Antenatel classes - do you have to go? did you go?

[~*Leanne*~]

me and OH were talking about this the other day, and i dont fancy going to them, i probably dont know loads of things about the birth/pregnancy/baby etc etc but OH's sister-in-law only had her daughter 2 years ago and so i can go to her if i need advice.

im just wondering if anyone else didnt go to any classes/who hasnt and isnt going to any?

thanks

 

[daftscotslass]

You don't have to go. To be honest mine didn't tell me much that I didn't know already but it was nice to meet a few people and we also got a tour of the unit. Was good to see it beforehand.

 

[LisaJ1986]

I didn't go. But that was more down to work than anything. I had to work through lunch if i had any time off! When you're pregnant thats not good! Lol But my midwives never knew if i'd been or not and just told me how to breath. I'd got myself in a bit of a panic and they were fantastic.

 

[-Kelly-]

I didn't go and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I did read up a lot on the internet about pain relief/labour though so I was still prepared and could make my choices about how I wanted the birth to go.

 

[rachie29]

I was able to select which ones I wanted, I chose a breastfeeding one, a tour of the maternity unit and an active labour one.

I found them pretty useful actually. The tour was great, I think if you get a chance to see your mat unit definitly do it. It really helps because you are a bit more at ease knowing what to expect.

The breastfeeding one was ok but I won't go to that one next time and the active labour was good as it meant I could meet the midwives at the unit and it also really helped OH. In fact I think it was more beneficial to him than me but it made him so much better at the birth so that makes it definitly worth it.

 

[fothers]

I paid for NCT ones and they were fab for the content and also for meeti ng other mums- we meet up weekly.

I went the tour of our maternity ward too which was good.

If you don't do the classes it might be worth reading a book on it. I read a couple of different really good ones.

 

[Bexie]

I went to my classes and they were more or less a waste of time, the only reason I continued with them was to make some friends and i have made some really good freidns from going to the classes.

We had 6 classes, 3 led by a health visitor and 3 by a midwife, the midwife led classes were better, but the health visitor classes were awful. The first class consisted of passing a cuddly toy round the room with some music playing, when the music stopped whoever was holding the toy had to say how they would stop the (pretend baby) from crying. Really didn't feel that they were that valuable. The midwife classes were more informative and we were given handout to do with breathing techniques and so on.

If you don't want to go to the classes Iwouldn't you can find out so much on the web, you can also ask your midwife any niggling questions to do with labour.

 

[KJ]

I would say go to the classes.

Even though I knew most of it, I work in biological science so that's why. If I hadn't had the knowledge through my work I would have said they are a must. And the social aspect was a lifesaver for me after I'd given birth. I still meet up with the other mums and babies once a week. I did the NCT classes.

If you decide not to go then definitely read a book on labour, pain relief, intervention, etc. because you really need to know all the options and possibilities. Labour isn't as straight forward as some would have you believe, and it helps to understand all the terms, etc when you've got doctors, midwives pressuring you to make a decision.

K.xx

 

[ASD123456]

We had ante natal classes a couple of weeks ago, they were two three hour sessions aimed at couples. I didn't find they told me much I didn't know already but OH was really glad we went. It explained a lot of things to him that he wasn't aware of and he feels a lot more informed and confident for when labour begins now.

As has been said by others, the tour of the labour ward was good too (this was intergrated into our classes), it's quite helpful to see where you would be having the baby and also some of the procedures that would happen e.g a resusater (sp?) being in the room as standard and not needing to be concerned about it being there.

We also met some couples from the area who are due around the same time and have swapped numbers with them.

Overall I would say they are worth going to and if you go to NHS classes they don't cost anything, you can always leave during a break if you don't like them.

Alex xxx

 

[chickadee1976]

I went, to be honest i didnt learn alot but made some friends, who remained friends thru toddlerhood and who i couldnt have coped without.

Im going to go again this time, for the same reasons, ive been working so long i dont know anyone with babies and dont want to be a hermit

 

[LisaJ1986]

I was given an option for the tour. It consisted of the labour and maternity ward, and Special care. OH would like to have gone but we didn't as i'd seen all the wards before. If i hadn't seen special i'd have gone, so that i didn't get freaked out if for any reason baby had to be there.

 

[Sherlock]

If you plan on BF'ing then I'd say attend at least that class as BF can be a struggle to start so any tips/advice and so on will be useful.

As for the others, I attended the labour/pain relief class and skipped the rest.

The thing to consider is although your sister in law had a baby 2 years ago and obviously is experienced, no two babies are the same. So what worked for your SIL may not work for you, so having other ideas to float around and discuss might be a good thing for you. There are many ways to tackle problems and so on, so only having your SIL might narrow your viewpoint.

For example, I am BF'ing but could not give anyone advice on how to get their baby to latch, suck, find the nipple, deal with sore or cracked nipples etc as my baby never had any problem whatsoever with anything to do with BF'ing and its been a breeze for me (other than he is very demanding for my boob ). However many women do find the early days hellish and a struggle (and that is often where/why some go over to forumula). So for many women having as much info about all aspects of BF'ing would be good IMHO and worthwhile.

Also then things like winding, posseting and all those things connected with feeding be it formula or breast fed.

Same with labour/pain relief class. Your SIL's experience of labour will of course be different from yours. So long as you are informed about all the pain relief optiions, breathing techniques (good for first stage labour) and the stages of labour etc then fair enough. If not it might be good to attend and hear others ask Q's and ask some yuorself if you have any. Answers from professionals so you know you are being informed correctly.

 

[Sandi4Paul]

we went to make friends and got along with evryone whihc ws great, we finished this week and already have catch up sessions planned. I did learn a few things, not a lot as i tended to be the girly swo with all the answers but getting a different point of view was good.

sandi

 

[Xena]

I went when I was pg with DD and found them really interesting.

I didn't bother second time round though, as I'd already been through it all lol

 

[trixipaws]

i did go to them but tbh i didnt learn anything from them. i did find the BF workshop quite useful tho. if u dont wanna go then dont bother, they not essential. x

 

[elaine22]

I didn't go because I moved areas around the time they were meant to start, however I don't think I missed out on much. Luckily I'd already helped with my sis when she was born a few years ago and I'd read up on everything anyway. If I hadn't moved I probably would have gone mainly to meet other pregnant women as I didn't know any.
I was able to have a tour of the maternity ward when I went in for my growth scan which was really helpful so I'd try and arrange a tour if possible, I think a lot of hospitals have a specific day of the week when you can book them.