Childbirth Ed Class Worth it?

[RubyOrganique]

Hi Ladies,

Sorry to crash your DDC, but I'm in the Jan DDC and preparing to teach my first childbirth education series before I give birth again myself. Part of the reason I wanted to teach is because I felt the class I took for DD1 could have been a lot more relevant.

I'm hoping those of you who took a class can tell me the best and worst thing about your class, any thoughts on what you wish would have been covered and what you felt was a waste of time. 

Having just given birth, it's all fresh in your mind. But I also recognize you're all VERY busy right now and responding to this will be low priority.  Any comments are hugely appreciated and hopefully will make for a valuable class for other birthing mamas.

MANY THANKS!

Ruby

[Beckily]

I took Blissborn and I really enjoyed it. I think the CDs are very good and I found them helpful for relaxing - it's a hypnosis class.

I didn't really use it much in birth as I ended up with a C-section, but oh well :)

[bettyjones]

I took an active birth class based on the book of the same name by Janet blaskas(sp). It was taught by my doula and very helpful. We also watched gentle birth choices. My second pregnancy I took hypnobirthing. Mostly it reviewed what I had already learned- birth plans etc w/ the wonderful addition of relaxation breathing & visualization. What I liked about my first class was the instructor really wanted to connect you w/ other families going through the same experience of pregnancy/ childbirth.

[cat13]

Hi Ruby,

I took a Lamaze class taught by my friend & doula. It was a 3 hour, once a week class for 5 weeks.  Personally, I had done a ton of research beforehand, so I knew most of the actual information, but the most important thing for me was to have the experience with my husband. Even though I bought him a couple of books, or would talk to him about what to expect, he didn't really understand until we took the class together. Our instructor did a great job engaging the dads, not talking down to them like they are the helpless idiots in labor portrayed on tv, but really addressing their concerns and giving them concrete things to do to support us. For example, she told them to pack the hospital bag... how are they supposed to use the fancy oils/ipod playlist/visualization cues when they have never seen them and don't know where to find them. This was a great way to give the fathers ownership over their own tools to help their partners in labor.  

The other great part of the class was facilitating a connection amongst the participants in the class. We had 5 couples and one single mom, and we were all first time parents who don't have much family in the area, and now a bunch of us sill stay connected with each other. 

I think it's great that you are trying to improve your class. Good luck! 

[bobbinbopbop]

We took brio birth and very much liked it. Downside was there was a LOT of info in each class. It could have been broken down more. Plus side, There was a lot of information. I felt adequately prepared for labor, transition, and birth. I really enjoyed the breastfeeding class, and the class on stages of labor. It made it easier for me to know that I could handle one contraction at a time. That my body was able to handle the pain(we talked about natural hormones and how they allow the body to handle pain) and what was normal what wasn't. 
I think the best thing was that it prepared my hubby though. Brio is husband coached like bradley and it helped my hubby to know how to handle me, and that if I yelled at him or such it wasn't personal. It showed him how to massage, apply counter pressure, and words of encouragement.