Antenatal classes - what do you wish they had told you?

[Nettee]

I am a midwife and am going to lead two antenatal classes shortly (first time since I was a student ages ago) one on normal labour/pain relief and one on interventions in labour.

I went along to another midwife's sessions an wondered if she glossed over things a bit - episiotomies with instrumental deliveries, what pushing is actually like, pain the day after a caesarean etc but on the other hand I don't want to scare people.

So - what do you think would be useful to know for your first birth that you didn't learn at antenatal class?

We also touch on the first few days with the baby so anything about that would also be useful (breast feeding is a seperate class run by someone else)

Thanks

That lochia smells APPALLING and lasts for ages and not to bother with matenity pads, buy extra absobant sanitary pads. With wings. And HUGE pants.

ooh spelling. maternity. absorbant. tsk tsk.

organise relatives so they don't mob you. the birth was a breeze next to having BIl decie to stay overnight rat arsed, then have the MIL turn up...etc etc

I wish the community midwifes were a bit more clued up about the actual facilities at the labour ward we were all going to. We had an hour long class about all the positions we could labour in, straddling chairs, using birthing balls etc, but when i got to the ward, they had no chairs without arms "for health and safety reasons" and no birthing balls. The class was a waste of time, as the only position the ward wanted me to use was the one the classes had said was the worst - lying on my back. So, a bit more communication between the community miswifes and the hospital would be nice!

missimac,

i got my coccyx cushion (£20) through amazon from a company called physio supplies - it is basically a v firm wedge-shaped cushion with a hole cut out at the back so u can sit upright with virtually no pressure on yr tailbone. wishi'd had it weeks ago - the company also does doughnut cushions which would be great for taking the weight off yr stitches

Completely agree with the pushing being like doing a poo. The old cliché of sh*tting a melon is a cliché for very good reason. I was totally prepared for 120% pain and was still shocked at how totally hardcore it was.

The BEST EVER advice I was given was on a refresher class for second+ time mothers. The teacher said if you were very vocal you can lose a lot of energy outwards which you need for the pushing downwards. She said if you make a fist with your hand and plug the knuckles into your mouth when you are screaming/vocalising then your energy is pushed downwards. This transformed labour for me and I consider it to be a magic tip! I was even moved to write to the teacher afterwards

The feeling like pooing thing - after my first I read in a magazine that was lying around someone describing it as pooing a concrete bollard. Still one of my favourite quotes.

And on the pain relief front, I had epidurals with first 2. 1st time - it was allowed to wear off, which meant I could push properly. They did top it back up to stitch me after a nasty tear, but only when I made it clear I was not going to let them continue without pain relief as the stitching and packing swabs inside various orifices was pretty much the worst part of the whole experience that time.

2nd time - they topped the epidural up too near to the birth. At the time I was all for it, but of course the pushing was a bloody nightmare. 2nd baby took 3 hours to push out and I think I was a whisker away from a forceps delivery or CS (which at the time I would have taken like a shot) mainly because I had spent the whole time flat on my back. It was actually so much better 1st time when I was able to kneel up despite legs still being a bit wobbly.

So - please try to explain the pros and cons of having the epidural still going strong so late on. I went in both times thinking I knew what epidurals were all about and what the risks were, but in hindsight it's only after 2 quite different experiences that I really get it.