Birthing Classes

We finished up birthing classes a couple of weeks ago. We went to 4 classes, once a week, that were each 2-3 hours long. There were about 8 other couples in our class. The classes were at the hospital we are planning to have the baby at. They were generally helpful and informative. I'd definitely recommend them if for no other reason than to make you feel a little more confident about what's going on and to know a little bit of what to expect. Some people have told me that their classes scared them, but I didn't feel that way at all. A couple of delivery nurses from another hospital taught the classes. Here's a short summary of what we covered ...

Class 1 - General pregnancy information and signs of preterm labor. We also took a tour of the maternity ward. I haven't seen the maternity rooms in other hospitals in Knoxville, but these seem really nice.

Class 2 - The stages of labor, including viewing a few birth videos. These really weren't as graphic as I had expected. I've seen almost as much on TV.

Class 3 - Pain management (types of pain relief) and post labor recovery.

Class 4 - Basic newborn care, including a question and answer session with a pediatrician.

And here's a picture of why I get out of breath so easily and get up to pee at night every 1-2 hours ...


I also took a breastfeeding class a couple of weeks ago at the hospital. Unfortunately Brian was in Fargo, ND that week so he didn't get to go. The other two women in my class brought their husbands which is the norm for this class. The instructor was extremely long winded and took every second of the three hours the class was scheduled for, but the class was useful. The instructor is a maternity nurse at the hospital we'll be at so hopefully she isn't assigned to me because she might drive me crazy.