Childbirth Class Part 1
Last night was our first half of the childbirth class. It was supposed to be 3 hours, but we got out about 15 minutes early. The cost of the class was $55 but that's for both weeks, not $55 EACH week. The second part of the childbirth class is next monday same time.
There was 4 parts to last night's class. The first was some detailed information about pregnancy and understanding how it works with your body. They showed us diagrams of all our organs and how they look before pregnancy and where they are at at the end of pregnancy, all squished here and there. They showed the path baby has to take to come out and things like that. I didn't learn too much in this section.
The second part was the longest, most detailed, most important section. It was about labor. We learned about the stages of labor, the early stage, the active stage, the end stage, and then of course pushing. We learned laboring positions, pushing positions, ways baby can be facing and how they should come out. It talked a lot about contractions and when you will feel them and how long and so on. I learned a few different things in this section.
The third part was a video of a woman's labor and delivery. How she labored at home, when she went to the hospital, her active labor at the hospital, and then her delivery at the hospital. But all shoved into about 13-14 minutes. It was an interesting video, but I kind of wished it would have went a little more into detail, and maybe showed more of the actual delivery. You saw a little bit, but not too much. James has never seen an actual delivery of a baby coming out, so I kind of wished he could have seen a little more there to know a little more about what to expect with me.
And the fourth part was some relaxation and coping techniques. Positions to relieve pain, massage, getting in the shower, etc. I had heard about most of these, but did learn a couple new tricks.
Besides the four parts of learning, we did two breathing exercises. We learned slow breathing and paced breathing. The dad's were supposed to grab our shoulders while we were on the birthing balls leaning back on them, and they were supposed to gradually squeeze as the contraction got stronger and then slowly release as it went down, all the while us mom's were supposed to be focusing and doing the breathing exercises.
Overall the class was really pretty interesting and cool. It was in a comfortable setting, only 6 other couples, plus James and I. I learned some things, but also just got review on some things. Either way though, the class kept my interest. I really like the teacher too which makes it more enjoyable. She's very friendly and open and makes you feel comfortable. It's the same teacher we have had for all the classes except for the breastfeeding class. I hope to get her as my nurse at some point during my stay at the hospital.
She answered a few questions and answered some embarassing questions she knew some people were thinking but wouldn't ask.
I think James enjoyed the class. He didn't seem to have any trouble participating in the breathing exercises where he had to squeeze my shoulders. And then on the way home, plus a lot of the time up until bed he was talking about the class and what we planned to do for certain things. Our "homework" for the week was to decide who we want in the delivery room with us. Not just DURING the delivery, but for our whole stay in the that room, like our laboring before we push also. So we talked about that a bit and different things. I think he's getting to the point where he's ready to take over as daddy and be selfish and wants time for just the three of us it seems. I told him it's just as important what he wants, as to what I want, so he needs to speak up and say what he wants.
So I'm kind of excited for the next class to see how well it goes. I really liked this class, so I'm ready for the second half! I'll post about part two next week!
There was 4 parts to last night's class. The first was some detailed information about pregnancy and understanding how it works with your body. They showed us diagrams of all our organs and how they look before pregnancy and where they are at at the end of pregnancy, all squished here and there. They showed the path baby has to take to come out and things like that. I didn't learn too much in this section.
The second part was the longest, most detailed, most important section. It was about labor. We learned about the stages of labor, the early stage, the active stage, the end stage, and then of course pushing. We learned laboring positions, pushing positions, ways baby can be facing and how they should come out. It talked a lot about contractions and when you will feel them and how long and so on. I learned a few different things in this section.
The third part was a video of a woman's labor and delivery. How she labored at home, when she went to the hospital, her active labor at the hospital, and then her delivery at the hospital. But all shoved into about 13-14 minutes. It was an interesting video, but I kind of wished it would have went a little more into detail, and maybe showed more of the actual delivery. You saw a little bit, but not too much. James has never seen an actual delivery of a baby coming out, so I kind of wished he could have seen a little more there to know a little more about what to expect with me.
And the fourth part was some relaxation and coping techniques. Positions to relieve pain, massage, getting in the shower, etc. I had heard about most of these, but did learn a couple new tricks.
Besides the four parts of learning, we did two breathing exercises. We learned slow breathing and paced breathing. The dad's were supposed to grab our shoulders while we were on the birthing balls leaning back on them, and they were supposed to gradually squeeze as the contraction got stronger and then slowly release as it went down, all the while us mom's were supposed to be focusing and doing the breathing exercises.
Overall the class was really pretty interesting and cool. It was in a comfortable setting, only 6 other couples, plus James and I. I learned some things, but also just got review on some things. Either way though, the class kept my interest. I really like the teacher too which makes it more enjoyable. She's very friendly and open and makes you feel comfortable. It's the same teacher we have had for all the classes except for the breastfeeding class. I hope to get her as my nurse at some point during my stay at the hospital.
She answered a few questions and answered some embarassing questions she knew some people were thinking but wouldn't ask.
I think James enjoyed the class. He didn't seem to have any trouble participating in the breathing exercises where he had to squeeze my shoulders. And then on the way home, plus a lot of the time up until bed he was talking about the class and what we planned to do for certain things. Our "homework" for the week was to decide who we want in the delivery room with us. Not just DURING the delivery, but for our whole stay in the that room, like our laboring before we push also. So we talked about that a bit and different things. I think he's getting to the point where he's ready to take over as daddy and be selfish and wants time for just the three of us it seems. I told him it's just as important what he wants, as to what I want, so he needs to speak up and say what he wants.
So I'm kind of excited for the next class to see how well it goes. I really liked this class, so I'm ready for the second half! I'll post about part two next week!
Comments
Post a Comment