Help Me - What DID you want to learn in antenatal Classes??

Hi everyone,
I'm an antenatal class educator and was so upset for the people who took the class when I read a thread where all the posts where really negative about their classes and how they didnt learn anything useful. You are supposed to learn from your classes not coming out feeling like you got nothing out of them. It got me thinking and I was so upset at the thought that people have left my classes feeling like this and I hate that thought.

So help me out. What did you want to learn in your classes?? My classes are held for 2 hours one night a week for 5 weeks. So I have 10 hours to fit in as much as I can. What would have been most beneficial and would could you have done without.

Thanks everyone,
Dan.

i would have loved some more insight to the AFTER pains!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the pain associated with epsiotomy's, tears etc...how best to care for the perinium, roids, fissures etc.. i felt this was the one thing that really needed more discussion.
helpfull tips such as frozen condoms of water for icepacks

I wish i was told a few things.

Like breastfeeding will hurt A LOT at the start and that is normal and to be expected but that it will pass within a few weeks and then not hurt at all.

That if you have an epidural then it will be turned off when you have to push the baby out - i had no idea about that and was in total shock and disbelief when my ob told me this with my first.

might have to come back to this with some more - brain not working very well at the mo but i know there were quite a few things that i wish i'd been told before hand.

Julie x

I was so glad to know how to best use the gas. We were taught to breath it in just before the contraction hit so that it took the edge of the top of the contraction - best knowledge I had and gas was my friend

I haven't been to a class yet, but I am hoping to learn...

X please show me some positions that are not lying flat on my back
X please give me some insight about what might happen the first hour or two after the birth
X educate me about some pain relief options, should I choose to use them
X show my husband how he can be involved in the birth

hmm... having not given birth yet, I don't really know what I don't know. Sorry I haven't been much help!

Our classes were very good and really helped when Daniel was born. My DH was a picture of calmness and wouldn't have been so if he hadn't attended the classes. He also asked all of the questions that popped in to his head. People might have thought they were weird questions, but he asked them anyway and some of the dads probably were thinking them anyway. Maybe a 'dad's night' would be good.

We were taken on a tour of the labour wards (which may be easier because we're in the country) and one of the class members was connected to the fetal heart monitor. So when I was having Daniel we knew exactly what the machine was and what the noises meant.

We also simulated stuff like anaesthetics. The nurses always picked the men to be connected up (using sticky tape and the catheters etc). Someone would hold a drip and someone would be taking a pulse. It was to show all the sorts of people you could be expecting in a room during birth. The victim was surrounded by people doing this that and the other.

The one thing that wasn't mentioned was the pain of the uterus shrinking (Or even that it would so dramatically). After I had Daniel I was also asked if my "loss" was OK. What was OK? I was bleeding like a stuck pig as far as I was concerned. Maybe need to go in to the loss after birth and the potential mess this causes. That was a surprise to me. It felt like my DS had clawed his way out when I was weeing, I wasn't expecting that either.

If I think of anything else I'll reply again. I could probably go all day.

Oh yeah. The nurses really stipulated to the blokes that during birth they were their partners' voice and that they remain calm, talk about options prior to birth with their partner, so any decisions were known.

The only thing I had time for was gas, and my DH managed that for me calmly and spurred me on. I think this was mostly because of what the nurses had said. He was assured of his obligation to be an active part of the birth and that he would be asked to undertake tasks to assist anyone in the room.

Hmmm I only finished my last class last night and I think my biggest complaint was we had a couple of MW's who just waffled on and on and on - even though the class stopped responding a long time ago....

There were heaps of things I wanted to know like... If you have to have an episiotomy do they numb the area first
I thought they could have spent more time on how Dad can help in labour as my DF felt that the Dad's were treated like they were superflous to the whole thing.
More about whats going to happen after bubs is out, especially things like pain or being uncomfortable when you get home....
Ummm..... More time spent showing you how to wrap bub and things like that - I think our class spent about 5 mins.

Something about birth plans as we didn't touch on this at all and definately some time going through what to pack for a hospital stay....

If I think of anything else I'll let you know :)

Dan, I hope my thread on 'what did you learn from antenatal classes" didnt hurt your feelings. :hug: If it did that was not my intention at all and I am sorry. I jsut wanted to see what people did find useful from them as when I spoke to the midwife at my hospital about what I wanted to learn she told me that unfortunately I wouldn't learn that in the hospital run antenatal classes.

