Seriously common Kelly - i think part of the problem is that they show a video of a vaginal birth BEFORE they explain what the different phases are and so on.
Bx
Not to mention also that they're usually videos of highly medicalised births - mother on her back on a bed, drips and monitoring, room full of people, coached pushing, stirrups - to the outsider looking in, it DOES look clinical, impersonal, undignified and just plain bloody scary. There are too many women (and men) who only have exposure to this sort of birth and don't realise that it doesn't have to be like that.

Hospital birth classes have the sole purpose of priming women for a hospital birth and making sure that they know what is expected of them before they get there IMO. They are fundamentally disempowering and for the most part quite negative.

maz - thank you for being so honest. There is nothing glamorous or easy about having surgery even when a beautiful baby is the result.