Does it matter not doing ante-natal classes?

[PollyIndia]

I really can't be arsed. I've done a 2 day hypnobirthing course so feel quite on top of the process and my options re intervention/hurrying things along etc.
I am also doing an active birth prep workshop which links pregnancy yoga to stages of birthing and going to a homebirth meeting where I can meet and chat with other people who have had homebirths. And i am going to a slingmeet.

Do I also need to do ante natal classes?

I feel like when the baby is here, I will figure it out. What more is there to know about pre the baby arriving that I don't yet have covered?

Thank you

erm I think you will have prepared enough and could give the classes a miss!

I'm not going to do any formal classes either. I'll do yoga if I can get into a pregnancy group locally. I am happy with reading and using forums to get the knowledge I need. Plus I have watched every episode of 'One Born Every Minute' ! Sounds like you are well prepared anyway Polly.

The best thing about ante natal classes is the chance to meet other local mums who will give birth at about the same time as you. You'll meet them again at baby groups, and the doctors surgery, and it's nice to have some moral support and adult company when the baby is here.

Sounds like you are extremely well prepared for the birth, but the ante-natal classes also focus a lot on caring for a new-born (feeding, clothing, establishing sleeping patterns etc etc) and having a chance to think about that stuff in advance is helpful I think. Of course a lot of it is common sense, but it's not bad to have some kind of reference - and of course meeting other parents to be from the same area, as others have said.

Depends on the class...

My antenatal classes were through the NHS & focussed on (1) pain relief (2) the labour process/what actually happens (3) breastfeeding & hospital tour.

That was all my pre-baby education!! I muddled through - she's now 2yo & #2 is on the way. It sounds like the whole pregnancy/labour bit is covered, its up to you whether you seek more formal support for the post-labour/baby bit.

I'm not bothering. My local trust gives one 90 minute class and that's it. With talking to mums and doing lots of reading about my options I'll cover a lot more time than that, and for meeting mums I'm going to fitness classes and I'll go to baby groups too. My MW has also talked me through booking a hospital tour myself.

Also neither mine or DPs mum did antenatal classes, they both managed to give birth and raise children just fine. And this was before the Internet told them how to do it!

I attended all mine without DH, then in the heat of the moment it was DH who knew what to do.

They cover pain relief choice pro-cons; caring for newborn/breastfeeding; what labour is like; address fears anyone is harbouring; what the maternity unit is like; keeping your pelvic floor and posture in good condition through pregnancy; what can go wrong (such as pre-eclempsia what that is etc), how likely that is/isn't and how it would be looked after/prevented; a look at some of the equipment which may be used like forceps.

Much of it was designed to take the mystique out of the process/event/people involved to help people allay fears.

If you don't feel that speaks to you, don't bother. I got some things out of it and others I felt were not for me. In our group the class was huge and people didn't mix much so didn't make any friends though people often do.

Doesn't sound like you need the classes - I found hypnobirthing a much better preparation for the birth (granted I missed half the antenatal classes anyway because I was in hospital).

The only useful thing I got out of them was meeting other mums due around the same time - but as others have said, there are plenty of ways to do that once the baby has arrived.

I didn't bother with DS because I knew I would be emigrating some time reasonably soon after he was born (as it turned out, he was 20mo but that's another story) and so I didn't feel the need to get to know other new mums, or create groups for DS, since he wouldn't be going to school etc. with anyone we met there.

I also had hypnobirthing, and I had a good friend who told me a lot of the practical stuff I needed to know - we both worked in hospitals, so knew the medical side of it but she told me more of the personal side.

Didn't do me any harm, not going - not going to bother this time around either. :)

I never went to any ante-natal classes but managed to have 3 children.

I didn't do them on ds1 and if I could go back, I would have and would have shelled out for the NCT ones. Not particularly for the information, but for the "networking opportunity" (!!!!) with other parents due around the same time. So many people I met later made good friendships and I was quite lonely and isolated as the only person I knew with a small baby.

Second time I did hypnobirthing and active birth and it made an immense difference to my experience of birth - but still wish I'd been able to do it to meet other mums, as the active birth was a one-off and the other couples dropped out of the hypnobirthing so it was just me and dh!

Useful things from my NHS antenatal class: advice from a physio (who did half of the time), what happens when things go wrong (I don't know if hypnobirthing covers that) and a chance to chat with other pregnant women.

i went to my antenatal classes and haven't kept in touch with any of the women.

i felt left out anyway, because they were all 4 weeks ahead of me in gestation.

Ive had 3 DCs and never been to an antenatal class and TBH In dont think I missed out on anything. You sound a lot more prepared than I ever was, infact I did naff all preparing for any of my labours, I was just very 'meh' about it all. I just figured he's (DC1) in there now and has to come out.

Our class consisted of being shown a plastic dolly being put through a knitted uterus. Nothing on breathing, caring for a baby etc. Went into labour clueless, but made it through.

