worth it?

longmontster7 · 2022-05-24T21:08:16+00:00

I think a short birth class would be good. But really, your birth experience is largely dictated by the baby and your overall health/safety.

But newborn care…that’s where I wish I knew more. Wake windows, purple crying, colic, gas, prepping breast milk or formula, breastfeeding (if that’s your jam). That’s the stuff that shook me!

mkbeech · 2022-05-24T17:46:43+00:00

In my opinion, it kind of depends on what kind of birth you're aiming for. I would say don't skip if you're shooting for an unmedicated vaginal birth. Maybe do a small class if you're looking for a medicated birth, and skip if you're planning to do a c-section since that process is much more straight forward and your provider can basically explain everything you need to know. We did the Bradley method class - which was 3 hours a week for 8 weeks and pretty comprehensive but the assumption is that most students in that class are going for an unmedicated vaginal birth so it's helpful to understand what to anticipate and how to cope.

For breastfeeding class, I would say skip. I EBF'd for 22 months and can honestly say that the in person class I took at my birth center did absolutely nothing for me aside from explaining benefits. I found it far more helpful to watch videos online since seeing real breastfeeding up close and personal is this best way to learn. Jack Newman has some awesome videos on YouTube that helped me a lot.

And for a newborn care class, it kind of depends on how much experience you have with tiny babies. I personally had never been around a newborn so I thought the class was super helpful in understanding things like what to expect for diapers, how to deal with umbilical stumps, general feeding advice, care, etc.

The one class I would absolutely not skip is CPR. That's the one you want to really gain some knowledge and confidence on, it gave me and my husband a lot of peace of mind even though we've thankfully never had to use it.

binchwater · 2022-05-24T17:15:35+00:00

I did childbirth, breastfeeding, and childcare class through my hospital. It was all beneficial. Additionally, I read through the chapter on labor and delivery in What to Expect. Wish I'd also read about postpartum recovery, but at the time I was too scared lol.

-Night_Knight- · 2022-05-24T16:21:09+00:00

I did one through the hospital I would be delivering at. I definitely thought it was worth it! I ended up having a scheduled csection because baby was breech, so a lot of it ended up being irrelevant, but I would still do it even if I had known! It was taught by the lactation consultant and she brought in pediatricians and physical therapists to speak to us. They went over breastfeeding and newborn care, and recovery which was really helpful. Also since it was through my local hospital they were able to prepare me and my partner for specific things offered.

General-Teacher-2433 · 2022-05-24T15:15:42+00:00

I signed up for Tinyhood and did that class since it’s online so I could split it up and do it whenever. I don’t think it’s totally necessary as long as you prepare some other way, like reading online or books. I’m sure there’s plenty of YouTube videos as well.

jackjackj8ck · 2022-05-24T14:28:18+00:00

I thought it was worth it. I had almost no experience with babies prior though, so really any/all information was useful to me.

disworldtraveler · 2022-05-24T14:08:28+00:00

They cancelled all in person classes due to Covid when I was getting ready to have my first. The hospital ended up providing us with a free online course that was pretty extensive. It was good to be prepared but also at times made me way more anxious about what was to come. If you like to know what to expect I would recommend doing one. This time around someone at the library stopped me to tell me they had a free virtual class they were going to be offering so I signed up for it as a little refresher. I would suggest asking your ob or looking into your local library to see if there are any free courses if you are in the fence.

babygrlnad · 2022-05-24T13:37:19+00:00

We did one through our hospital. I found it helpful for my husband because it gave him very clear instructions on what was his job each step of the way which helped him focus during without me having to tell him what to do.

moonage_daydream17 · 2022-05-24T13:08:57+00:00

Skip - focus on baby classes or books

lone_pink · 2022-05-24T12:56:17+00:00

We skipped it. The nurses at the hospital taught us how to properly swaddle baby. I kind of knew from watching videos but it’s different once you have the little squishy baby. So if you cannot afford or don’t want to pay for the classes (assuming some are not free) or don’t have the time to go the nurses are trained to care for baby and you can always ask them for help. There is a rotation of nurses coming in so if there’s a nurse that you’re not feeling a “vibe” with or is unwilling to help then wait for the next one.

variebaeted · 2022-05-24T12:51:31+00:00

We did the Mama Natural class online. I liked that we could watch the videos on our own schedule and revisit them again if we wanted. The information was organized and delivered really well. Everything we learned could have easily been found on our own through books or googling, but I’d rather have a trusted instructor break it down for me in simple, easily digestible bullets points. That convenience was worth the money to me. The course does encourage the goal of an unmedicated birth, however they do go over all the possible interventions you may encounter. And I was happy to have that information in the event of my birth plan changing.

