Would you refund child birth class if baby comes early? - Page 2

[courtenay_e]

In this case, especially because they procrastinated and KNEW they were working on borrowed time, I agree with Apricot. It was their fault that they missed the other classes...and they even had the benefit of private classes. This is outside your usual schedule, right? So you also made an exception for them to bring them in to classes outside the usual flow of your life...by their choice, because they ARE grownups and they DID wait too long. I would, of course, call to their attention my contract that says that it's not my fault if they come into classes late, or if they have the baby before we're done. I don't mean to be a hard nose, but the hospital class certainly wouldn't refund their money if they had the baby before they finished. And they also wouldn't go to the extrordinary trouble of setting up a private session to try to get them as much information before their impending birth as possible. You did these things, because you'd rather a couple be as prepared as they can, even if it inconveniences YOU, right? They SHOULD pay a premium for that.

I may sound a little cranky, and I don't mean to. I guess part of it comes from being a Nanny for VERY wealthy families for more than a dozen years...I don't like being taken advantage of, and learned very quickly that if you allow people to, when you're in the roll of providing a service, they can be easily swayed to take advantage of you. I don't allow that anymore!

[SublimeBirthGirl]

They got a narcotic during PUSHING? I guess they should start classes sooner next time. What a terrible idea.

Anyway...I'd take out a $50 deposit and prorate the rest, refund accordingly.

[Genesis]

Me, I would charge for the one class, and refund the rest of the money.

[Mamma Mia]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

I'd take out a $50 deposit and prorate the rest, refund accordingly.

This sounds fair.

But I don't think these procrastinators should be punished for waiting until the last minute. There are so many factors that go into this stuff for every pregnant woman. Also, if this happened with a hospital class, I think they'd be more likely to refund. I tend to have much better luck being refunded by large companies than small businesses. Which I understand, since it's less of a hardship, but small businesses are what I want to support. So it sucks when they can't meet my needs.

I honestly don't see why this couple is being demonized so much. I wanted a narcotic during my pushing phase. I was at home and there wasn't one accessible, but if someone had offered, I probably wouldn't have refused. I had a hard labor, and the only thing that kept me from pain relieving drugs was the fact that they weren't there.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Originally Posted by Mamma Mia

I honestly don't see why this couple is being demonized so much. I wanted a narcotic during my pushing phase. I was at home and there wasn't one accessible, but if someone had offered, I probably wouldn't have refused. I had a hard labor, and the only thing that kept me from pain relieving drugs was the fact that they weren't there.

It's not demonizing them. It's crazy to me that any competent birth attendant would give a pushing woman a narcotic. Maybe this woman didn't know that narcotics closer than 2 hours to the birth can cause breathing problems for the baby (not to mention breastfeeding problems); that's what I meant - had she had more information she may not have chosen that. And again, what kind of birth attendant would give a narcotic to a woman who's pushing? That's very strange.

[dachshundqueen]

Prorate

I think you should prorate the remainder of the fee after you take into account the cost of your materials.

I took a birth class at the hospital I was to deliver at which sucked beyond comparison - 1 of 4 classes. I demanded a refund for the total as I felt like the class was a complete joke and not worth the 3 hours I had spent there.

I did receive the refund in full, but there weren't any costly materials involved like in your class and the class was large (20+ couples).

I think you'd be doing the right thing by prorating but not by offering a full refund as you did spend your time with the couple.

Does that help?

Liz

[Veritaserum]

It's not your fault she called you so late and had the baby early. You were very accommodating. I guess I'd charge for materials and gas and then prorate the rest by class.... I dunno, with private classes I generally charge a non-refundable $100 due to the extra work I have to do in scheduling it and such.

I don't refund if someone has their baby early, in general. I make sure a woman will be finishing the class prior to her due date and if she's within 2-3 weeks I let her know that she needs to feel comfortable with ending that close. I'll let her know of other options if she isn't comfortable with it, but once a woman decides to come and starts the classes, I don't refund for missing any classes. Same goes for couples that flake or go out of town or whatever, causing them to miss a class. If I have another series running they can come to make it up, but otherwise, I just don't have time in my schedule to do a private make-up class.

Since really enforcing the "must end the class prior to her edd" rule I haven't had any early babies (*knock on wood*). My general policy for group classes is a $50 non-refundable deposit which I use to purchase all the needed materials for the upcoming class. I've only ever refunded once, due to the loss of a baby.

[Ixcuina]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

It's not demonizing them. It's crazy to me that any competent birth attendant would give a pushing woman a narcotic. Maybe this woman didn't know that narcotics closer than 2 hours to the birth can cause breathing problems for the baby (not to mention breastfeeding problems); that's what I meant - had she had more information she may not have chosen that. And again, what kind of birth attendant would give a narcotic to a woman who's pushing? That's very strange.

My guess would be that she was not given a narcotic during pushing, but more likely an anesthetic. Pudendal blocks are usually what is given during the pushing stage if a woman requests pain meds. They do not involve narcotics. They numb the perineum, vagina and rectum.

Just my guess on the question of narcotics so close to birth.

[leewd]

I just wanted to chime in that we signed up for a 9 week Bradley series with our first birth, and we gave birth on class day 7. So, we only got 2/3 of the classes.

It NEVER crossed my mind to ask for a refund of any sort (But we did have a med-free hospital birth, and we came back for the last class to show off the baby and tell our birth story).

I think anything more than a 50% refund is too much.

And as a provisional Bradley instructor, I will take this as a lesson learned for myself.

--LEE