Childbirth Class

JT and I have been taking a 4-week childbirth class offered through our hospital. I had pretty low expectations for the class but knew that the more rigorous (and probably high-quality) classes that last for 12 weeks just weren't going to fly. As expected, the class has been a very mixed bag.

During the first class we toured the hospital labor and delivery floor and saw the birthing center where i hope to go. That was definitely useful. I've had a chance to ask a lot of questions about what is and isn't available or doable in the hospital/birthing center and that is also good information. The "relaxation" techniques are pretty lame and while the information about the birthing process has been useful, it's nothing i haven't read before.

I think it's good for JT to hear it but it's presented in such a fluffy manner that i'm not sure how much he's actually listening. We were both sick this week and decided to skip the class as it was to be heavy on the "relaxation techniques" that have been laughable to date. Since we skipped the class this week JT agreed to read materials that i picked out for him-- so i designed a bit of a crash-course curriculum to cover the highlights of childbirth that will be helpful for him (and me) to know.

If i hadn't done any prep on my own and only took this class i think i would be in a world of hurt come labor time. Since i've read about 1,000 books on the topic i feel pretty relaxed and content to just take what i can use as it's presented. I am sad that at the very least we haven't had the comic relief of the 70s birthing videos with the Tom Seleck mustachioed "coach." It seems our hospital has actually invested in updated videos-- the nerve!