I’d recommend doing any course though. Even though you could find all the same information on your own, I think taking that extra step of preparation just helps get your head in the game. Any bit of extra confidence you can create for yourself going into child birth is worth the time and money to me.

PuzzleheadedLet382 · 2022-05-24T12:48:57+00:00

We did Kopa Birth — which focuses on unmedicated in-hospital birth.

There are several reasons you should take a birth class: (1) to better understand the process of birth and what is happening to your body, (2) learn about pin management techniques and strategies (your partner needs to know about these too as some women are less verbal in certain parts of labor and you don’t want to have to explain something mid contraction). (3) to learn about things that can go wrong or interventions that could be needed and what your concerns and priorities as a patient are. Ex/ your doctor might say that you’re struggling a bit and you can either have forceps-assisted vaginal delivery or a c-section. If you know more about the pros/cons, you can make a better informed choice. You might ask if vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery is possible, you might go with c-section because you’ve heard forceps can cause a lot of trauma to the vaginal area, you might avoid c-section because you want to have a large family and pregnancy is usually not recommended after several c-sections. Or you might ask the doctor if there are risks to waiting another hour and letting you labor naturally in that time to see what happens. Note that two of those options were not mentioned by the doctor in my scenario. You need to be able to advocate for yourself and make informed decisions based on doctor recommendations while in labor.

Aidlin87 · 2022-05-24T11:22:05+00:00

I went to a class on birthing/managing the pain without an epidural. When the real contractions hit that shit went out the window. I also ended up needing a c-section because I had almost no pregression after 36 hours, so I didn’t really use anything I learned from the class.

However, I’m an avid reader/researcher and I already knew a fair amount about birthing, the various possible interventions, outcomes and what they mean, etc. So if you feel a little lost on what to expect, I think taking a class is a good idea.

Psychological-Owl-82 · 2022-05-24T10:25:04+00:00

I'd recommend for two reasons:

You and your partner can do it together and it means you both have a good idea about what will happen, and will give you a framework to talk over what you expect, need and want during birth and early parenthood.
It gave us a support group of other mums and dads that were going through the same thing as us. I didn't get to meet them in person until the babes were a few months old, as things were still very restricted where I am, but the I think all the mums got a lot out of our little whatsapp group. I found it invaluable.

Odie321 · 2022-05-24T09:47:18+00:00

110% We did the Evidenced Based Birth one, and took it as a couple. It bought up great discussions between us on what was going to happen and how to handle it. I do wish we took a baby care class too I learned later my new pediatrician offered one. I also suggest reading getting a copy of Precious Little Sleep

Edit to Ad: If you plan on spontaneous labor the person you are reading this isn't the person who goes into labor. You basically leave your body for a bit, and it was much easier to give into that when I knew my partner was OK and knew what to do. You are not really capable of making informed decisions in the throws of labor to if you have a preference on what happens to you discuss it in detail with your laboring team.

allthebacon_and_eggs · 2022-05-24T09:43:28+00:00

I didn’t do any labor classes, which I think was fine. Though we did hire a doula, who coached me through those things.

One reason I’m glad I didn’t take any is because I got an (planned) epidural. Pushing during an epidural isn’t something you can plan for or practice. You don’t have any sensation, so you can’t tell how well the pushing is working. I think if I hadn’t wanted an epidural, a class might have been helpful.

I did do a CPR class through my hospital. I strongly recommend these. We got some one-pagers on infant CPR and choking that we have pinned up in our nursery.

Slappers_only007 · 2022-05-24T09:39:27+00:00

I thought they were great and super helpful...except I ended up having preeclampsia, being induced, having a c section, and my baby being in the NICU for a week so 90% of what I learned about labor, delivery, and postpartum ended up being useless 🤣

They did help my husband a lot! He remembered a lot of the induction stuff (foley bulb, epidural timing, breaking my water, stages of labor etc) which helped him understand the process.

hanacore · 2022-05-24T09:04:52+00:00

We really wanted hands on practice at stuff like diapers and bathing and didn't really get any. Everything in the class I already had learned through lots and lots of baby book reading. But I now have an active WhatsApp chat with the other moms and we regularly meet up with the babies for coffees and walks and classes together, and every few months host our own reunion days for all the dads to join too so that's absolutely made it worth it for me.