To give you an idea of what I did want to learn and what I still do is
1. How to manage without drugs
2. Breathing techniques for different parts of labour
3. How to avoid tearing

It seems alot of people who are wanting to go down the natural path are getting more use out of the hypno and calm birth classes. I dotn know if some of this can be intergrated into your classes.

I also wish that the hospital didnt make you pay for the whole 5 lessons. I would love to have just done the lesson on breastfeeding as that was the only lesson that I could see being useful to me.

Most definitely not Alibaby Not at all. I was so upset for the ladies who got nothing out of their class and felt let down. I want to avoid that from happening in my classes. Thank you for opening my eyes.

Thanks for all the tips ladies, keep them coming. They are fantastic!!!

I haven't been to an antenatal class before, but I guess a major thing I would want to know, is what to do after the birth, particularly with regard to looking after yourself, and also how to care for the baby- bathing, feeding, crying etc. I'd also want to know what I can expect during labour, and some tips to cope with the pain, or a long labour if it happens.

My main issue with hospital class we took was the focus on medical stuff. I do understand, though, that it needs to be included. It's good to get that side of things if you're having a hospital birth, and obviously you need to know about what is likely to happen if things go awry.
What would be useful though is to get the 'lowdown' on normal birth. I don't mean just the 3 stages (and yeah, they should include the fourth stage also) and dilating, but an explanation of what is actually happening, both physically and hormonally. We got this in the private class we did. To me it was really helpful to understand how the uterus works during labour and how the hormones interact during labour and birth. It's good to know why it's good to breathe certain ways. Why it's good to relax. Why it's good to move. Why it's good to be upright and so on. And then why stage 4 is so important, with skin to skin contact and initiating breastfeeding etc...
More info about after would also be good. I didn't know if my loss was ok either! I also didn't know ANYTHING about babies or what I was supposed to do with mine.
The focus does seem to be on labour and birth and then stops. There is a lot for you to get through in a limited time, though, so it may not be realistic to go further, but...it would be really good to include a run down of the first week or so. What's normal and what's not. Like, babies being very unsettled around day 2-3 before the milk comes in. How many wet/dirty nappies are normal for newborns (even midwives didn't get this right when I was in hospital). and so on
Maybe some words of advice about caring for your vagina/stitches etc afterwards could be good.
And what about suggesting parents line up help in the home for the first month or so so new mums and dads can concentrate on their little babies - ie, having realistic expectations.
A reading list of recommended parenting books or websites

I'm probably asking too much now...

I didn't find them that useful as most of the content was focussed on a natural birth and I ended up having a caesar. We touched on c/s delivery but there was still alot that I didn't know when time arrived. Could have done without seeing the epi/spinal needle, almost made me faint and it didn't hurt anyway. I wish I had known that day 2 after a caesar (once they take away the pca) will be extremely painful.

I guess I just wanted to know the actual facts, didn't want to be scared but if something is going to be painful I would like to know in advance then it won't be such a shock.

Well, Nurse Dan, there's another thing. Not even my fantastic ante natal classes touched much on ceasars. Hardly at all. They are extraordinarily common.

I think the key is not to mince words, or sugar coat it. If you sugar coat it, people don't get the right idea and when the pain hits (like the pain 2 days after a ceasar I have heard of) it comes as a shock - like my extraordinarily painful vagina. My DH had to go out an buy tonnes more maternity pads than I had. Of course, you don't want to tell mothers all the gorry details and have them running out of the room screaming "Get it out! Get it out! NOW!!"

It also sounds as though the dads miss out quite often. Any partners are far from superfluous. I don't know how I would have done it without my magic DH, who listened so much at the classes.

Yes, that's an excellent point about caesers.
At my hospital the caeser rate was extremely high and yet they hardly mentioned them - why is that?

These are the things I wanted to learn but didnt because everyone else just wanted to know about epidurals.

- realistic explanation on when to come to the hospital when labout starts (ie- is it REALLY necessary to come in at the first contraction?)
- how to use natural ways of managing painful contractions like breathing techniques, massage etc
- things you can do to avoid or at least minimise tearing
- what to expect straight after and in the few days following birth. I remember also being asked if my blood loss was ok and I was just thinking umm thats something you should be assessing isnt it? How am I meant to know whats normal and what isnt. The day after Claire was born I passed a clot (or something) larger than a golf ball and I had no idea if that was normal or not.
- to encourage you to discuss with your partner (or whoever else is going to be there for the birth) about things you would like and wouldnt like to happen during labour/birth (eg I wanted to use the bath, but I forgot and he never reminded me, but I WISH he had reminded me).

