Advice Pleeeeease x

[BabyLove]

I Havnt Been To Any Ante-natal/Parent Craft Classes and I Suppose Im Just Starting To Worry a Bit. What Exactly Am I Missing Out On?

The Classes Offered Are.. Feeding.. Labour.. Pain Relief, But I Never Got Round To Booking Them and Wasnt Too Bothered Because I Know Not Everyone Choses To Go. I Feel Like I Know Enough About What To Expect and Would Rather Go With The Flow.

The Thing Now Is That Im Panicking That I Wont Know How To Feed/Change My baby Or Something Daft Lol Although I Know This Is Silly! Im Worried That I'v Missed Out On Important Info About Labour/Pain Relief.

Are You Shown Anything At All By The Midwives About Feeding/Changing At The Hospital After Birth Etc? and What Exactly Did You Learn At The Classes That May Be Important? Do I Really Need To Attend?

Thanks

 

[lisa&alex]

there is nothing.. and i mean nothing you can learn from a class about your own labour.. how you will deal and cope with it from a birthing class..you can learn about your options.. but nothing will prepare you for labour.. and how you will deal with it.. untill your there.. so just go with what you feel is best.. i never went to any birthing classes when i was pg with charl.. adn i was 18. and im not going to any this time.

 

[Princess_Puddles]

To be honest I found them aload of rubbish, all they really do is explain the process of the birth and the three stages & what to do in them stages but they make it sound like its pi*s easy when It isn't like that all (Not trying to scare you) all I can say is listen to your midwife, when they tell you to push then push, if they say pant then pant!!

Regarding pain relief they won't tell you anything different than what you can find on the Internet!

Please don't worry about not being able to know how to feed/change your baby because honestly I didn't really know either when I had Harrison but it just comes to you, I think its mothers instinct you just know what to do but yes the midwives will show you what to do and help you out as best as they can but without taking over.

Sorry I've kinda rambled on a bit but no I don't think you will really need to attend the only thing I found extremely helpful is sharing my worries with other worried first time Mums.

 

[BabyLove]

Excellent, You've Confirmed What I Thought. I Wasnt Too Bothered About The Labour, More The Feeding Etc. Maybe Im Having a "Im Not Going To Be Good Enough" Moment Thank You xx

 

[Princess_Puddles]

Excellent, You've Confirmed What I Thought. I Wasnt Too Bothered About The Labour, More The Feeding Etc. Maybe Im Having a "Im Not Going To Be Good Enough" Moment Thank You xx

You will be great

I second that

 

[annem]

i over slept till morning and missed parentcraft so i'm pleased i've missed nothing there

 

[valentine]

I must be in the minority, I found mine really helpful and useful (NCT though, the NHS ones were rubbish) - I booked NCT ones as I really wanted me (and particularly OH who wouldn't read anything about labour and birth) to be prepared and to discuss options and eventualities. It helped him be very aware of my wishes.

Valentine Xxx

 

[Princess_Puddles]

I must be in the minority, I found mine really helpful and useful (NCT though, the NHS ones were rubbish) - I booked NCT ones as I really wanted me (and particularly OH who wouldn't read anything about labour and birth) to be prepared and to discuss options and eventualities. It helped him be very aware of my wishes.

Valentine Xxx

We had NCT ones too but I didnt enjoy them one bit

 

[paradysso]

im going to mine, but purely in hope of meeting other local mummy to be's

i probably wont listen to a thing in class

 

[SarahH]

I really enjoyed mine!! I didnt really learn anything but it was a good bunch of ladies in my class, we still all meet up pnce a month - take turns of whos house to go to..... gossip times for the mummies and play dates for the babies

 

[trixipaws]

we went 2 parentcraft and tbh didnt learn anything i didnt already kno.
the MWs stayed at my house after the birth for couple of hours (i had her at home) and b4 they left they helped me with BFing. they didnt show me how 2 change her but they put her nappy on for me. but they hadnt shown me that at parentcraft either.
if ur gonna BF the most helpful thing is a relative who's done it to help u in the early weeks. my mum helped me coz she'd done it.
i'd never changed a nappy til i had millie and altho it was confusing the first time its easy after that (if u use disposables- the cloth ones look more complicated but i dont kno!)

 

[Nic'n'Keeley]

I went to about 2 sessions of ante-natal classes as it was the middle of July and baking hot in a tiny room with about 15 pregnant women and partners in there.

I didn't learn anything i didn't already know or had read about.
I would say to anyone who is unsure about them.. go to the first one and if you don't like it don't go back.