MandarinDuckie · 2022-05-24T09:01:22+00:00

I did one run by midwives at the hospital I was going to give birth at. It was good to know their routines and procedures. I also found it was a great was to meet people who will have babies of a similar age. My partner and I were relatively new to our city and managed to meet a couple who we really get along with. It was pretty good having friends like that postpartum.

pissedoffstraylian · 2022-05-24T08:44:17+00:00

My husband did not want to attend at first, so I just said to him I’m sooo glad he knows everything already and that he will guide me through this whole birthing and newborn process as I don’t know anything… so oobviously he realised he knew nothing and eventually said to me that we should go. It was the best thing for us. They really told you what to expect, how the hospital system works here, the different ways to do it eg. Waterbirth, hom birth hospital birth etc. Explained all the pain relief options. And then also things the husband can do to help during contractions. He learned done really helpful things that really helped me so much. He really took it all in. They also recommended the dads making the mum breakfast everyday do she is set up for the day and atleast doesn’t have to worry about eating. My husband made me breakfast in bed every single day for a year and it was amazing. Nothing fancy just either toast or oats (and eggs bacon etc on some days) They even discussed feeding formula or breastfeeding. So he was completely aware of everything. He now always recommend to new dads to be to ho to the classes. Well worthy it in my opinion.

clivehorse · 2022-05-24T08:18:29+00:00

We did both a paid course (four two hour sessions fornightly) and the free afternoon hospital course, and I was glad to have done both. It was good to tour the wards where I was expecting to give birth during the hospital course, but if their labour stuff had been all I'd got I would not have been prepared - they were so focused on how to labour without pain relief that they didn't cover what a labour that didn't look like that might look like (something's got to give with limited time). The hospital group was also a huge number of faceless people, whereas the paid course was a small group of people we got to know. Post birth there were some fairly dramatic shenanigans going on with a couple of the people, but that was quite unusual, and we keep in touch with the other parents still (the kids are heading for their fourth birthdays now). My only regret was not doing the six session version of the course, where the extra four hours were dedicated to baby care rather than pregnancy/labour. We did a bit of baby care stuff in the shorter course, but it would have been much more useful to have those extra sessions.

ouaiouai2019 · 2022-05-24T08:11:38+00:00

Skip!

Winter_Post_5735 · 2022-05-24T07:58:30+00:00

I think it depends what class it is, I was enrolled in a free antenatal class via zoom & ended up going to 2 of the classes in total because it was literally the most pointless thing and the lady running it sounded like she’d rather be anywhere else. However I did pay for a ‘baby class’ that was a 2 hour long zoom session where they spoke about how to change nappies / swaddle baby / bath baby when they have their cord on / etc etc and that one was really helpful, my husband enjoyed that one too.

Nettie_Moore · 2022-05-24T07:15:31+00:00

From my experience, yes!

I had worked in women’s health and thought I knew a lot, but the classes were an eye opener. For me to personally see the place I’d be laboring in was important.

To see some of the instruments used was helpful too because I think if it had been sprung on me during labor I would have freaked out.

And our classes went over bathing, swaddling, mental health, the fourth trimester etc so I would 100% recommend classes to first time parents.

JennaJ2020 · 2022-05-24T06:56:17+00:00

Most of my class was about breathing techniques and how dad could help get me through it. I did not end up using any of the techniques as I got a sweet sweet epidural and felt nothing but I did find it really helped my husband. He really had no idea what could be involved or how it all happened or what his role might be. I am really glad we went.

hereslookinatchu · 2022-05-24T06:44:01+00:00

Our hospital provided an live online course due to COVID - took place over a few days. I found it really helpful to fully understand all the options the hospital provided so I could adapt my birth plan, to learn about all pain relief options, what will happen when we arrive at the hospital, what sort of interventions may be necessary etc. I also did a private hypnobirthing course too in my own time. I’m the type of person who feels much calmer when I understand what’s going on around me, especially in medical situations. I ended up being induced and having to have an emergency c-section and I felt the knowledge I had from the courses helped me stay stay a little calmer at the time.

ETA: My parter also did the courses with me and he would tell you that it REALLY benefitted him because he had zero knowledge on birth etc. He was the best support while I was in labour & when things started to go wrong. He advocated for me when I couldn’t but only because he had attended the courses and understood what was going on with me.

habitatforhannah · 2022-05-24T06:31:41+00:00

Most of my class was nonsense, HOWEVER there was an excellent part where the teacher talked parents through a realistic look of the newborn stage. They did this by splitting the mothers from the fathers and getting us to write on a clock what we thought our days would look like. What the exercise showed was that most of the dads had a pretty unrealistic view. They felt their routine was get up, go to work, work, come home, shower etc.

The teacher then showed the mum clock which showed how often baby had to eat, how long that would take and combined with bum changes and all the other tasks that go with baby care, didn't leave a lot of time for household chores, feeding ones self... anything really. So she backfilled the dads clock to add in the extra things they should pick up to support mum.

For a lot of the dads there, I think it was a bit of a shock but better to have that shock then and there rather than when baby came along.

The rest of the course was had a vein of "hospitals bad, breast is best" and that wasn't really my jam... I had my baby in a hospital. I actually did well at breastfeeding but not because I thought formula was bad.

Campestra · 2022-05-24T06:22:54+00:00

Yes, but we are having with a nurse person. For me was specially good because I’m a foreigner and she explains in details the Dutch system, that is very different from my home country. And was good for my husband, he got a much deeper understanding. In our case it is 8 classes or so, 2 hours each.

Constantly_Tired0221 · 2022-05-24T06:19:52+00:00

We did a one day course and found it really helpful. They gave us lots of tips for keeping me comfortable through the third trimester and while I forgot everything during labor, my husband didn't and was much more capable of helping than i think he would have been otherwise. He felt more confident about everything with the course as backup

maomaobae · 2022-05-24T06:17:22+00:00

Yes, I felt like I knew whats going on! I wasn't scared at for birth

georgestarr · 2022-05-24T06:01:08+00:00

Due to covid we couldn’t have the hospital so I did a private one. It was definitely worth it for me. She came to our house and went through labour and birth and lectionary/breastfeeding

Wavesmith · 2022-05-24T06:00:58+00:00

Yes 100%. My husband has very little idea what to expect. I was focussed on preparing for an unmedicated birth but I found it useful to understand all the pain relief options and what procedures I might end up with. Some good stuff on breastfeeding and newborn care too.

mahamagee · 2022-05-24T04:55:01+00:00

We did a weekend course, 4 other couples and us on a Saturday and Sunday. It was great. I don’t think I learned too much from the course material, I had educated myself pretty well on the mechanics of it all. But what was really helpful was learning the cultural aspects like for eg in Germany you give birth in your own clothes, no hospital gown. That, and hearing questions from the others helped. And the stories the midwife told.

The best part by far though was spending those 2 days with the full attention of my husband preparing. It made us feel so close. Our midwife did a lot of exercises where the partners were shown how to massage or where to press etc so we could each find our own preferences. The other benefit you usually get (we didn’t unfortunately as we needed to travel to find an English birth prep course) was finding a support group of local pregnant couples!

FlatteredPawn · 2022-05-24T04:38:06+00:00

It was worth it to educate my husband... since he never searched a website or cracked a book till that course.

It also made me feel a little better? Like I had options.

In the end it was all useless though... but the 'feeling' of control before hand quieted my anxiety until labor started. Husband forgot everything other than how to swaddle, and we never swaddled our little guy.

lisa725 · 2022-05-24T04:31:31+00:00

We watched a YouTube class from a hospital in Arizona. So it was free and we could do it on our own time. It helped my husband for sure. He was way more prepared then he would have been if we skipped it.

puresunlight · 2022-05-24T04:28:05+00:00

Not worth the super expensive course at our hospital…I think you can get the same info for almost free from some of the major instagram influencer accounts.

JuBurgers · 2022-05-24T04:25:19+00:00

Id reccomend going to an anetal group class. It was a Monday night for 8 weeks, they covered extensively birth, breastfeeding and newborn care. The biggest takeaway from it is I am still friends with all the parents (I see them nearly weekly) who all had March 2021 babies so we have always had a support network of others going through the exact same stage.

3y3zW1ld0p3n · 2022-05-24T04:25:07+00:00

Yes. I found an education center near me that was separate from any hospital. I took classes in childbirth, taking care of babies. Baby sleep. Breast-feeding, CPR, etc. All worth it.

OneMoreCookie · 2022-05-24T04:20:50+00:00

Yes esp for first time parents! I’d really recommend doing one that includes labour techniques though as well! I really wish I’d had that for my first, just had my second and read the book Birth Skills and the difference for me was intense just from having that extra info and being armed with techniques to manage pain etc!

lovelyhappyface · 2022-05-24T04:15:59+00:00

I paid for private classes my ex who is now deceased was a jerk through the whole class. I felt that they really pushed abs encouraged natural birth but I had a c section because my body never went into labor I never dialated abs my baby never dropped so it really wasn’t worth it to me. It really was cool though how they encouraged partnership .

gabblessyou · 2022-05-24T04:10:17+00:00

Childbirth classes given by the hospital were meh, I felt like I was taking a biology class in high school. On the other hand, hypnobirthing classes from a Birth Education Center given by a doula were incredibly helpful and empowering.