Thanks so much for all your responses!
So the main reason is to meet other local mums from reading through that.
It would be good to have that network, but I do have about 6 friends giving birth within a few weeks of me, although only a couple close by so hoping I can create a kind of unofficial NCT.
MsDaydream, I will do the same as you in terms of other things. There are loads of new baby activities and groups in the bit of london I live in.
Ilovedjasondonovan (So did I!), I would like to see the knitted uterus. That sounds very practical!
I think I am going to leave it. My mum is coming up for first 2 weeks, though she's already been told that I don't want any unsolicited advice (eg you aren't doing that right etc), but I know she will be a great help. I've got my sister with her 10 mth old round the corner and another friend with her 5 mth old also 5 mins away.
I'll take a punt that I can work it out. Cue threads on mumsnet in 2 months with me wondering what the hell to do with this tiny person!

Sounds like you have the main things covered then. :)

Personally I hardly knew a soul who had had children so I needed some input.

I think that the more you trust your body (i.e don't panic or get hung up on the fact it might hurt) and go with the flow the better the labour is likely to be (short of medical emergencies), so I think your attitude is a good and healthy one.

The 'what do I do with this tiny person' thing isn't covered much by those classes anyway.

Good luck, I hope you let us know how you got on as I have been stumbling upon your threads from your first one while you were travelling and I am rooting for you, and would love to know you were doing great (which you will)

I did one of those NCT intensive weekend antentals courses and it was fab. It covered the birth etc- all types of pain relief, c-sections everything but actually the best bits were the looking after a new born, what to expect postpartum - how to deal with section wounds and stitches in your nethers. As well as bfing, bottle feeding, dressing and bathing, even what different sorts of baby poo should look like. The poo bit was a godsend as a lot of new parents can become a bit obsessed with poo.
Both my Dh agree after DS had arrived that the course had really been worthwhile as we were a bit more clued up.
How good the course is probably depends on where you are in the country. There weren't many earth mother types at ours and she aimed it accordingly.

Tips like: If you have stitches and it stings when you wee, get a jug of water by the loo and pour it over your bits as you pee as it stings less! Forgot that one!

Aw, thanks JennerOSity. It's been a real rollercoaster of a year!
Albertswearngen, that does sound good. I remember my sister became obsessed with my niece's poo! Honestly, I can't afford NCT after the other things (and deciding that pulling up stair carpet and doing garden were priorities pre baby coming!), so it's NHS or nothing and I am still veering towards nothing. Just not sure when I would fit it in either. I'm full time working until end aug then 3/4 days a week up until my due date and I don't have any free weekends until sept.
So it's good to know I will hopefully be able to cope without.

As one poster said, it's amazing all our mums and grandmothers coped without google etc!! ;)

Polly you sound like you've done some GREAT preparation already! I think we have similar feelings about birth and babies (home birth, slings)

The sling meet you've been to could be a fantastic way of meeting other mamas, and meeting some like minded, experienced women to get support from in more areas than slings.

The only other thing I'd recommend you do, is attend your local La Leche League meeting. If you're keen to prepare for baby care, then learning about breast feeding, and meeting other bfing mamas is the perfect thing to do. You'll meet friends too.

Thanks badgerina! Yes, I think so. La leche is a great idea and they have one near me so I will do that.
Thanks very much :)

It depends on what your local antenatal classes offer and what gaps you might have in your knowledge/preparations.

Ours had four classes:

1. Labour and birth - by midwives
2. Continued talk of pain relief/coping techniques in labour and tour of birthing unit and a video on interacting with young babies (little things like mimicing their movements and noises etc). also by midwives
3. Car seats talk given by road safety person from the police and information on Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits from someone from CAB
4. Feeding (covered both breast and bottle feeding) by maternity HCA (who helps new mums on the ward with feeding/changing/etc) and a community breastfeeding counsellor.

So they aren't necessarily just about labour and birth. I didn't find it all helpful (didn't think they did a great job of explaining breastfeeding, its something I've done a lot of reading up on both online and in books) but some of it was useful, like knowing how quickly you have to apply for CB and CTC because they don't back date them much at all. The stuff about interacting with a newborn was cute too and reminded us after all the birth bits that we'd have a baby to look after at the end.

I don't think this is the case for you (as you are single - if you are the poster I remember from when you found out you were pregnant!) but I also felt reassured for my DH to attend because he hasn't done all the reading and mumsnetting that I have done, and made me feel HE was prepared for some of the realities of labour, birth and being a parent. But if you intend to have a birth partner then it might be good to have her/him attend some classes with you.

Polly can I suggest going to a breastfeeding group, if you are planning to breastfeed? While I second all the posters that birthing classes are great for meeting other new mums (met my best friend there; she ran the group!), if you have 6 other friends giving birth around the same time, plus your mum and sister, you seem well ahead of the game The thing about breastfeeding is that it can be quite hard (was for me, at least) and actually I found the whole thing very difficult. OK - throwing modesty to the wind - the thing I'm proudest of in my whole life was getting breastfeeding going with DS1 (was such a nightmare) and looking back, I think going to a support group before hand (to see what a proper latch looks like, etc) might have been really helpful.

Also, if you like slings, see if you can borrow a few before baby arrives? Turns out DS was extremely picky in his preference of slings (though at the time more ) and it was great to have lovely friends lend me a few, so I could see what worked best!

All the best to you!