Childbirth Dvd's

Hi J.-

I don't have a DVD to recommend, but wanted to share what happened to us in hopes you'll feel at ease about skipping childbirth classes (esp. if you plan on getting an epidural).

I missed our childbirthing class (it was a 1 day class at Northwestern from 8-5) due to a funeral. I couldn't get into another class before my due date. I talked to my OB/GYN and she said the nurses will help you through it, not to worry. So my husband and I went into the labor/delivery without any preparations, just knowledge from reading and a lot of prayers. To be honest, the nurses do help you through every thing and there's not a lot of options on how to get the baby out. It comes pretty naturally. I really doubt any class can really prepare you for it.

I believe if you find a DVD you'll be fine. My experience was amazing and without any problems. Good luck!

D.

My husband and I ended up ditching classes at Edwards hospital the 2ns day. They were so cheesy - and I thought a waste of time. I was pregnant in 2001 and got the best experiance from prenatal Yoga. The stretches and excircies - helped so much - especially at the end of my pregnancy. My husband and I also watched Pregnancy for dummies. It was a 3wk series on lifetime. I believe you can buy the dvd at bookstores or at teh Discovery Channel store - or Discovery Online store. I think those classes are really more for the bonding experiance and to meet others. YOu will get advice from every mother - grandmother etc as you go thru your pregnancy. For good facts and things you should actually know try to find this DVD. I know you will enjoy it. Good luck - M.

It is very important to take some sort of childbirth education. Especially if you are birthing in a hospital, you and and your husband need to be educated about the process and informed enough to make decisions concerning you and your baby. If you don't want to take a class, you can always hire a doula who can come to your home and go over things. She can also be there to support you and your husband during labor/delivery. You can find a list of great resources on the CHOICES web site: http://www.indianabirthchoices.com/LOCALRESOURCES.html

Hi,

did you check around for weekend classes. Some hospitals understand the working parents.

Check it out.

J.

www.noahsarkworkshop.com/jodigilbert18

DEar J.,

The quality DVDs are very expensive - typically close to $400. Our practice will be offerring childbirth education classes on site in our new Addison office in sept - early Oct. We are planning on 3-4 sessions per class. We are a group of certified nurse midwives on staff at St Alexius and Alexian Brothers Medical Center. OUr main office is located on 355 & army Trail.

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midwestmidwifery.com

We did a weekend class at U of C which was helpful. You can look on their website to see about classes - http://uchospitals.edu/programs/lamaze.html . They are open to anyone, not just people in the UofC network. Afterwards we rented Pregnancy for Dummies from Netflix which didn't show anything new but we were able to watch it in our own time and repeat sections that we wanted to see. I wouldn't say it is the perfect labor preparation (what is?) but it might be worth watching. When it came to having my son, I forgot most of what I had learned in my classes except for a couple of breathing exercises and ensuring I got into a 'C' position to push. Other than that, the nurse guided me through.

Good Luck,

R.

J.,
Don't worry about not attending classes. Call your hospital, they will probably have movies you can check out for free. Spend your money on other things. First of all, the movie will be a little outdated and second, my experience was nothing like the movie. It did go over vocabulary and it did educate me on different procedures and alternative pain relief that would be available to me. That was good. It also allowed my husband to become more aware of what is going to happen.

My husband and I also had schedules that conflicted with classes and we now have three wonderful, healthy children. We laugh because the only class we did attend was breastfeeding and it was the only thing we struggled with.

Congratulations on your new little one.

I don't have any DVDs to reccommend, but just wanted to share that there are classes you can take not offered by hospitals that meet in the evening or weekend. It is probably too late for you to take these, but I really wanted a natural birth and to be as informed as possible because I knew that the more I knew about the process, the less stressed/nervous I would be because I understood what was happening. And it helped soooo much. I did not have to rely on anyone to explain things to me and was able to have a med free birth despite being a big wimp. I second the prenatal yoga as that gets your body in good shape for labor, helps teach meditation skills that you can use to help relax yourself, and the stretching feels ooooh so good to your pregnant body that is doing so much work.

If you are interested in the Bradley classes at all, you can find their site (and a teacher) at http://www.bradleybirth.com/. The classes meet for 12 weeks if I remember right, once a week in the evening for 2-3 hours.

J.:

We did the DVD/videos and I felt pretty prepared for the birthing experience. I didn't regret my decision one bit, plus those classes are costly! Check your local library for videos if you don't want to purchase one. The one class I investing the time and money to was the CPR class, however you can take this anytime before your baby starts to eat solid foods.

hope this helps.

Hi J.! I am a labor doula and know alot of other doulas, so if you want, I can find out for you if there is any childbirth DVDs that you can use. I am sure anything would be helpful. I have one that I can lend you, but it is called Special Women and it is about having a doula and not a CB education tape. Email me if you have any questions. And also, when is your little one due? Congrats!

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

Hi there,
I worked up until both my kids were born & we took weekend classes. We watched some videos also, but I found that the hands on was better. If that won't work you may want to consider hiring a doula coach to come to your home and give you 1 on 1 instruction. I highly recommend a doula for any mom and dad, for instruction before, during the birth, and after. They are very helpful and comforting.
Good luck!
S.