Lamaze classes necessary- If so...When?

Hey everyone! Thanx to everyone who replied to my first post. It helped tremendously! Well... I'm a little over 22 wks now, and I guess if I'm gonna take any prep. classes for labor, now would be a good time to sign up. Is lamaze really necessary? Or is there another method that anybody recommends? Anything would help me out right now. This is my first pregnancy...and I feel completely lost!! I just want to be as prepared as possible =)

 

I would take a multiples class.. breathing techniques during labor are included in that. I took mine late.. I think I was 7.5 months along when I did it (against their recommendation) but it worked for me since I didn't have my twins until 38 weeks. It was helpful for DH for sure.. he didn't know what to expect and he really walked out of there feeling like he learned something new. (That's always a plus!)

 

I took a "prepared childbirth" class with my first dd. I kind of felt like it was a waste of time since I did a lot of reading anyway. I found that the complicated breathing patterns were useless in labor. My instinct was to do a deeper, slower breathing to get through my ctx. anyway, I found out in researching for my vbac that this is actually more closely aligned with the bradley method. (which I had never heard of before). The bradley classes actually have a 90% rate of epidural free graduates....so if natural birth is your goal then I would say go for a bradley class or a class that uses bradley-type methods. We've hired a doula this time around to help keep things as natural as possible since for vbac that keeps the risks of uterine rupture lower...and she teaches a class that does a modified bradley method...not quite as strict as the typical 10 week official bradley courses. Most surveys show that lamaze classes or prepared childbirth classes done by hospitals have absolutely no affect on epidural rates or any other intervention rates...they are useful for one thing...helping you to understand and accept hospital policies and interventions on birth. it is good to understand those things...so long as you realize the perspective being offered might be more biased for litigation reasons than for actual health of mother and babies. anyway, from my research if you are really serious about wanting to do natural labor then there are two things that significantly increase your chances of success....1. taking a course that is independent from a hospital or doctor's office (bradley method has the best rates) 2. hiring a doula... which is basically a labor coach. I probably wouldn't have taken the second drastic step except for the fact that I really want to feel confident that I've done everything I could do to make my vbac odds as good as possible..from the perspective of a successful vaginal birth and also from the safety perspective of avoiding uterine rupture. Anyway...I've done my research, and I really kind of wish I had known all this for my first dd... I think it would have made her vaginal delivery much better.

 

I never took one. I wanted to with DD1 because I thought that was "the thing to do." But I went into the hospital on bedrest, so oh well. I figured women had been giving birth for millenia without it, so why bother? But I did read a lot, too, and when it came time to push, one of the nurses said "Do like this!" and that was that!

On the other hand, if you are especially nervous about giving birth, maybe this will make you feel better.

congrats again on your pregnancy!

 

we took a class and it was more of a waste of time than anything IMHO Not saying that is wasnt helpful but everything that she went over were things i had already read. The nurses will teach you and tell you what you need to do. Good Luck, Taking a class wont be a bad thing but i would have taken a multiple class over our birthing class anyday.

 

Hi,

I'm going to be a first time mommy too!! and we did a combo of all the PP's.

We took a twin class at the hospital which was VERY helpful! We had a teacher who was a nurse and a mom of multiples (she had TRIPLETS!) She gave us insight that only a multiple mom would have vs. a normal birthing class (also what happens during a twin delivery during a c-section and natural). During the class she took us on a NICU tour to help us understand what will happen with Twins and how delivery will be different then a singleton delivery and what to expect. What you can do and what you can't do with twins and basically what to expect and what to expect during a twin pregnancy. I have to say my DH thought the class was very helpful and really needed because it gave us insight of twin pregnancy that we never knew about. (We took this class around 25 weeks).

Last weekend, we took our "birthing class" It was a one day class and went over everything as well but of course focused on singleton pregnancy. We did breathing techniques and what DH/Birthing Partner should do when you are going through contractions - what to do at home and when to come to the hospital. I read about allot of it online and in books but it was very helpful to have DH and I hear it again at the same time so we are on the same page. The class I was in were all first time mom's so we got to ask alot of questions regarding the hospital and what to expect and some people asked questions I never thought of asking and it helped me out.

We also were given local contact numbers for support groups, car seat checks, and other odd's and end's we'd would have to research for but were given in a nice neat package.

My recommendation is - take a class. It might be stuff you already know but it's nice to have everything reinforced by a professional and some of this stuff my DH and I realized was never talked about by my doctor, because it was assumed we would take a class (my practice pushes the classes). I think it was also helpful (both classes) were helpful because it helped my DH understand what is going to happen and why I complain/feel bad why I do.

Hope this helps.

 

We were going to take a multiples class, but then were never able to because I was on bedrest starting at 16 weeks. Had I gone full term, it would have been helpful for DH to take a baby care class. But I did not go full term, so DH got individualized baby care lessons from some very experienced NICU nurses. He became a pro before we ever brought them hom. Prior to that, he'd never changed a diaper or anything else baby-related, other than holding nieces/nephews briefly.

 

With my singleton we took birthing classes at 28 weeks. If you are going to do it, you may want to look into signing up now.