We went Private and I felt the classes were only there for preparing us for a medically assisted birth. They showed us all the things they could use forceps, epidural needle etc. We went through all the pain relief options and were shown where the gas was on our tour. One of the two videos we were shown was a caesarean birth. We actually had to ask to see some videos of ‘natural’ births which we took home and watched.

I thought it was very strange that they didn’t cover breathing techniques in the classes. Surely that is common sense when preparing couples for the birth of their first baby. Also I think more focus should be towards breastfeeding. This wasn’t covered much.

We were very disappointed in the classes and thought it a waste of $160. The other couples seemed clueless about the impending birth and when asked about the stages of labour, they had not idea. I really think my many hours a day on BB back then helped a lot. The classes may be good for people that don’t read up about birth and caring for a baby or go online for some info but for us it was a waste of time.

For us, I ended up having a caesarean because I wasn’t progressing naturally and the cord was around Amy’s neck twice but the classes didn’t make any difference.