Of course you are not silly to want to spend your time and money on other things if you felt the class would not be useful. But the question I have is "What turned you off?" Unfortunately, there are a lot of not-very-good-classes out there taught by people who have no qualifications to teach them. (Training as a maternity nurse, BTW, no more qualifies someone to teach expectant couples than certification as a childbirth educator qualifies someone to be a nurse.) Or perhaps the class simply wasn't a good fit for you. Before you abandon the idea of childbirth classes, consider what a class can give you:
- Knowledge about the last months of pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, early life with a new baby
- Labor coping skills for you and your partner
- The ability to get questions answered and participate in discussions
- Information on what policies and practices are most likely to promote a healthy, satisfying birth experience
- Peer support--the chance to get to know and share with other people in the same life phase you are
to name a few. Take a look at Choosing a Childbirth Educator for general information on how to find a good class that's right for you before you give up the idea. You can also get questions answered elsewhere on the Lamaze International website.
If you choose not to take childbirth classes--or even if you do--I strongly suggest you hire a doula. I also recommend getting The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin for specific information for your partner on helping a woman during labor, and for all-around basic information, get ahold of The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence. I also suggest you sign up for Lamaze's weekly e-newsletter. It's free.
-- Henci |