Yes, it’s absolutely important and definitely recommended to take a childbirth class during pregnancy, to educate yourself and your partner on all the things that are really important, leading to such an important event in your life.
However, not all classes are created equally. Often, that “free” or “cheap” hospital birth class is not going to FULLY prepare you for all the aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Yes, they may include things like what the hospital offers for pain relief and how a baby is born, but often times they do not go into detail about what you and your partner can do both physically and emotionally through each stage of labor, or extra things like nutrition and exercise in pregnancy to prepare for the birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, and more.
Here are 5 things you won’t learn in a basic hospital birth class…
1. How to care for your newborn baby in the first few days after birth.
Yes, the birth is the main focus here, but what about after the birth? What about those questions about why your baby may be crying? What things can you do to help calm them? Where should your baby sleep? What is babywearing?
These are all things that a basic hospital birth class is not going to educate you on, but they are things you will learn in a Birth Boot Camp class.
2. How to prepare for breastfeeding and establish a successful breastfeeding relationship.
Yes, breastfeeding is natural, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Especially in the beginning, or if you haven’t breastfed a child before. Another super important aspect of a comprehensive birth class is also preparing you for things you may experience in your breastfeeding journey. What are the best positions for feeding the baby? How often will they want to nurse? What is a lip or tongue tie? The benefits, and tools for an overall better experience. Again, this is something we feel is so important and that is why it is also included in our Birth Boot Camp’s comprehensive class series, or separately in our Breastfeeding Class.
3. Ways to manage postpartum recovery and self-care.
Once the birth is over and you are holding your baby…Will you know what your immediate postpartum recovery will look like? What about resuming exercise? Intimacy? All while caring for a baby? Those are also things we talk about in our online birth classes!
4. Comfort measures for before you head to the hospital.
Like we mentioned before, a hospital led class may inform you of your choices when you’re at the hospital, but will they inform you or even encourage you with things to try at home, leading up to going to the hospital? We talk about comfort measures and labor positions at home, tools you can use, and how to handle prodromal labor, or laboring before going to the hospital!
5. How to get your partner more involved.
Do you want your partner to be more physically hands-on and supportive for your birth? Does he know how to help you before you head to the hospital, during the birth, and in postpartum?! Our Birth Boot Camp classes are not only for the laboring person, but just as, if not more important for their partner!! We want them to gain confidence around birth!
Our curriculum is developed by experienced childbirth educators, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, Webster-Certified chiropractors, massage therapists, nutritionists and personal trainers to provide complete and relevant information for couples.
You truly get all the information you need to have an AMAZING birth and postpartum experience, without all the overwhelm or having to Google everything!
Ready to sign up?! Use coupon code “BBCI25” and SAVE $$!
