I know it's a debate among pretty much everyone about to have a baby: DO we take a childbirth class!? My hubby and I were in the exact.same.situation. And for the first two babies, we decided, "Nah!" "We'll know what to do when we get there!" Haha! Does that work? Yeah! If you don't have any expectations of what it should be like or what you want it to be like, it was totally fine! I did want to have an unmedicated birth with our first, and I just went for it! I had bought some CD's instead of classes, and listened to those throughout pregnancy. When I got there, water was broken, IV and Pitocin in place, I toughed it out for a long time. Hours. And Hours. And hours. I bore through the pain clenched. I didn't know that being clenched up could keep you from progressing! I didn't have the resources to have a "Natural Birth," and when it came down to it, tens of hours later and a C-Section was on the table, we opted for the Epidural, and it did help me relax and my cervix to progress. After 3 1/2 hours of intense pushing, our little boy was born! All 7 lbs. and 12 oz. He was perfect! And my birth was perfect because we made the right choices in the situation that we had. Next baby, I was {again} determined to do it unmedicated. When I went in for my induction, I was set on it. And I did it! I will say that an unmedicated induced labor can be intense. It was doable, but I found myself wanting to be more in control and more relaxed. If that was possible. With our third baby, we decided to get some help. We needed the resources to make it happen again in a more relaxed way. So, we decided to take a HypnoBirthing Class! There were definitely pre-conceived notions about taking the class. Especially from my hubby. Liiiiike, "Do we need to bring our own granola?" "What crazy things will we do when we are hypnotized?" Hahah! Kind of kidding. When we took the class, we fell in love with it. We found it helped us not only in preparing for the birth, but in everyday things. Tom found himself using it at work to relax. I found myself feeling more in control of my breathing, and being more "okay" with being relaxed. I have such a go-getter and sometimes anxious personality, that sometimes it is so hard to relax fully. {Isn't it crazy that it can be hard to give in to the relaxation!? I know it sounds weird, but I also know that I'm probably not the only one out there!} During labor, I was in the zone. I was relaxed, vocal noises were at a minimum, and I found myself breathing my baby down into the hands of the doctor. It was a beautiful experience. Just like my other births. Because all birth is beautiful. This time, it did feel good to feel more in control and to understand what was happening when my baby was moving down to be born. The class had explained all of it, and gave me the tools to have the experience I was hoping for! We enjoyed it so much that we decided to take it a second time for our 4th baby. Again, we learned a lot and it was a great re-fresher. When our fourth baby was born, it was such an empowering experience. Letting your body take over, {of course, when the situation permits!} moving where you feel you need to move, is an incredible thing. After the nurse checked my cervix, I decided to use the potty and take another walk. When we were half way down the hall, I said, "I need to get back to the bed." I knelt down on the bed, leaned over the back of it like a chair, and said, "Get the Nurse! I'm pushing!" As the overwhelming urge to push set in, I followed suit. My body was giving birth with no coaching, no help. It was an amazing feeling. When the Nurse got there, {who also happened to be my friend from College!} our baby's head had already made an appearance! She prompted me to wait one second, then she put one glove on, grabbed a receiving blanket, and said, "Okay, push!" And out she came. Everyone was emotional because it was the craziest thing in the best way!
SO, when it comes to classes? I'm team classes. Even though we didn't take one until baby #3, I am all about it! Which class you take will depend on what experience you are aiming for. There's no wrong answer, and yes it is worth the money if you find the right one!:)
I hope that helps demystify the Child Birth Class debate a little bit! Let me know what you think, and if you have any questions or suggestions for material, please leave a comment below!
XO
Sarah
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