Antenatal classes/education

We did the hospital classes and private classes with my Physio which focused on drug free, kinda calm birthing techniques. Both were well worth it first time round. I can't remember how much either of our classes were but I think the hossi ones may have been around $70 and that was for 8 hours (2 hour classes over 4 weeks) and included snacks and drinks each week. It was a private hospital. I would have paid more, the classes were excellent IMO.

Our hospital classes focused more on the medical side of things plus hospital procedures, pain relief during labour, life with a newborn (the first week - what to expect), etc. The Physio classes were all about labour and techniques to assist labour and avoid intervention and drug free pain relief. We also learnt about how Physio can help post birth too.

I'd highly recommend doing both (or something similar) especially if your 'type' of labour is important to you ie you want drug free, low intervention, etc.

Here's a birth education article of mine which is hugely popular and has been printed in magazines.

9 Reasons Why You Should Choose Independent Birth Education

No-one does birth classes like Rhea Dempsey. She's my birth teacher, part of the birth attendant class is attending her birth education class. Felt SO ripped off what those couples learnt compared to what Rhea taught. Very much so.

Rhea has great classes on working with pain and great info for partners. Its opposite of calmbirth which focuses away from the pain. Both work well for people, some people fly through with calmbirth, some get overwhelmed and it doesn't work for them then they have no other tools for coping with pain. Just what I have observed. Then again I am no calmbirth expert, I am not trained in it, but have attended a class. They are both great, but my thought is the more tools you have in your arsenal, the better. I'm not great with meditation or relaxation so Rhea's classes are more up my alley - and I do love the power that comes from working with pain :) Beer and Bubs is great for dads too.

Definitely with the ABA class too (and a subscription) as you'll have loads of questions and/or issues when it actually happens. I found when I had my first way back when, I wasn't as motivated with breastfeeding classes, both because I had no real example to base it on and I was more focused on the labour.

Your doula should have books for you to borrow - The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and Ina May all the way :) New Active Birth is a bare basics must too.

I know independent options can be 'expensive' but they run small groups and don't take on lots of clients, and need to feed families too - you can't work full time and work in birth - you need to be available all the time, and often have children about that need last minute care. The hours you put into births too - if you break it down by hour, we don't get that much - especially if you only end up with a couple of births a month. Just sharing our side of the fence :) Many of these things you can pay part payments too - not all at once. Or just ask - we always try to accommodate financial issues.

I've not even been offered classes by the hospital!!! Maybe because its my second child and they presume I don't want them?

With my first child I just did the free classes run by the hospital. They seemed good at the time but only focused on a vaginal birth with minimal complications. I ended up being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (on the day I was being induced!) which meant being strapped to the bed with the drip and catheter. That meant all the pain management stuff I'd planned on using went out the window because I couldn't move. The induction failed, then I had an emergency c, failed to breast feed or bond with lil one and had severe PND. NONE of this was I even remotely prepared for.

I think I might start looking into some private classes for this one......