for thinking NCT Classes are far too labour focused...

[AliGrylls]

During the NCT classes I attended 4 out of the 6 sessions (12 hours in total) were spent on labour. We spent 3 hours talking about post natal care and 2 hours on breast feeding.

At the time I thought it was good to be prepared for labour and I had planned to have a water birth and assumed it would all go according to my plan. The thought of it made me really excited.

However, things did not go according to plan. I needed to be induced and ended up having a general anaesthetic c-section. After the c-section his father had skin-to-skin contact immediately and when I woke up I fed my baby.

The outcome was ultimately what I wanted. A lovely healthy boy. All those hours that I spent obsessing about the labour made me forget the most important thing - the fact that method of delivery is the least important thing in the process and it is the part of childbirth most of us have the least control over.

In reality the problems and minor worries we have had have been about practical things such as putting on baby grows, nappy changes and how often, how deeply our baby should be asleep. Breast feeding is generally going very well but it is a hard slog and I have so many questions and minor problems that I feel I would have benefitted from more focus on this.

In conclusion, a short period of time spent on the basic facts concerning child birth and the decisions I may need to take during labour and a far longer time on baby care would have been much more useful.

I supported a Hungarian mum in my capacity as a homebirth contact a couple of years ago. She ate her placenta after the birth - kept it in the fridge and cut strips off it. Washed it down with a glass of water like a tablet.

I have mentioned this in my classes on the odd occasion, when discussing postnatal depression - different issues and cultural practices surrounding postnatal life.

Hate to think that someone might have interpreted this as evidence of me being an old hippy who tells people to eat their placentas.....

i attended poncy private birth classes and the guru advised eating the placenta.she was very enthused

methinkey- Placentophagy.no thanks.eating human detritus yuk.

"eating human detritus yuk"

Is it any worse than eating black pudding? ('pig detritus')

I bluddy love black pudding..... drool.....

generally one doesnt hang round op theatre for any scraps left post op

eating black pudding wouldnt know being veggie.

but eating placenta is cannibalism,not akin to eating another animal eg not oneself innards

No one here is advocating placenta eating. But it is not uncommon in other places and at other times, and other mammals certainly do it.

www.nurseminerva.co.uk/development.htm#I_am_searching_for_info_regarding_the_benefits_or

It is part of the rich tapestry of cultural and social expectations surrounding birth. As such, it is a perfectly ok topic to include in an antenatal class . No NCT class would tell people they ought to do it though.

it is another middle class one upmanship,no analgesia 88hours labour and ate the palcenta with organic fair trade ethically sourced crackers

LOL @ scottishmummy.

I think.

my private poncy birth class guru was positively enthused about Placentophagy.(Not NCT class)

has no nutritional or medicinal benefit.anecdotally far too many benefits attributed to it

"Longttalljosie - NCT teachers are encouraged to properly evaluate the evidence on which current 'best practice' recommendations are based. Actually the NCT runs training workshops for health professionals in how to analyse and understand health research."

Which health professionals are you talking about Fabsmum?

I must admit, I find your response rather patronising - sorry, but I do. I would hope that my NCT teacher, as tiktok suggests, would be able to give me the background to a study so I was able to look into it myself. Statements like "midwife-led centres lead to safer births than consultant-led centres" are no good, frankly. Any intelligent person can think of a thousand caveats as to why that might seem statistically be the case.