Preterm classes..

Hi Friends,
Thanks for all the tips you all gave me so far. I regularly read all
the posts here and it is helping me a lot. I have a few qs..I am 18
weeeks pregnant now.DD is Nov 1st. and this is my fist baby. I'd
really appreciate it if you can help me figure out about this:

1.Which month in pregnancy did you register for Lamaze classes, Breast
feeding classed and Infant care classes.
2.Which month would be the best time to take them ?
3. Does most of the insurance cover this or is it from our pocket?
4. How many u/s do we have to take during a normal pregnancy?
5. During the pain are we actually going to use any of the lamaze
techniques... or are we just going to forget what we learn and just
scream .. your comments please.

I am not planning to go for epidiural, but if I get severe pain I am
not sure we will have the decipline to follow instructions of the
lamaze tutor other than crying- so do you find the classes worth
taking - please share your experience.. This is my first time so
forgive me if I sound stupid.

thanks,
Ann

Ann wrote:

Hi Friends,
Thanks for all the tips you all gave me so far. I regularly read all
the posts here and it is helping me a lot. I have a few qs..I am 18
weeeks pregnant now.DD is Nov 1st. and this is my fist baby. I'd
really appreciate it if you can help me figure out about this:

1.Which month in pregnancy did you register for Lamaze classes, Breast
feeding classed and Infant care classes.

First do some research on birthing classes. You may
find that Lamaze is not the technique for you. Some of the
classes, particularly Bradley classes, take longer so you
have to start earlier. Also, you may find that the best
classes in your area book up quickly. The class we took
with our first filled quickly. I think we needed to book
by 4 months or so to get in, even though I don't think we
started the class until 7 months or so. That may be
unusual.
Also, you need to do some research on your own
early. If you wait to take classes until 7 months,
what if you find out that your midwife or doctor doesn't
support the kinds of things you think you'll want during
birth? You certainly *can* change care providers toward
the end of pregnancy, but it's much nicer to change earlier
so that you have more time to develop a relationship with
the new caregiver.

2.Which month would be the best time to take them ?

Depends on how long the classes run. If they're
only a few weeks, then 7 months is probably fine. If
they run longer, then you'll need to start earlier. You
probably don't want *too* long between the end of class
and baby's arrival (i.e., not several months) or you
might tend to forget everything. On the other hand,
you don't want to book your last several weeks totally
full as you'll likely be busy and tired.

3. Does most of the insurance cover this or is it from our pocket?

Generally you pay out of pocket, though there are
exceptions.

4. How many u/s do we have to take during a normal pregnancy?

The AAP says that *NO* routine u/s are necessary or
recommended. I'd say the most common scenario is that most
doctors do one mid-pregnancy. It is not, however, necessary
and does not change outcomes, unless you wish to use the
information to possibly terminate in case of an abnormality.

5. During the pain are we actually going to use any of the lamaze
techniques... or are we just going to forget what we learn and just
scream .. your comments please.

Well, statistically speaking, if you go with most
birthing classes that advertise themselves as "Lamaze"
(all classes are *NOT* equal), you will end up choosing an
epidural. If your goal is to go unmedicated, Bradley has
a much better track record, though some don't like it. There
is also a lot of variability from instructor to instructor,
with some being far more effective than others.
In addition, I firmly believe that it is helpful
to learn some techniques, but I think that whether you are
successful at going unmedicated has *FAR* more to do with
your environment than with what classes you take. I think
in general, it's pretty simple. Look at the stats for the
people who give birth where you're planning to give birth
with the caregivers you're planning to use. If the vast
majority of them have epidurals, odds are that's where you'll
end up as well. If most go unmedicated, then you probably
will too. People like to think of pain relief during labor
as an individual issue (having to do with your particular
labor or your particular pain tolerance or whatever). I believe
it is a much much systemic issue and has much more to do with
your beliefs about childbirth, the rules and regulations
in the environment you're birthing in, the skills of your
care provider, the amount and type of support you have, etc.

I am not planning to go for epidiural, but if I get severe pain I am
not sure we will have the decipline to follow instructions of the
lamaze tutor other than crying- so do you find the classes worth
taking - please share your experience.

I think a good class is worth taking; however, I
think that if you want to go unmedicated, the most important
thing is to choose a care provider and a birth location
that support what you want. I chose a midwife attended
homebirth, where none of the successful homebirths were
medicated and well under 10 percent of the births ended
in transports (typically for exhaustion and pain relief).
Not surprisingly, I had no problems going unmedicated under
those circumstances. I was very well supported by midwives
who were very experienced getting women through unmedicated
labors. They knew how to help, and it showed. I didn't
have to deal with things like IVs, continuous electronic
monitoring, etc. that make it much more difficult to cope
with the pain without improving outcomes (under normal
circumstances). I didn't have to deal with arbitrary
rules that would have made it more difficult for me to
cope with labor.
If you really have unmedicated childbirth as a
goal (and I would encourage you if that's your inclination--
I think it's absolutely wonderful for many reasons), I
would strongly encourage you to choose your birth
location and care provider very carefully. Henci Goer's
book _The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth_ can
be a good start for getting an idea of what some options
are, why you might want an unmedicated birth, and how to
get one. Ultimately, this isn't going to be about how
tough you are as an individual, or how much of your birthing
class you can remember. It's going to be about whether you've
made choices that support or detract from what you want in
your birth.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Ericka, that was a really informative response. Although I am not
pregnant (yet...) I have often wondered the same thing as Ann and I
would also like an unmedicated birth. You definitely showed me a
different perspective than I had thought of before. I will keep this
in mind when hopefully the time will come for me to make some decisions.

In addition to Ann's questions: How do you usually find out what
classes are running and when? Is this information you would get from
your midwife?