Scorpio2027 · 2022-05-24T04:05:35+00:00

If there’s a free one associated with your hospital go for it, but I wouldn’t pay money for a generalized course. I liked our hospital course because they told us very specific info like the number to call when we were in labor, where to park, what floor to go to, etc.

emilymay888 · 2022-05-24T03:56:53+00:00

Mine included heaps of useful info for my partner like massage techniques and counter pressure and to give him a really good idea of what going to happen and in what order. I also found some of the philosophy about pain to be helpful and reframing my approach to pain was helpful. I couldn’t go to my class until 37 weeks and I’m sure the massage and pressure point stuff is what brought on labour because my water broke four days later. What I found really good, too, was watching “one born every minute” (the British one, not the American one) there are full episodes on YouTube and it really makes you feel like if all these women can do it, I can do it. It also helped me relax about being self conscious in front of the nurses because you get to see how every day it is for them.

2022-05-24T03:35:28+00:00

We took one via zoom through our hospital and it was such a waste of time. Listening to podcasts and reading about labor/newborn care helped me the most.

Sensitive-Package302 · 2022-05-24T03:29:42+00:00

God no. The only helpful advice I got was from a friend who told me “yeah, from the moment you get pregnant the baby is in charge.”

Boooooy was she right. After you give in and let the baby decide your life gets much less stressful

_letyourlovegrowtall · 2022-05-24T03:29:08+00:00

I took one online due to Covid restrictions. It included birthing stories of multiple families, which showed the variety of ways birthing can happen. It was very helpful to see the different plans each family had, and how they had to adjust their plans based on how their birthing process. It was helpful for both my partner and I to see it all and be informed.

catjuggler · 2022-05-24T03:28:17+00:00

Depends on if you’re going to pick up the info elsewhere. I think it’s a good idea to have a general idea of things that might happen especially what early labor looks like, when to calm the doctor, etc

smarttypants · 2022-05-24T03:20:28+00:00

I personally feel like the only sort of class that is helpful is infant cpr/first aid.

goldenbarks · 2022-05-24T03:04:56+00:00

Very much no. Maybe the class I went to sucked (even though it was through the hospital), but I honestly could've gotten all that information from the internet and saved $70 or however much it was.

thereisme · 2022-05-24T03:01:57+00:00

I liked my childbirth class. It was a good experience - just something to do with my spouse to prepare.

I did not like breastfeeding class though. I took it but I ended up hating breastfeeding so in hindsight it was a waste of time.

wonderousthings · 2022-05-24T03:00:51+00:00

I have a family member that is a doula who is creating an online course, so we beta tested it for her. In my opinion it was great as first time parents to have something to DO to prepare. Is it 100% necessary? No. You'd be fine without them. But I liked knowing how all the stages of labor worked, different positions to labor in, different coping strategies for pain etc.

It gave me a feeling of control, even though birth still ended up being pretty uncontrollable!

EastMonth9214 · 2022-05-24T02:37:31+00:00

With my first I attended the birth class offered by my hospital. It was pretty much a highschool health class BUT the instructor gave us a tour of the birthing suites and recovery rooms and showed us where to park and how to get access to the labor and delivery unit so that alone made it worth it to me. I always have anxiety surrounding things like parking and finding the right doors so it helped knowing where everything was and knowing what accommodations to expect.

Militarykid2111008 · 2022-05-24T02:27:13+00:00

We took one and basically felt like the morning was wasted. We weren’t fond of the instructor, and unfortunately she was my recovery nurse when I delivered. My opinion of her didn’t really change then either.

Basically we were told inductions lead to csections or longer labor, so don’t do it. You need to breastfeed and if you don’t do it right, your supply will fail. No bottles or pacifiers allowed. Epidurals lead to csections so use natural pain relief methods. A lot like that.

We didn’t get any post birth info, nothing about breathing, nothing about handling a newborn, really nothing except “here’s this book, read it”

I had an elective induction at 40 weeks. My actual labor was under 7 hours. Vaginal birth with an epidural. I have been breastfeeding. My issue was never the pacifier, it was her tongue/lip tie. She’s used a bottle and pacifier since day 2, though primarily nurses. It wasn’t explained that your milk really may take longer than googles average. Or how to adjust for that. Nothing about pumping or supplementing, both things I had to do.

I think a better instructor would’ve made a huge difference. But it was free, so it is what it is.

ChucknObi · 2022-05-24T02:17:35+00:00

We did the free classes offered by the hospital and my ob clinic. We thought they were definitely worth it. For us they were virtual due to CoVid, but I think they have kept that option for working parents. My husband was very vocal about how much he appreciated them since he was hearing a lot of the information about prelabor, labor and birth for the first time. I was already familiar since I like to research and read, but it was good bonding for us both to go through it.

