Childbirth Classes?

[gottaknit]

Hi. Are any of you taking birthing classes? We were scheduled to start this weekend and our class series has been cancelled! Now I'm trying to find something else. What have you tried? This is my first baby, and we're having a homebirth, so I really feel I need some preparation!

Any suggestions? Favorite "methods"?

Thanks!

[Soogie]

That stinks that your classes were cancelled. When I was pg with my first, DH and I took Bradley classes. I loved them and so did DH. He felt like he was really involved in the whole process and took the job of learning and understanding my needs very seriously. It was a 12 week course, starting at 28 weeks. We took it again as a refresher when I was pg with my 2nd, but we didn't make it all the way through the series, as my son, who was only 14 months old at the time, did not handle being with a babysitter very well. I know some other people that did not enjoy their Bradley classes, but it all depends on the teacher. Our first teacher was AWESOME but she moved during my second pg and the other teacher in my area was just so-so. If I had been going to her as a first time mom, I would have been disappointed. But the method itself is great. There is such a great focus on nutrition and exercise, and learning about all the pros and cons of all the medical "procedures" out there, and becoming an informed consumer. I would highly recommend it.

Susan

[bluehalo]

With our first pregnancy, we took the natural birthing classes offered through the hospital, which were ok ... we also read the bradley book and did the exercises on our own since there were no local teachers at that time.

With this pregnancy, we just started taking Birthing from Within classes, which I'm really enjoying ... they seem to be exactly what we need this time around

[BeansMomma]

Hi Nancy - We're from Portland too and you'll have to let me know what you find out. I've done some light research in this area and I've bookmarked a couple of options.

We're hoping to take a Birthing from Within course - there's one offered by a center called Moving Through (Moving Through ) but their prenatal yoga classes have been canceled and I haven't seen an update on their website for the next round of classes.

There's also a Bradley Method class by an organization called Birth Alternatives and their classes are online).

We're delivering in a hospital, so we'll take the standard classes there as well - but it would be great to go through this together if that's not too weird?

[gottaknit]

I found a class!

Hi Susan!

Susan Moray (CPM with NW Community Midwives) teaches Birthing from Within in her home in Ladd's Addition

http://www.nwmidwives.com/BirthClasses.htm

and she still has openings for the series beginning August 10th! I just signed up today. Sounds like it's filling up fast though. It's $200/couple, Aug 10th - Sept 14th, 6-9pm. Hope to see you there!