Are birthing classes necessary?

Question

The birthing classes offered by my hospital are so expensive. Like $150 for the first-time mother class and $350 for birthing class with a partner (3 two hour sessions). I would love to take classes but I can’t see spending $500 in classes, when I can use that money to put towards something for the baby. My question is, are they necessary? I found some online to watch but I’m not sure what I should be looking for. Any tips are greatly appreciated!

Answer

I’m not going to say that it’s necessary or unnecessary.... but we paid $150 and had ours last weekend, it was a complete waste of money and 6 hours 😒... A Doula taught the class and basically talked about her job and how she helps moms to be during labor. That’s all great and dandy, but half the class didn’t have a Doula or Midwife that they hired. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I just left frustrated and knowing nothing more than I already knew when I arrived. Not to mention, I’m being induced so a lot of what she talked about laboring at home did not pertain to me.

Answer

I never took them. Your body knows what to do and the nurses really helped guide me on what was needed. Also with things like YouTube where you can just watch a video or 2 I wouldn’t waste your time or money on classes. The one thing I had to keep being reminded to do was breathe. My contractions were intense I’d forget to breathe through them and my nurse had to keep telling me to breathe.

Answer

Mine is 150$ too.  6 hours and 150$...no thanks😂 I’ll be reading up on info on the internet, and just had my FREE hospital tour lol.  I got to ask all the questions i had.  I’m 34 weeks.

Answer

If I was planning a home birth I would maybe do more classes to help with pain management but otherwise I don’t think a class would have helped with my first labor.

Answer

This is crazy to me! Our hospital offers free classes and I thought that was the norm. I’m pregnant with number 3 and took birthing classes with my first two (they were 10 years apart) bc the classes were free. With that being said, I would not have paid for the class. You can probably find everything you need/want to know online. At the end of the day, baby will find their way out and your body knows what to do. I’d save your money!

Answer

I won’t be taking any classes, no. I watched some videos and read a LOT of articles from various sources. Women’s bodies are made for this, I just want to know what to expect and best ways to handle the pain. I don’t feel like I need to pay someone for that when I can do my own research! My personal opinion 🤷🏻‍♀️ I would consider a breastfeeding class however!

Answer

I don’t know about hospital birthing classes, but my husband and I took a 12 week Bradley Method course ($300) and it was totally worth every penny. We fill so much more prepared, and have a lot more knowledge than we started with!

Answer

I never did them. I’m about to have baby #2 and all I can say is, giving birth is instinctual. Taking a childbirth class to me is like taking a class on breathing or eating or taking a shit. Lol

Answer

Our classes were $80. We went 8 hours for two Saturdays in a row and learned a lot. My favorite part was practicing the different positions for pain relief. I actually use some of them to help my back now that I’m getting near the end. I think they were particularly helpful for my hubby— he got lots of ideas on what he needs to do to support me during labor, and he feels a lot more prepared than he did before.

Answer

They’re not necessary but they are helpful if you haven’t done a lot of research yourself. I found that I had researched so much during my pregnancy from credible sources that my knowledge base was more than the class.

Are birthing classes necessary?

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