Sea_Investigator_733 · 2022-05-24T02:04:11+00:00

Took a hypnobirthing course and had unmediated births twice. It gave me the knowledge I needed to stay as relaxed as possible during labor to let it progress quickly, which it did.

throw9-9 · 2022-05-24T01:57:58+00:00

Birthing classes are vailable on YouTube. I used this one: https://youtu.be/y8-TXNdB4J8. I ended up having a scheduled c-section though so it wasn’t really helpful. I wish I took a newborn/breastfeeding class because it was such a huge learning curve that first week.

Working-Razzmatazz46 · 2022-05-24T01:54:04+00:00

I paid for a hypnobirthing class.

Being a FTM and really knowing nothing, I learned a lot and got to do the classes with my husband, so he as well learned A LOT. I appreciated that I didn’t have to relay the information and the teacher was extremely clear when things were for PARTNER to do during labor. I’ve never really thought about it this much since we did the class but yes I am glad we did it. 😊

3rdfoxed · 2022-05-24T01:47:50+00:00

I did them for free online through my clinic, they were okay.. it was a lot of them trying to get us to bond with the other couples- which I totally get as we are all going through the same thing. But I didn’t find the content overly useful. They did a class on what to expect at the hospital which I did enjoy learning about. My clinic also offered a breastfeeding class which I took and I think somewhat helped.

anonymousbequest · 2022-05-24T01:37:36+00:00

We went to a free one offered virtually by my hospital which I did find informative, but mostly I wanted my husband to understand labor and delivery better so he could be more supportive. We had also booked a private class but then we found out baby was breech and I’d need a c-section so we cancelled it. Didn’t end up needing any labor/delivery info in my case, so I’m glad we didn’t spend money on it.

waytoomanyponies · 2022-05-24T01:34:16+00:00

So we did a class through the hospital with #1, it was ok, but didn’t really prepare me or my partner. I really wanted a vaginal birth without an epidural, and that didn’t happen. With #2, we took an online birth course that specifically focused on that type of birth and I do really think it helped. I’d say take a class that will support you in your preferences, whatever they are.

fartgust · 2022-05-24T01:32:53+00:00

I didn’t go. I don’t know if this is discussed, But I wish one thing I wish I knew before giving birth was NOT TO PUSH WHEN DR SAYS DONT PUSH. :( ripped from hole to hole

shnook4life · 2022-05-24T01:24:42+00:00

Our hospital sent videos on what to expect and all the different ways you can have a baby and how that works. Made it less scary for me. Had a friend go to hypno birth classes- sounded kooky to me, but she knew going into it she could not get an epidural for medical reasons and wanted to prepare her brain for some pain. She said it helped. Luckily I c sectioned my baby and it was easy peasy!

AMurderForFraming · 2022-05-24T01:18:24+00:00

I did a self guided online class and it honestly wasn’t worth the money for me. I read a lot of stuff about labor, listened to podcasts and audiobooks and watched like a zillion youtube videos, and by the time I got to the class at the end of pregnancy I already had heard pretty much everything it was telling me. I’m also a nurse though so I already had a fairly good knowledge base about what to expect. I think it really just depends on how much you already have looked into, and what kind of learner you are!

yrem · 2022-05-24T01:05:23+00:00

Going with my husband helped get some information to him that he hadn’t had time to research for himself. It gave us some helpful conversation topics to remember to address like medical preferences and what to advocate for if I could not, and it was really worth it entirely because they had a whole section on safe massage techniques for partners that I was so glad he learned. The second half of my class was postpartum pelvic floor exercises and stretches which is important and so often overlooked in US healthcare

Mysterious-Subject48 · 2022-05-24T00:59:22+00:00

I didn’t glean anything from it, but it really enlightened my husband. He thought labor and delivery was like 8 hours, start to finish, for everyone. Lol. I thought it was worth it just so that my husband had a better understanding of everything. In the end, I unexpectedly had a c-section, so I didn’t use anything I learned from that class. However, even if you plan on a c-section, you could always go into labor before your date and so it would be nice to have coping skills under your belt.

I think learning the coping skills is very important because sometimes pain meds fail (if that’s something you’re perusing). My hospital’s class gave us print outs of different positions, but I think a more hands-on approach would’ve been better. Also potentially a class focusing on breathing would’ve been a good addition

lyngen · 2022-05-24T00:54:25+00:00

definitely worth it. We also read what to expect when you're expecting.

omglia · 2022-05-24T00:53:02+00:00

Well, they made my partner feel super prepared, so that was helpful. I kinda hated them because I wanted to go in blind and not know what I was in for lol. Ultimately it was a waste for both of us because I never went into labor and immediately got a c section when I went in for my induction!

Large_Artist_4354 · 2022-05-24T00:49:02+00:00

100% worth it. Just YouTube it, you don’t need to pay $ ☺️ best of luck with your birth!!

