I am coming from the [name_u]January[/name_u] to [name_u]March[/name_u] babies thread. My little guy is due [name_u]March[/name_u] 10th, which means I am currently going on 27 weeks.
I was just wondering if I could get peoples experiences with child birth classes. I need to sign up before there is no room left, and I am just not sure what to do! The hospital I will be giving birth at offers one that my dr said was pretty good. But I wasn’t sure if maybe I should take a specific class like [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] or Lamaze? I really have no hard and fast theories. I would like to be as natural as possible, avoiding an epidural if I can, but I am open to it if I really need it. My only other concern is that my husband may be starting a few night classes soon, and I would hate to sign up for a class that is once a week and have to go by myself! Not only would I want his support, I would also like for him to learn along with me, and I know he would feel bummed if he had to miss all the classes. So I am almost wondering if it would be best to do the day long class that just lasts from 9-5. Does anyone have experience with this? Did it seem too rushed?
We will be doing a [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] Method class when we get further along. It has been highly recommended by a couple of friends, and it lines up well with what we want for our birth. I’m under the impression that [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] Method relies heavily on the husband’s involvement, so if your husband is not participating that may not be a good course for you guys.
We did the class through our doctor’s office. They suggested taking their class alongside any specialized methods, just to learn how they do things in that practice and with that hospital. It was taught by a delivery room nurse who had worked closely with the doctors in our practice. It was extremely helpful to know exactly what to expect; everyone does things a little differently and some stories are downright scary. The class was split into two sessions, each three or four hours and they didn’t feel rushed at all.
We did a weekend class it was two Saturdays in row all day both days. I’m not sure how much I really learned in the class that was useful. I learned relaxing breathing techniques that were nice. However I think my husband did benefit since he didn’t know that much about birth before we took the class while I had already had sex ed classes that talked about it in high school. I’ve heard good things about the [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] method but we just took the regular class and I still didn’t get an epidural.