birth classes for #2 (1st homebirth)??

[rubelin]

We did Lamaze the last time, it was pretty lame; we were just about the only ones interested in a natural birth and, though we learned some interesting birth info and saw some cool videos, it didn't help much at all when push came to shove and the Dr's and nurses were in charge.

This time we have awesome MWs (2 partners plus an apprentice), feel super prepared, will probably practice hypnobirthing (If I can get the $$ together to buy the home study kit) and will be at home with no pesky hospital people buggin me.

So, do you think it would be worth taking a Bradley course?? What are the pros and cons, besides the fact that we don't have a lot of time or money. Would the benfits be worth the time and money?

[Sahara]

Hey rubelin, congratulations on your upcoming homebirth. We took Bradley classes with our first baby, which was a homebirth. It was a great class for the basics of labor and childbirth, and I think it really appealed to my husband to be made a part of everything. We had an AWESOME teacher that time. With this pregnancy, we took a refresher course with an instructor who lived about an hour closer to us, and we were very disappointed. She was very focused on helping the couples planning hospital births, because all 4 of her births were in the hospital. We spent most of our class time listening to strategies for handling hostile nurses, how to say no to procedures politely, that kind of thing.
I don't know if you would get as much out of just reading one of the newer books they are using, Natural Birth the Bradley Way. It is a great book. But there's nothing like having an instructor lead you through the positiosn for different stages of labor, teaching you how to relax, and teaching your husband how to recognize what stage of labor you are in so he knows when to call the midwife.
I wanted to do hypnobirthing but opted for the Bradley refresher course, I wish I had done hypno instead now. Good luck either way~
Steph