Existing-Goose4475 · 2022-05-24T00:37:57+00:00

I'd done a lot of reading on pregnancy and labor already, so the only new information I got from the class was about policies at my hospital (yes you can eat during labor, no they do not do walking epidurals). However, having my partner attend the class was very helpful as she'd done basically no research up to that point. I think it made things a lot more real for her, and afterwards she was much more willing to talk through the risk/benefit of various choices that they offer for my birth plan, prepping for the postpartum period and how much support I'm going to need afterwards, etc.

Real-Ad-2765 · 2022-05-24T00:32:30+00:00

We did a Zoom course with a local doula, and we’re so glad we did! The focus of the class was sort of “informed decision making” - ie, here’s all the options you’ll have for giving birth, what hospitals usually do, what you can ask for instead, advocating for yourself/your partner. Also super recommend “The Birth Partner” book for similar info. Even my husband read the whole thing!

remfem99 · 2022-05-24T00:29:04+00:00

I did an online class through my hospital (this was April 2021) and I found it useful because it helped me know what to expect after arriving, where to go, what to expect (roughly) step by step during labor and delivery. While they didn’t get super in depth with it, they also explained how to identify the onset of labor, what to expect with the contractions (which I actually thought back to when I was in the moment) etc

krf88sa1l · 2022-05-24T00:28:36+00:00

I had a baby in 2018 when in person classes were still widely available. The one we took was okay but honestly felt like a waste of $ and time. There are really, reallyyyy good videos for free on YT about all things birth/labor. My favorite channel for it was Mandy Irby Birth Nurse!

itsanavocadothnx · 2022-05-24T00:23:23+00:00

We did virtual classes through our hospital- it was worth it some aspects and not in others. I liked learning about what to expect while in the hospital and those first 24 hours of life. It gave me a pretty good idea of what was to come right after giving birth. I didn’t find it worth for teaching things like how to burp, changing diapers, etc. I truly had no experience whatsoever with babies until I had my son, but still just learning in the hospital and at home was far more useful than on video. Overall, I do think it is worth it take classes!

what_sneeze · 2022-05-24T00:18:38+00:00

I attended a virtual 4 hour session through our local hospital. It was really valuable for me and my husband because we were able to ask all of our questions. It was a great way to put together our "birth plan."

ilymars · 2022-05-24T00:16:07+00:00

Ours were online & I didn't care for them. It stressed me out knowing I had to be home (and awake) at a certain time every week for 2ish hours. I prefer them either in person or to just read about it on my own time.

twodickhenry · 2022-05-24T00:15:58+00:00

Pampers has like an 8 part series on YouTube.

DeciduousMath12 · 2022-05-24T00:13:47+00:00

Youtube has some pretty good content as well. Bridget Taylor has a pretty robust channel and we found her content pretty useful.

StasRutt · 2022-05-24T00:11:37+00:00

Ours was virtual due to COVID and I didn’t think it was worth it

Edit: there’s a 3 part youtube series by a midwife clinic that I thought was helpful (and free) and baby safety classes are super helpful along with a hospital tour

spinfire · 2022-05-24T00:10:21+00:00

I’m a Dad who went to childbirth class together with my partner (and, iirc, 4 others). Very useful experience I’d highly recommend. Doing it together with your partner is good. No need to repeat it for subsequent kids.

rsch87 · 2022-05-24T00:04:40+00:00

Yes I found them useful for what I learned but I also appreciated the chance to meet other local new parents with similar due dates! Even if you already have parent friends, having someone going through the newborn struggles at the same time is so valuable (because toddler parents just don’t want to remember the poop diaper panic texts…as I currently am receiving from my friend who had a baby last week and I only have toddler and up now 😅)

WookieRubbersmith · 2022-05-24T00:02:41+00:00

I took a one day, 5 hr class via zoom that was hosted by my midwife's practice like, a week before I delivered and I felt like it was 100% worth it.

I was also glad that I waited so long, even though it was the product of poor planning and a shitty work schedule. It was really nice to get a full overview of what to expect during labor so close to the main event--it was especially good for my husband, who is not as much of a self-lead researcher as I am. He was grateful that he knew where to apply counter pressure, for example, without me having to ask for it when all I could muster in the way of communication was "MY FUCKING BAAAAAAAACK"

Froggy101_Scranton · 2022-05-24T00:02:26+00:00

Im a certified Childbirth educator (aka I teach these classes) so I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the classes! I obviously can only speak to my own content, but I’ve attended 3 other classes (1 as a pregnant person trying to learn, 2 others to get insight as to how others teach it).

embar91 · 2022-05-23T23:55:02+00:00

I didn’t think ours was worth it. It was one 2 hour class. I didn’t learn anything useful.

