What birthing classes are you taking or recommend?

Question

I am beginning to look at birthing classes and I am a first time mom.  Unsure which ones people find to be helpful or unhelpful.  Currently I am looking at a baby wellness class, cpr class, and a childbirth preparation class. I do not plan to breastfeed so that class is unnecessary for me. Would love to hear your inputs.

Answer

I'm in the UK so ours are slightly different. I'm a second time mum and believe that it's important to be aware of all options, whatever your preference is.

First time round, I did hypnobirthing; a general class that went through all birthing options, pain relief, episiotomies, c sections, etc; a general baby care class that you went to with grandparents as it covered everything that has 'changed' over the years; and a baby/children's first aid class.

My planned birth was an all natural water birth as I had the perfect pregnancy, baby was well engaged, etc. I ended up with a failed induction and emergency c section at 42 weeks. I must say, the hypnobirthing was fab and kept me calm in a stressful situation, even though it was never used for its intended purpose. I was also glad I did the general class as I knew what to expect when it was clear I wasn't going to have my preferred type of birth. It also helped me come to terms with it as the class was very inclusive and explained they have all these different things because they're sometimes needed! I felt no judgement after mine as I was armed with the facts.

This time round I'm having a planned c section at 39 weeks, however, as I'm not massively high risk I'll give a natural birth a go if I go into labour on my own beforehand. Due to this, I'm going to do a VBAC class as well.

Answer

I'm having a natural birth (no epidural), so I'm taking hypnobabies, which is essentially guided meditation to teach you how to relax your body during birth

Answer

Me and my fiance have so far taken baby boot camp and cpr classes and we're starting a child birth preparation class late july.

Answer

I have us signed up for child CPR, breastfeeding and childbirth prep. I have all my classes in August.

What birthing classes are you taking or recommend?

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