How to Have a Baby 101
So it’s getting to be that time.
“That time” being “time to look into birthing classes”.
I am not excited.
- I’m not scared about labor yet – probably should be, but I’m not – and I figure that an entire series of Saturdays dedicated to telling me that I can’t possibly do this without massive training &/or painkillers is likely to change that. And who needs to be scared for the next 4 mos.?
- My husband has – a couple of times – made a comment like, “You’re going to want me to attend classes with you, aren’t you?” Um yeah. If I have to go through the misery of labor + birthing classes, you, at least, have to go through the misery of classes. Bummer. Deal with it, dude.
- Although I’m a hippy-dippy kind of gal, I’m also a dyed-in-the-wool smartass. Which means that even though I know myself well enough to know I’ll be happier with a natural birthing sort of experience, but that I’ll be unbearable at a class the first time the instructor tries to get all “birth is beautiful and can be orgasmic” in my presence. I’ll be the obnoxious person in the class rolling her eyes and not getting into the practice breathing exercises at all.
- It’s going to be a pain in the ass trying to schedule classes for Sundays – my only reliable day off and the day I count on SLEEPING – or evenings.
- Have I mentioned that I don’t tend to like guided experiences? Give me a book and I’ll study the hell out of it. Let me figure stuff out on my own & I’m happy as a librarian with an internet connection. But walk me through some stuff that I already know (or think I know) and some stuff that strikes me as goofy/obnoxious/stupid and I’ll be in no mood to hear the stuff I really should learn.
So I’m still waffling. I’m sure I’ll do it, but it’s already under protest. Any NYC ladies have a really great class experience? Or, contrarily, have someone I should avoid at all costs? (I’m looking into hypnobirthing & Bradley method.)
I don’t live in NYC, but I took a natural childbirth class three years ago. Which I thought was decent. I did however, think they left lots out (after I had my child I realized this). Many of the techniques seemed worthwhile, but ended up being very difficult to implement at the actual time. One technique they didn’t mention by name but that worked for me was swearing like a sailor. LOL!
My only suggestion is to be flexible with whatever happens when you actually go into labor. Good luck!
I didn’t do the classes because the spouse had a similar reaction. Most people tell me that the general childbirth classes are a waste, but Im sure hypnobirthing and the bradley method classes are completely worth taking and if I had to do it over I would have gone and MADE Jack go with me! Just my two cents
I wish I could recommend a place in NYC — there is a great chain in the Boston area called Isis Maternity that offers classes, which is where we took ours. It was just one Saturday (though all day) and relatively painless. I’d say the worst part of it was trying to keep a straight face through the ’70s era video showing hairy couples going through the birthing process! Anyway I hope you find an equally painfree class to take — the class definitely shouldn’t add pain to the experience of giving birth….
Well, at the risk of sounding all hippie flower child on you, you might want to look into Hypnobirthing. There are quite a few birthing videos on youtube of Mom’s using it, and man, they make it look SO easy! I know that we as females have been taught birth is horribly painful, messy, and dirty, but it doesn’t have to be like that. Whatever you choose, I hope you are confident and happy w/ your decision. Oh, and I can’t wait to read the post on it!
I highly recommend the book Birthing From Within. I personally found some of the stuff in there over the top, but the information about birth was amazing. It is the book that helped me prepare for birth the most. I am pregnant with my fourth child and have never taken a childbirth class.
I took a general childbirth class and it wasn’t very helpful. If you do research on your own, I don’t think you have to take a class. Especially if it may actually negative affect your birthing experience.
I’m a GIVE ME THE DANG EPIDURAL RIGHT NOW kind of woman, but my hippy-dippy natural birthing friends loved Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, if you are wanting a book recommendation.
I took a class at the hospital, and I suppose if you were COMPLETELY uninformed, it might have been useful, but I found it a waste of time. Of course, I ended up having a c-section, but still all the things they talked about in the class were things I knew. In NYC they probably have much better offerings! Good luck, and if you don’t want to take the class, don’t.
I have hypnobirthing CDs if you want them. You might want to read “the big book of birth,” seeing as you’re a reader and a librarian and all. if you go the hypnobirthing route, I think you mostly meet one on one with the hypnobirthing teacher to learn the inductions and then you practice it on your own.
will you be getting a doula? I can get recs for this too. both labor doulas and postpartum doulas…
…if you want to go REALLY hippy I have a friend in park slope I can hook you up with – more the Ina May childbirth tradition track…
let me know…on all these things…great to see you and the boy on friday night.
If you’re looking into Hypnobirthing, looking into Hypnobabies– they also have a home study course.
In the UK we tend to do “natural childbirth” classes primarily to meet other mums in our area who are having babies at the same time rather than through any particular desire to avoid drugs.In that way my classes were great – the women I met 6 years ago are still friends although they have nearly all moved to the burbs – for the first 4 years they were my closest friends,
I absolutely LOVED my Bradley classes and teacher. They were wonderful and I really felt prepared. We took classes one-on-one when we were pregnant with Alex, and they were really awesome. Even though I had the emergency c/s with Bobby and Maya, my Bradley training kept me sane through it all.