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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 |
#2
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Preterm classes..
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 |
#3
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Preterm classes..
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. |
#4
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Preterm classes..
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 |
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