Lamaze/birthing class- worth it??

Do you guys think its worth it to take a Lamaze or birthing class?? I'm so back and forth with it.

Re: Lamaze/birthing class- worth it??

thanks for posting this...im torn too...

Re: Lamaze/birthing class- worth it??

I really wish I had taken a breathing class. It would have helped a lot since I couldn't get the epi.

Re: Lamaze/birthing class- worth it??

I'll chime in (not pregnant/shop is closed!)

I took a Bradley course, which can be very militant on pain medication, etc. One thing they drilled into us is to question what we didn't know & during labor if you are doing a technique that's working for you & not endangering the baby, go for it. The breathing was also very helpful as it was more along the lines of yoga/mellow vs fast & quick breaths (which would tire me out).

Generally I'm a very low-maintenance patient. I try to be helpful to nurses & not make a big deal of anything. So when I was in labor, I really needed my DH to use counter-pressure (aka dig his fist into my back as hard as he could). It kept knocking off the monitors but it helped with the pain tremendously. The nurses would come in to get the monitors back on. I could tell they got a little frustrated with it. I told DH that maybe we should stop because they were getting aggravated. He reminded me about the class & said "If it's what you need, then do it."

Also knowing how labor progresses, how the pain peaks & then tapers off was VERY helpful. My DH knew to watch the monitors & could say "hang on, it's peaking. It will be over in a second." when I learned to breathe out at the peak, I was able to handle it.

Can you skip it? Yes, millions of women give birth every day without taking a class. If you are taking it, I'd opt for the one day class. I missed the last 2-3 sessions since I had my baby 6 weeks early but still thought it was helpful to know.

I was able to give birth without any pain medication (twice!) & truthfully, it wasn't that bad for me. You can attribute it to the class or nerve endings but in the end, I'm glad I took it.