Prenatal Classes

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

So I went to my first prenatal class last night... we're cutting it close. We will be 39 weeks along at our last class (oh, the joys of signing up late!) We decided to go with a place that our midwife recommended rather than the one offered in our city. This one is led by a doula and they are very pro-whateveryouwant when it comes to labour and birth.

I found it very informative and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my husband found it helpful as well! Apparently we have to watch some childbirth videos later down the line... not sure how I feel about that yet, but for the first night everything was pretty tame in that regard.

I was having a difficult time understanding why some people say an epidural slows down childbirth and others say that it has no bearing on the process. She explained that it's not the epidural, it's the fact that after having an epidural you have to lay on your back which closes the pelvic area up to 20%. (That's the thing of the most significance that I learned. The husband is now on board with attempting to have a natural birth -- if I can handle it that is... )

Anyway, I thought I'd share that. Is anyone else signed up/completed classes with this baby or a previous one? Did you find it helpful? What did you find most informative?

Nike13

I start mine May 3rd. We're doing a weekend crash course that weekend through the hospital I'm delivering at cause there really wasn't a way for us to get to the weekly class from work. I was actually beginning to get a little nervous about it actually so thank you for posting this! Will your class cover breastfeeding too? I had to sign up for a separate class to go over breastfeeding techniques and storage. My mom said that might be over kill but first baby, so I'm ok with doing a little overkill.

I'm a bit nervous about the video they might show, I mean I don't want to know in _that_ much detail what's happening let alone see it. I can't even stand when the dentist explains filling a cavity! I just tell her to get the job done and I'll focus on breathing and not smacking her (it has happened before).

RatherBeInTheShire

We have a Infant Care Class in May, and then a Prepared Childbirth Class in June that's about 4 hours long. These are the only classes we are taking.

usernameMAMA

I never attended one, even with my first. I didn't watch any videos on child birth, I didn't take Lamaze...I wanted to go in blind. It scared me less. Now that I know the process I'm more afraid than the first time. In my case, ignorance truly is bliss! lol

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

I don't think my class covers breastfeeding, but I did receive a book from them that basically spelled out breastfeeding to me. So I'm hoping that's enough. Maybe they'll cover it a little? Not sure. I've heard that the hospital I'm going to is really good for helping after childbirth and I would imagine that my midwife would be able to help as well.

lol, ignorance isn't really bliss for me. I find knowledge empowering. I like having something to visualize (like, the path baby is taking outside of my body... not visualizing childbirth videos), and I think it may be helpful for me. But we shall see.

tiggerhammon

I have no interest in taking a prenatal class but really want to look in to seeing if they do hospital tours here.
Though, I have to admit, it is interesting to hear the fascinating tidbits of info y'all pick up from these classes????

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

We could just tell you the fascinating tidbits and you could save yourself the enrollment fee. We're going to our second class tonight so I'll be sure to come back and tell you anything of interest!

tiggerhammon

Woot! You are awesome!

RatherBeInTheShire

I'm excited for the hospital tour! Our is 5/18! just a little over a month away from my due date (6/22)

tiggerhammon

Nothing new interesting?

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

Last week they went over coping with pain and different techniques. It was mostly things like how your partner should get lots of sleep because he'll be doing a lot of grunt work. Apparently standing is best when in labour because gravity works with the contractions, and in the middle of active labour/transition it's pretty difficult to stand so usually your birth partner will be literally holding you up.

She told us to get in a comfortable position and if possible we should sleep in between contractions.

I'm going again tonight and apparently we get to talk about the drugs tonight.

tiggerhammon

I knew the part about gravity and standing but never considered my hubby might have to hold me up. Good to know, thanks.

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

The more classes I go to the less and less I want an epidural. We talked about pain relief (stopping the pain rather than coping with the pain). Epidurals are the most common pain relief although they have the most negative elements to them including the fact that the epidural can travel across the placenta to the baby. The good thing an epidural does is it gives mom a break especially if she's had a long and hard labour already and just needs to rest before pushing. The bad news with an epidural is that it takes about 15-20 minutes for an anesthesiologist to come, 15-20 minutes for the procedure, and another 15-20 minutes for the epidural to kick in. So if you've got a long ways to go then an epidural is a good course, but if you're close to the end, it might not even be worth it.

Narcotics (morphine) can be given in early labour if early labour is too intense, but it can't be continued because of the risk to baby. Morphine will travel across to the baby as well. It was described as a "gateway drug" because if you can't handle early labour without intervention then you won't be able to handle active/transition without an epidural (most likely).

Methods that don't affect baby are gas/air, T.E.N.S. machine, and sterile water injections.

Gas/air is basically a laughing gas that confuses the brain into not feeling the pain as much. The down side is that you can't be very mobile since you'll have to stick close to the machine for whenever a contraction hits. The good thing is that if you find you don't like it, you can stop at any time. Also, it doesn't travel through the placenta to baby and you as the mom are in control of when you breathe it in and when you don't. (Typically it is used during contractions.)

A T.E.N.S. machine is a machine that you hook up to four places on your back with little sticky tabs. It takes the edge of the pain away by increasing your endorphins (your natural pain coping mechanisms) and helps you to cope. The downside is that you can't go in water while using the T.E.N.S., but you can remove the machine and go in the water and when you get out you can reapply the machine. You need to start it early in labour so that your body has a chance to build up the endorphins. The machine does not affect baby in any way and you remain mobile. Someone described it as the best back massage you'll ever receive in your life. You can rent the machines from a doula, your midwife, or even a chiropractor. Some hospitals have them as well, but you'll have to check first to see if you need to purchase your own pads or if they are provided.

Sterile water injections are exactly what they sound like. They are four injections put into your back and kind of make a bubble under the skin. Apparently it hurts like crazy when they are put in, but they can take the edge off of the labour pains for the next hour or so. No harm is done to baby and it's completely natural and you remain mobile. I would imagine it's best as a last resort at the end since it only lasts for an hour or so, but that could be all the time needed.

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I'm thinking of renting a T.E.N.S. machine and using the sterile water injections if I feel like I need an epidural.

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

We also touched on interventions such as inducing, monitoring, epi-something which is basically making an incision in your perineum area, and the use of forceps/vacuums to extract baby.

Inducing makes for a harder labour, but is oftentimes necessary if baby just needs to come out because you're overdue or if it was simply safer for mom and baby to be induced.

Episiotomy is cutting your perineum so there's more room for baby. The doula teaching the class says it's typically better for the mother to tear naturally since your body heals faster that way. The only time cutting is better is if the tear is going in a bad/wrong direction. But then the cut is only to get things going in the right direction. You'll have to make a note on your birth plan if you don't want an episiotomy.

Forceps/vacuum is used when the baby needs to get out stat.

She also mentioned that a great way to get through labour naturally is to greet each contraction with the mindset of "Baby is coming!" rather than "I've just got to get through this contraction." I thought that was an interesting way to view things and I can see it being quite helpful for me personally.

tiggerhammon

I am curiously interested in Lamaze and other breathing techniques. I can see how keeping a mental picture of baby coming can be super helpful in not letting yourself think that the labor pains are a bad thing.
But, in general, I plan to avoid any and all interventions. No epidural, no pitosin, Nada. I plan to do this all on my own this time.