Childbirth class?

I went to a hospital orientation last night at Winthrop that was informative as far as what to expect in the hospital... but do I really need to take a childbirth class? There is one offered through the hospital and also one offered by my dr's office but the cost is $150 or $175- is it worth it to even learn Lamaze? Thanks

Re: Childbirth class?

For me personally no way would I spend that on a child birth class.
When it was time to push the nurse asked- so did you take a class?
i said no.
She said- ok here is how you are going to push.
And she told me- in 5 minutes.
And I pushed my DD out.
I really can't imagine retaining or thinking back to anything I learned in a class while I was is in the throws of labor and delivery.

Re: Childbirth class?

I did not take any classes whatsoever. I read a lot and watched a lot of videos. I went on to have a successful delivery.

Re: Childbirth class?

I don't know if it's really worth it for that much. I did one that was only $35 and for me as a first time mom, it was well worth it. It wasn't lamaze though, it was mostly just informative stuff like what to expect during delivery (what you'll be likely to feel, what's happening in our bodies whether it's vaginal or c-section - nothing graphic though). Then they went into newborn care in itself (like how to bathe them, take temp, wrap in blankets, nurse, etc). We did breathing exercises and they showed positions to help during birth and the different types you can opt for (like water birth etc). There was a whole bunch of stuff, it was once a week for maybe 2 months. We also did a tour of the hospital at one of the sessions, and they answered a ton of questions.

In the end, I don't think it was NECESSARY, but definitely something I enjoyed. I like to know what to expect and this definitely helped me a lot. That said, I would not have done it if it was expensive though.

This time around, being pregnant with #2, DH just asked me "We don't have to take that class again, do we?" lol. So maybe I enjoyed it a lot more than he did

Re: Childbirth class?

I signed up for the orientation last night but canceled .. was it useful?

I won't be taking a childbirth class. I feel like when the time comes, you just gotta roll with the punches and wing it (but that's just how I do things)