I remember feeling really overwhelmed after the classes and felt like there was no way I could do this. Obviously a lot of information needs to be covered as every birth is different and there are a range of possible outcomes but I think I would have liked to walk out feeling confident that it was do-able. Being realistic it was going to be a challenging experience but with a confidence and calm that our bodies are designed to do this and that we would be supported and we would be ok.

The other thing I would have liked to cover in the session on caring for a newborn was how your life is changed by a baby for you as an individual and as a couple and what it does to your life. I realise it is hard to do this justice as at that time all you are focused on is the birth. However if somebody had said something about the ups and downs psychologically of a newborn I might have been able to draw on this in the early days when I was struggling with the change and not think I was so freaky for not loving having a newborn.

Like quite a few people said I would've liked more on after the labour, my classes focused on labour positions, different pain relief options and side effects, how actual labour happens and the stages All well and good but after having DD I found myself thinking how the labour was just the one day where the baby is ongoing. I would've liked more on how our bodies go afterwards, bleeding, the pain, the trials with breastfeeding, ideas on how to settle a baby, those sorts of things.

Exactly ShellBell.

We did all of the positions as well, but DS came so fast that I ended up lying on my back with my body doing all of the work. Positions be sort of ceased being relevant to me at that point. As it would for those who have had a ceasar. I was panicked and scared, but because of the good background my support person was legendary.

Lana the newborn stuff is good to. Maybe more reference to how you may feel afterwards. I felt like I was in a black hole I didn't get out of until DS was about 12 weeks old. No one really told me about that. I wasn't depressed as such (I think I had a mild case of PND), I think I was mourning the life I had before where I was free to do what I wanted when I wanted. A light switch eventually went off in my head and the little elf in my brain said, "you wanted this baby, you idiot, get over the life you had and accept what is in front of you!" I did, and it's been all plain sailing since then. People tend to think of PND as something where you're sitting on the bathroom floor with a knife ready to slit your wrists, but it can come in many different forms. That is my personal experience, others have other experiences. Either way you look at it a newborn in the house is certainly interesting when you're standing there thinking, "What the heck do I do now?"

Newborns are pretty basic creatures. They need heaps of sleep, need to eat a lot (and rather slowly) and often and just want their mummies to hold them 24 hours a day. Pretty confronting when you've lived in your own world for so long. If they don't get these things (or they suffer from colic etc) life can get very difficult and your relationship needs to be strong to get through it together.

Ramble, ramble, ramble.......

I only went the first time, and didn't learn anything new - BUT that was no fault of the class. The ante-natal classes I attended were really good and covered everything! It was just that by the time I went to them I had already researched all the information or learnt it from BB before I got there. My hubby found them very informative and I am considering going to some classes now with our third, not for myself but for my DH who doesn't know as much as me and who has forgotten some of the basics but doesn't want me lecturing him.

I think how much you get from a class can depend on how much information you are going in there with. The classes have to cater for those who don't know anything, so those who know a little can sometimes feel like they aren't getting anything out of it. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) those who visit BB do tend to be better educated about birth then the general populous and as a result may not get as much out of the class as others who don't go online.

Something that I think is glaringly absent from hospital antenatal classes is an explanation of informed consent.

It would be great if women and their partners could have this explained to them. To be told that decisions are always theirs to make and that they can't be forced to do things they don't want to, or accept treatments that they don't understand. That they can ask questions, and have a right to reasonable answers. That they should never be subjected to procedures, tests, pain relief or examinations without someone asking for - and receiving - their express consent.

They should also be walked through what will happen if they do say no to something - because many couples agree to things they aren't happy with because they just don't know what will happen if they say no. They don't want to risk that. The hospitals should explain to them what their policy is when treatment is declined.

Ok I'll stop there :)

Hi Nurse Dan

I think that letting us know how painful it will be in labour would have been good and they types of pain that we experience. I didn't realise how strong they would be and they scared me silly! By the end of my course I was so scared of giving birth I didn't know what to do and DH was even worse for me. I think having options for calming techniques for those who haven't really read about them (so wish I had found BB before my first bubs!) and details about how you feel in different stages would be good too.

There was a lot about what physically happens but not about the emotional reactions that we can have.

I think that is all so far. I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as i log off!

but i guess my feeling on it are..... birth is a limited thing...one way or another you will get your baby after say 24hrs.... your breastfeeding relationship could go on for years...

more info on breastfeeding would be great and where to find support

good luck

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. They are fantastic!!

THANK YOU for you input. I'm taking it all on board. If you still got more idea/suggestions please feel free to add them.