How to Pay for Childbirth Classes with Your Baby Registry

As it turns out, you can have too many onesies and baby blankets. Just one of the many reasons people create baby registries.

Did you know that you can add things other than traditional baby supplies to your list of registry must haves? It's common to include requests for gift cards and cash funds for things like meals, diapers, childcare, adoption, and a doula. Babylist, the leading online baby registry site, enables parents to register for items that aren't exactly items, but are incredibly useful -- like childbirth classes! Below are instructions for adding a cash fund to cover childbirth classes on Babylist, as well as tips for timing and sharing.   

Use Babylist to Add Childbirth Classes to Your Baby Registry

1. Start early. If possible, start the process of researching classes and sharing about your registry early in your pregnancy. That will help ensure you'll be able to take the classes you desire and increase your chance of getting the classes funded by your registry. 

2. Find a childbirth class that meets your needs. Before you put a childbirth class fund on your registry, you need to determine how much you need to cover the cost. Do your homework and find a quality in-person or online childbirth class, then determine a cost or approximate cost (if you find a few options) that you can add to your registry. 

3. Create your online registry at Babylist with only the most important items. Create your account, but don't include baby supplies just yet. Since you'll be sharing your registry with people early in order to fund childbirth classes, keep your list simple to help people focus on the most urgent item(s) on your list. Alternatively, build your complete registry but include a specific message when sharing via email that lets friends and family know your goal of funding childbirth classes. 

4. Click "Add a Cash Fund" on Babylist. Then choose "Create a Cash Fund." Once added to your registry, change the title to "Childbirth Classes," or something similar. Then add the goal amount and choose options for how you wish to accept gifts (cash, check, PayPal). 

5. Change "Cash Fund" to "Birth Preparation." If you want to go a step further (not necessary, but a nice touch!), you can change the category title of your gift request from "Cash Fund" (automatically populated) to "Birth Preparation" or "Birth Support." On your registry dashboard, click on "View Registry." Above the list of items on the right, click on the arrow icon (see below). This will bring you to a list with categories and a pencil icon. Click on the pencil next to "Cash Fund." This will allow you to populate the field with any title you wish. 

6. Share, share, and reshare! Now that you have your childbirth class fund added to your registry, it's time to share with your circle of friends, family, coworkers, etc. Include a personalized message that lets the recipient know why you're sharing your registry early and what you hope to achieve. Add in a note about why childbirth classes are important to you, if you feel inspired to do so. When your recipients click through to your registry, they'll see something like this: