A "Non-natural" birthing class?

[Jayray]

My sister has a wonderful midwife who told her there are no "natural" birthing classes in her area. She did recommend a birthing class and said that they didn't really bias it toward or against drugs/epidurals.

Will she get any benefit from a class like this?? Has anyone taken a class like this? Do they teach any coping mechanisms, etc??

[finnegansmom]

is it given by the hospital she will be birthing at?
I know the hospitals here offer birthing classes, and a hospital won't knock any of the products they "sell" (like epidurals). We signed up for it and then bailed on it, but the one I was going to take did not offer breathing techniques for labor. It was more like, this is what will happen in labor, and what the hospital will offer and where you will be, etc.

Maybe she could get the hypnobabies CDs?
I know alot of people take classes, I never did but I did read TONS of books, like studied and practiced them and actually used the techniques and had a great birth with my second.

[MaerynPearl]

Ive never taken a class and think it would actually hurt me more than help...

but Im the sort who will sit and read books over and over... so I read Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth and The Birth Partner.

[Jayray]

Yes, it's at the hospital. She does have some good books--that is a good point. I just feel like the more prepared you are and the more information you have, the better you'll be able to advocate for yourself and feel confident about your birth.

Oh, and I gave her my hypnobabies CDs too!! So she could do that. She hasn't started them yet, though.

[Ellen Griswold]

I took a class given by the hospital that I gave birth at with my first. It did offer some breathing techniques and did a thorough job educating on the pros and cons of medical interventions. I'm not sure how much I personally got out of it, since I too read and read and read. However, I think that it gave dh a clue. It was a time out from a very busy schedule where he could focus on what was happening to my body and the coming change in our relationship.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by Jayray

I just feel like the more prepared you are and the more information you have, the better you'll be able to advocate for yourself and feel confident about your birth.

Thats true, but sometimes birth classes can do more harm than good, by having a living breathing person up there saying that an epidural is a good thing and not giving any of the risks or side effects of it. (I don't think this is a common scenario but I have seen women post about it on these boards more than once since becoming pregnant this time)

Which is why I prefer the two books I listed, as they tell you both positives and negatives to pretty much EVERYTHING. And let you decide which you would rather do.

[fruitfulmomma]

I'm sure it will vary by hospital. Personally I would not take a hospital class because I do think they tend to be biased toward their own protocols. We did Bradley classes.

She might be interested in this, which is a self-directed course...
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/...education.html

Also watching video's on YouTube might help if she wants a more visual view of birth.

[sosurreal09]

sort of off topic but i did a home class and it worked out great. i did the hypnobabies course from 26wks and i had an amazing drug free birth. they didnt have anything natural around here at all i actually had to drive 2 hours to the birthing center

[Twinklefae]

We really enjoyed our hospital class - it was very very well thought out, and taught by public health. We had an entire session devoted just to breastfeeding, and it included at tour of the hospital and peek at the birthing rooms. They did downplay the consequences of the epidural, but that was only one class, and they only downplayed, didn't deny.

It was especially good for my DH, because while I knew the majority of the information, he did not.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by Jayray

I just feel like the more prepared you are and the more information you have, the better you'll be able to advocate for yourself and feel confident about your birth.

Yes, true. But misinformation could make things worse. They could fill her head with crazy ideas like it's dangerous to eat & drink in labor, your baby could die if you're not hooked up to EFM continuously, there's nothing you can do to reduce the risk of tears & it's bad to push without having your membranes first broken. & that's just off the top of my head...

And nearly all of those things I've heard directly or indirectly from hospital staff before - so I don't think it's far-fetched to consider it likely that the classes might say they same.

So I'm inclined to think that a class at a bad hospital would be worse than no class & only books.

All that being said, not all hospitals are bad & not all hospital classes are bad. A friend of mine took the class at a local hospital that is 'eh' - not AWFUL, but not a place any of us NCB people recommend. She said it was actually quite pro-NCB! They offered coping mechanisms, talked about the risks of epidural, and didn't just act like, "OK, and here's what will happen when you get your epidural."