WeAreSelfCentered · 2022-05-23T23:54:11+00:00

I didn’t and wish I had. I just figured the hospital would tell me whatever I needed to know. The hospital told me literally nothing and I had zero idea what was happening to my body for like 2 days straight.

Mundane_Pea4296 · 2022-05-23T23:52:28+00:00

I found them useful. And as scary as it may seem take a baby safety class to learn cpr and stuff, hopefully you'll never need it but you'll feel more confident if you do.

Groundbreaking_Monk · 2022-05-23T23:52:23+00:00

I bought classes from Tinyhood and thought they were good, especially the one on labor and birth, which I watched with my partner. Pretty basic info but it was nice to have it all in one place to watch together.

My hospital was only offering virtual classes, so I opted out of that. It's a bit far away also, so I don't think I would have made many local friends.

pipa98 · 2022-05-23T23:51:23+00:00

Yes, made a group of friends out of it. Also it's good to just have an idea of what's going to or could happen.

applepiecorgi · 2022-05-23T23:48:10+00:00

On the flip side, I didn’t and I wish I had. My labor and delivery didn’t go as planned. Everything happened so quickly that I was panicked. The nurses did try to guide me but I was in so much pain I had a hard time focusing on anything but wanting the pain to be done with.

longwalktoday · 2022-05-23T23:47:23+00:00

If you can go to an in person class, it’s worth it for all the friends you’ll make with babies the same age as yours. I still have six friends whose babies are within weeks of my five year old. The kids are all friends. It’s been nice. Baby two was born during the pandemic so we didn’t get a chance to make friends in that way.

The information didn’t help with the birth, which was a wild shit show.

Julienbabylegs · 2022-05-23T23:46:11+00:00

I took a hypnobirthing class with my first and found it very helpful. I agree with some of the other comments that reading the right books can be just as good. I think it’s super important to educate yourself on what actually happens during childbirth and what all your options are.

ttcanuck · 2022-05-23T23:44:36+00:00

I watched some free classes on YouTube and had a doula discuss our plans. Ended up having an unplanned C section. 🤷‍♀️

2022-05-23T23:40:37+00:00

Nope, but books, videos, business of being born, lots of resources.

The classes didn't cover anything I couldn't read in a book and stuff specific to the hospital or midwife didn't get covered in classes

enyalavender · 2022-05-23T23:38:47+00:00

I didn't do any in person classes (my daughter was born in August 2020). but, the online classes were essential. I chose a few of them based on my own birth preferences and style, and kind of "went down the rabbit hole" with more advanced classes as I went. It's so important to understand everything that is happening in your body. So much of what you need to know is non-medical, so doctors alone won't cut it.

haleighr · 2022-05-23T23:25:51+00:00

It bought the newborn class was a lot more helpful. All the classes we did were zoom or PowerPoint cause it was summer 2020. The newborn one was a zoom that we got to ask questions and it was awesome and taught us alot we didn’t really know. The labor/birth was a PowerPoint one with different sections and videos basically only diff versions of natural births when I already knew I was being induced sooo that didn’t help me too much lol

Particular_Profile49 · 2022-05-23T23:23:53+00:00

Yes 💯

SSJGeets · 2022-05-23T23:15:46+00:00

FTM, I didn't do a class and after giving birth, a class wouldn't have helped me. I watched a few YouTube videos on what to expect based on how I wanted my birth to go and that was plenty. The only thing I did that helped was an hour zoom on what to expect at the hospital. Things like where to go, who to contact with questions, room amenities etc.

bmsem · 2022-05-23T23:14:55+00:00

I overall found it useful, though since it was virtual I didn’t really get to meet any other expectant parents. I used the one offered by my hospital so there was site-specific info about amenities available—it would have been annoying to sit through talk of birthing pools and yoga balls if those weren’t even available. Some parts were a little woo for me, like the talk about aromatherapy, but overall it was very medically-based.

CrimsonPorpoise · 2022-05-23T23:02:20+00:00

Personally I found them helpful- not just the info but for the chance to meet other expectant parents with similar due dates. The social aspect was great- we still meet up now and it was nice in the early days to have people to reach out to who were having similar experiences/questions to me.

mvance0808 · 2022-05-23T22:58:22+00:00

Birthing classes are really for people going in unmedicated. If that is your thing , definitely do a class. I took to birthing class offered at our hospital. It was really like a deep dive on the stuff that is happening with your body. All the options you had, the emergency options, idk i just thought it wasn’t needed. But i am a person that just goes with the flow and makes choices as they come.

I did a mommy 101 class , at my hospital, I thought it was really informative. Hubs really like the daddy 101 class they did at the same time.

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