Childbirth Class Part 2
Last night was the second half of our childbirth class. We didn't have to pay for this one because last week when we paid, it counts for this class too. Again it was a three hour class, but we got out about 10 minutes early.
Again there was 4 parts to the class.
First part was about medical procedures. We learned about epidurals, iv's, pain medicines, fetal monitoring, and things like that. I did know a lot of information in that section, but I learned more in detail about epidurals and how the procedure actually works. It did make me feel more comfortable in getting an epidural, because I've heard good and bad about it. I also asked about an epidural affecting my blood pressure, and she said if I have high blood pressure I should be fine, because epidurals are known to LOWER blood pressure. So that made me feel better. I also learned that once the epidural is in I won't be able to really get out of bed or anything, so I need to wait until my labor is progressing well before deciding to get one. I also learned about an iv. I had never had an iv before, so I didn't really know how they worked. But from what I understood last night, once they put the iv in, they actually remove the needle from in the iv. I was worried about moving your hand around with a needle in there, that it wouldn't be comfortable. Also learned they will try if possible to put it in our arm so it's not on the way in our hand. And I learned about pain meds and how they only work for about 20-40 minutes, and you can only get a dose every 2 hours because it stays in your system for 2 hours, even though you only feel the effects of it for about 20-40 minutes. Also if the baby is sleepy and has a sleepy heartrate, they will not give you pain meds because they will just make the baby sleepier which is not good. But I did learn that if you get pain meds you can get up and move around still.
The second part was about c-sections. I did also know a lot about that section, but learned a few things. I had thought they cut straight into the uterus to get the baby out, but that's not the case. They cut through your skin and fatty tissue, but then you have muscles underneath that. They don't cut the muscles, they seperate them and pull them to the sides and clamp them back pretty much. Then they cut the uterus after that. I learned the three types of c-section and reasons for each. Planned, Unplanned, and Emergency. I also learned that a c-section takes about an hour total (unless it's emergency, then it's usually quicker).
The third part was about newborns. Mainly what they do after they are delivered to monitor baby, things they check for, procedures they do on them, what baby could look like and marks they could have on them and so on. Pretty much everything in this section was stuff I had already learned in the newborn basics class, so I knew all of it already.
The fourth part was about post partum stuff. She kind of flew through this section because class was almost over. She said we would learn all of it at the hospital after labor though, so it was no big deal. It pretty much was just about the care of yourself after the baby is here, it talked about dad and baby bonding, post partum depression, etc. Since this section was so quick, I really didn't learn anything, but I will learn all that at the hospital, so I'm not worried.
Then we did two more breathing exercises somewhere in the middle. We did slow breathing again which we learned last week. And then we did patterened breathing. The he-he-who breathing.
She also talked about the first baby of the new year. She said that family will get a really nice gift card (she said the amount and place for it changes), along with lots of other goodies. It came up in conversation because one of the couples were due January 2nd. So I have a good chance of being the first baby of the new year, but I just have a feeling that she is gonna be here earlier than that. But I don't know for sure, so we will have to wait and see! She will come when it's her time to come!
So overall the class was nice. It was a little bit more boring than the last class, but not bad. In a way I'm sad the classes are over, because I was enjoying learning about things, and I really like the nurse who taught the classes. I hope I see her at some point during my stay at the hospital. But it is nice to be done with classes, because it's one less thing to do!
Again there was 4 parts to the class.
First part was about medical procedures. We learned about epidurals, iv's, pain medicines, fetal monitoring, and things like that. I did know a lot of information in that section, but I learned more in detail about epidurals and how the procedure actually works. It did make me feel more comfortable in getting an epidural, because I've heard good and bad about it. I also asked about an epidural affecting my blood pressure, and she said if I have high blood pressure I should be fine, because epidurals are known to LOWER blood pressure. So that made me feel better. I also learned that once the epidural is in I won't be able to really get out of bed or anything, so I need to wait until my labor is progressing well before deciding to get one. I also learned about an iv. I had never had an iv before, so I didn't really know how they worked. But from what I understood last night, once they put the iv in, they actually remove the needle from in the iv. I was worried about moving your hand around with a needle in there, that it wouldn't be comfortable. Also learned they will try if possible to put it in our arm so it's not on the way in our hand. And I learned about pain meds and how they only work for about 20-40 minutes, and you can only get a dose every 2 hours because it stays in your system for 2 hours, even though you only feel the effects of it for about 20-40 minutes. Also if the baby is sleepy and has a sleepy heartrate, they will not give you pain meds because they will just make the baby sleepier which is not good. But I did learn that if you get pain meds you can get up and move around still.
The second part was about c-sections. I did also know a lot about that section, but learned a few things. I had thought they cut straight into the uterus to get the baby out, but that's not the case. They cut through your skin and fatty tissue, but then you have muscles underneath that. They don't cut the muscles, they seperate them and pull them to the sides and clamp them back pretty much. Then they cut the uterus after that. I learned the three types of c-section and reasons for each. Planned, Unplanned, and Emergency. I also learned that a c-section takes about an hour total (unless it's emergency, then it's usually quicker).
The third part was about newborns. Mainly what they do after they are delivered to monitor baby, things they check for, procedures they do on them, what baby could look like and marks they could have on them and so on. Pretty much everything in this section was stuff I had already learned in the newborn basics class, so I knew all of it already.
The fourth part was about post partum stuff. She kind of flew through this section because class was almost over. She said we would learn all of it at the hospital after labor though, so it was no big deal. It pretty much was just about the care of yourself after the baby is here, it talked about dad and baby bonding, post partum depression, etc. Since this section was so quick, I really didn't learn anything, but I will learn all that at the hospital, so I'm not worried.
Then we did two more breathing exercises somewhere in the middle. We did slow breathing again which we learned last week. And then we did patterened breathing. The he-he-who breathing.
She also talked about the first baby of the new year. She said that family will get a really nice gift card (she said the amount and place for it changes), along with lots of other goodies. It came up in conversation because one of the couples were due January 2nd. So I have a good chance of being the first baby of the new year, but I just have a feeling that she is gonna be here earlier than that. But I don't know for sure, so we will have to wait and see! She will come when it's her time to come!
So overall the class was nice. It was a little bit more boring than the last class, but not bad. In a way I'm sad the classes are over, because I was enjoying learning about things, and I really like the nurse who taught the classes. I hope I see her at some point during my stay at the hospital. But it is nice to be done with classes, because it's one less thing to do!
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