If she's someone who feels she can learn well from books & enjoys reading, I say don't even bother. But if she wants a class (or for her DH) I recommend seeing if there's any way she can find out more about the class in advance. & if she goes, give her red flags to look out for (like the above) & WALK OUT IMMEDIATELY before they can poison her mind with that .

ETA: DH & I took Bradley, but we did go to the hospital for the newborn care class. It was only one evening, maybe 2 hours. That was good, worth attending.
I also attended the BFing class - was about 90 min although she ended early. Not very good. Just not enough info! More than half the class was on the benefits of BFing. Uh, ok, that's great - but I've already decided to BF, which is why I'm here, so let's get on with teaching me HOW to do it. & that is where it was woefully inadequate.

[crystal_buffaloe]

I took the hospital class. Like several PP have noted, I think it was really beneficial for DH. In it, we watched several birth videos, and that's not something he would have done on his own, I don't think. He also liked the tour of the facility and a rundown of what to do and where to go when (through the ER if after hours, etc etc). We were able to preregister and take care of all of the paperwork in advance except for two signatures.

I also got to find out about the hospital's epidural and c-section rates, what the nurses look for in a birth plan, some of their standard policies (so I knew what to emphasize and what I could leave out of the birth plan).

While I wouldn't call it NCB friendly, one whole session of the five was devoted to avoiding a c-section, and risks of an epidural were given. Half of one of the sessions was devoted to breastfeeding.

[msmiranda]

If she can distinguish the misinformation, a hospital class might be helpful in that you might get some of the inside scoop about the hospital -- standard protocols, whether you can make exceptions, etc. I would think that *most* women who become CBEs are not doing it because they want to preach the merits of epidurals and c-sections, but because they believe in normal birth. Those who teach in hospitals are muzzled of course, and can't say a lot of things they want to, but if you were to talk to them after class or ask for additional reading material, you might be surprised at what you'd find. That is *if* the class is taught by a CBE.

[kalamos23]

A good book to read might be Henci Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to Childbirth - it goes over justr about everything and the pros and cons of each intervention in the hospital. With regards to natural childbirth though, Ina May Gaskin = love! I have a list around here somewhere of good books - and hypnobabies is awesome!

[Laurski]

I definitely agree with PPs that have noted that the value of the class itself depends on the hospital; DH and I went to a class at the hospital where I'll be giving birth, and it was really very good. The woman leading the class is actually a lactation consultant and very much in favor of each woman choosing what feels right for her. As a result, while epidurals were discussed (without, admittedly much discussion about their potential drawbacks and side effects), she definitely did not push them at all. Her focus was on education, not direction, which I think was a combination of her personal approach to birth and the fact that the hospital's birthing center where I'm giving birth is NCB-oriented.

I had done a ton of reading ahead of time, so like other PPs, the class didn't necessarily tell me a whole lot that I didn't already know, but we did do a few breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as practice different birthing positions (all with the aim of involving partners), and it was nice to have DH be required to try different types of massages!

Anyway, I guess my point is that I'd guess the value of a hospital class depends, in part, on the philosophy of the hospital; I thought it was a fairly worthwhile experience, and, in all honesty, I felt kind of good (and a bit horrified) that I was so much more informed than most of the women in the class, because of my previous reading. In that respect, it was a bit of a confidence booster!

[MegBoz]

Just a quick note that you may be able to do a hospital tour without the class. DH & I did. I definitely think it's worth taking the tour! You find out where to go, you see the rooms, learn how to adjust the bed, meet at least one nurse, & find out a bit about some standard procedures. I also asked my MWs about standard procedures - since it's good to know for writing your birth plan. (i.e. don't bother to include things that are standard anyway, like 'rooming-in' was at my hosptial.)

I think my hospital had tours as part of the class, but you could also schedule just the tour.

[Quinalla]

Definitely take a tour at least. Try to find more info on the class, the one at my hospital was very good, gave lots of techniques for dealing with labor pain and also talked about pros and cons of interventions and showed several different types of births, one totally natural, one vaginal with some interventions including epidural, and one c-section. I will say, as good as it was, I could have skipped it and been fine, but it was a nice refresher of all that I had learned from books/forums/etc. and it was great for DH.

And I too think a newborn care class is something I should have signed us up for too or instead. DH has never been around newborns and was very overwhelmed at first.