Shannon

On 2004-06-04 12:11:25 -0400, Ericka Kammerer said:

Ann wrote:

Hi Friends,
Thanks for all the tips you all gave me so far. I regularly read all
the posts here and it is helping me a lot. I have a few qs..I am 18
weeeks pregnant now.DD is Nov 1st. and this is my fist baby. I'd
really appreciate it if you can help me figure out about this:

1.Which month in pregnancy did you register for Lamaze classes, Breast
feeding classed and Infant care classes.

First do some research on birthing classes. You may
find that Lamaze is not the technique for you. Some of the
classes, particularly Bradley classes, take longer so you
have to start earlier. Also, you may find that the best
classes in your area book up quickly. The class we took
with our first filled quickly. I think we needed to book
by 4 months or so to get in, even though I don't think we
started the class until 7 months or so. That may be
unusual.
Also, you need to do some research on your own
early. If you wait to take classes until 7 months,
what if you find out that your midwife or doctor doesn't
support the kinds of things you think you'll want during
birth? You certainly *can* change care providers toward
the end of pregnancy, but it's much nicer to change earlier
so that you have more time to develop a relationship with
the new caregiver.

2.Which month would be the best time to take them ?

Depends on how long the classes run. If they're
only a few weeks, then 7 months is probably fine. If
they run longer, then you'll need to start earlier. You
probably don't want *too* long between the end of class
and baby's arrival (i.e., not several months) or you
might tend to forget everything. On the other hand,
you don't want to book your last several weeks totally
full as you'll likely be busy and tired.

3. Does most of the insurance cover this or is it from our pocket?

Generally you pay out of pocket, though there are
exceptions.

4. How many u/s do we have to take during a normal pregnancy?

The AAP says that *NO* routine u/s are necessary or
recommended. I'd say the most common scenario is that most
doctors do one mid-pregnancy. It is not, however, necessary
and does not change outcomes, unless you wish to use the
information to possibly terminate in case of an abnormality.

5. During the pain are we actually going to use any of the lamaze
techniques... or are we just going to forget what we learn and just
scream .. your comments please.

Well, statistically speaking, if you go with most
birthing classes that advertise themselves as "Lamaze"
(all classes are *NOT* equal), you will end up choosing an
epidural. If your goal is to go unmedicated, Bradley has
a much better track record, though some don't like it. There
is also a lot of variability from instructor to instructor,
with some being far more effective than others.
In addition, I firmly believe that it is helpful
to learn some techniques, but I think that whether you are
successful at going unmedicated has *FAR* more to do with
your environment than with what classes you take. I think
in general, it's pretty simple. Look at the stats for the
people who give birth where you're planning to give birth
with the caregivers you're planning to use. If the vast
majority of them have epidurals, odds are that's where you'll
end up as well. If most go unmedicated, then you probably
will too. People like to think of pain relief during labor
as an individual issue (having to do with your particular
labor or your particular pain tolerance or whatever). I believe
it is a much much systemic issue and has much more to do with
your beliefs about childbirth, the rules and regulations
in the environment you're birthing in, the skills of your
care provider, the amount and type of support you have, etc.

I am not planning to go for epidiural, but if I get severe pain I am
not sure we will have the decipline to follow instructions of the
lamaze tutor other than crying- so do you find the classes worth
taking - please share your experience.

I think a good class is worth taking; however, I
think that if you want to go unmedicated, the most important
thing is to choose a care provider and a birth location
that support what you want. I chose a midwife attended
homebirth, where none of the successful homebirths were
medicated and well under 10 percent of the births ended
in transports (typically for exhaustion and pain relief).
Not surprisingly, I had no problems going unmedicated under
those circumstances. I was very well supported by midwives
who were very experienced getting women through unmedicated
labors. They knew how to help, and it showed. I didn't
have to deal with things like IVs, continuous electronic
monitoring, etc. that make it much more difficult to cope
with the pain without improving outcomes (under normal
circumstances). I didn't have to deal with arbitrary
rules that would have made it more difficult for me to
cope with labor.
If you really have unmedicated childbirth as a
goal (and I would encourage you if that's your inclination--
I think it's absolutely wonderful for many reasons), I
would strongly encourage you to choose your birth
location and care provider very carefully. Henci Goer's
book _The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth_ can
be a good start for getting an idea of what some options
are, why you might want an unmedicated birth, and how to
get one. Ultimately, this isn't going to be about how
tough you are as an individual, or how much of your birthing
class you can remember. It's going to be about whether you've
made choices that support or detract from what you want in
your birth.

Best wishes,
Ericka


--
Shannon

Please remove -NO SPAM from email address to email me personally.

Shannon wrote:

In addition to Ann's questions: How do you usually find out what
classes are running and when? Is this information you would get from
your midwife?

Midwives are often a good source for this information.
If you find a caregiver with whom you're in synch, they
probably know who's providing birth classes supporting
that model of birth. If not your midwife, then maybe
a doula or a local birthing center or something like that.
Once you get a lead on an instructor, call ASAP to get
information on class availability and how far in advance
you should book. It's always better to call early. You
never know when the instructor who looks best to you will
be taking a few months off. Hospital classes are usually
easy to get into, but most of them are more how-to-be-a-
compliant-patient classes than classes in how to be an
informed decision maker. (Note I said "most"--I'm sure
there are some good hospital classes out there ;-)
If you're planning a hospital birth, sometimes it's a
good idea to take the hospital class in addition to a
more informative class just so that you get a heads up
as to hospital policies and procedures so that you know
what to look out for. That way, if you need to you can
get your caregiver to write orders exempting you from
objectionable procedures or policies.

Best wishes,
Ericka