 

[Lou]

Mine were rubbish. They showed you the stages of birth and tried to make a joke of it but when you are cacking yourself you're not in the mood for wise cracks. They also tried to show us relaxation techniques. Yeah because when you are in labour it helps to imagine you are walking on a hot beach somewhere I wanted to learn breathing tips for the pain but was told they don't offer that and I would need to pay for private classes.

I had an epidural and the only breathing I needed to know was how to suck in as much gas and air as possible before breathing out again.

Lou

 

[BabyLove]

Mine were rubbish. They showed you the stages of birth and tried to make a joke of it but when you are cacking yourself you're not in the mood for wise cracks. They also tried to show us relaxation techniques. Yeah because when you are in labour it helps to imagine you are walking on a hot beach somewhere I wanted to learn breathing tips for the pain but was told they don't offer that and I would need to pay for private classes.

I had an epidural and the only breathing I needed to know was how to suck in as much gas and air as possible before breathing out again.

Lou

Thanks Hun xx and Thanks To Everyone Else Too xx

 

[Squiglet]

You don't miss anything in the parent classes in the UK tbh.. They are designed not to make you panic and that everything will be natural and normal... and in actuality they are not... if you read the birth announcements you can see that..

I went to the one's here, just because I was interested and because it's a different country... and well they have an hour of exercises, breathing and hypnosis... before an hour of telling you things like registering the baby and what happens during labour.. (but again that bit is done not to make you panic.. )

Don't worry the parent classes never prepared me for birth or after the baby... It was the people around me who had had kids themselves who gave me the best advice.

 

[elaine22]

I never went to any as I moved areas at the time, but don't feel like I missed out. Labour was nothing like I'd imagined, so I don't think classes can prepare you for that really. Luckily I've got a small sister who I helped change and bath, etc, so knew how to do that, and learnt breathing techniqes from a hypnobirthing book which was really helpful.
Don't worry, your maternal instincts will take over and you will be fine!

 

[Kylie1007]

Ours was run by the midwives in conjunction with sure start and I don't feel that they really told us much I couldn't have already found out on the internet, however they did have the nappy rep lady come who was really interesting (and we ended up buying our nappies from her) plus we met our health visitor.

 

[mayday]

I seem to have had a slightly different view from many on here - I went to 2 NHS run courses because I was too late to get on the NCT run one in our area. I foolishly left it until after I had my 12 week scan (which, admittedly I did have at 14 weeks) as I didn't want to book on a course until I was sure there was a baby in there. The snotty NCT woman told me I was FAR too late to reserve a place - I should have done it immediately after I had wee'd on my stick - her words not mine! I later went to a coffee evening for people who had failed to get on the NCT course, and my local branch of the NCT seems to be run by a pair of women who crochet their own undies and live on home made organic fairy cakes . Not really me!

My NHS courses were both completely different. One of them was 25 women in a small hot sticky room and we were told nothing at all I didn't know. I went to the whole course because it was last thing on a Friday afternoon and my husband could get to it and it made him feel a bit more part of the pregnancy. The other course was run by the physiotherapy department in the same hospital. It assumed you knew what to expect and it concentrated on relaxation, positions and massage to help prepare for birth, during birth and after the birth. It was a really good course and all of the mothers on it still meet up for moral support now.

As for this;

They also tried to show us relaxation techniques. Yeah because when you are in labour it helps to imagine you are walking on a hot beach somewhere

Different things work for different people. I work a lot in Africa and I have a favourite beach I know very well. The sea is turquoise and the sand is white, and if I close my eyes I can hear the waves lapping at the shore, the sound of the heartbreak bird calling, fishermen singing. I can feel the hot dry sand between my toes, a cold bottle of Kalik or perhaps Serengeti, how it tastes when you are thirsty. The sun is HOT and there are nice palm leaf tents, and if I practice it enough I can GO there, but I have to make sure I have crafted my memory of the place carefully. I went through 40 hours of labour with my beach in Africa as my main form of pain escape. I only had to have drugs when things went pear shaped and I had to be rushed into theatre. It might not help you, but it will help others, so don't knock it.

 

[laura-82]

I went to my first one last week, it was the best thing ever - NOT

We got to have a hold of a fake baby & guess the weight, we all guessed 10 lbs & it turned out to be 6 Lb 9oz

Then we had a drink & listened to some smart arse who already had 3 kids babble on about how she knows everything there is to know -arrrrgh she was so annoying, felt like saying well why are you here then

It was crap but it gets me every monday afternoon off work so its not so bad.

But I wouldn't worry Carly your not missing anything, this forum covers everything you'll need to know

 

[Angelblue]

mine start next week, I think i shall go, despite this being baby number 3, as its been 7 years since my last baby, and it would be nice to meet some mums with babies the same age as mine.
I promise to not be a know it all,lol