Preparing for Birth: Childbirth Education
Welcome to the second week in our 10 week series on Preparing for Birth! This week’s focus is on childbirth education. I took several classes in my first pregnancy and recently finished up a Hypnobabies class we took this time around. I actually had a spreadsheet of all the classes in my area during my first pregnancy and narrowed it down to the ones that best fit my schedule. It’s been quite a while now (over 3 years!), but I believe we took an Infant CPR class, Breastfeeding class, Newborn Care class, Bradley Childbirth Classes, Hypnobirthing Classes and an Infant Massage class (that one was after Marcella was born.) I took all but the Bradley and Hypnobabies classes at different hospitals in my area.
I’ll be sharing my experiences and thoughts this week on the classes I took as well as my thoughts on childbirth education in general. Also, check out these lovely posts on childbirth education:
- Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children shares how the wonderful births of their children was based on research – not luck.
- If you’re hoping for a natural birth (or want to help your child or partner become more comfortable with the natural birthing process), check out some of the 30 natural birth videos and slideshows Dionna at Code Name: Mama found. And if you’re planning on having a child present at your birth, here are a few tips on how to prepare young children for being present at a natural childbirth.
- Julie at Inexplicable Ways shares information about how Hypnobabies is different than other childbirth classes.
- Lactating Girl says some people say that childbirth classes aren’t necessary, but she considers them a very important part of preparing for birth. She believes there are just things you can’t get out of a book and her post, Childbirth Classes Required,explains why.
Want to participate? Learn more in my Call for Submissions post.