Question on antenatal classes - talk to me!!

[Flatasawitchestit]

I'm a midwife and I'm trying to improve our antenatal classes. I hate standing in front of a room full of people hearing my own voice I feel they get bored or don't find it interesting and interestingly I've done some classes where they don't come back the following week.

We have 3 lots - first week usually involves preparing for labour and early songs, talking about latent phase etc etc. Following week is about labour positions, pain relief options, and briefly we talk about assisted deliveries. The third week is about breast feeding.

I really want to make it more informative. Tell me what classes you really liked, what made them so good? Do you like visual props? If you're having your first baby what would you like?

Thanks in advance

I attended an antenatal class which had a live demonstration of breastfeeding and baby care (bathing, nappy changing etc) - it was by far the most informative class I attended. Talking about it and using dolls was all very good, but seeing babies in the flesh (especially for me as a first time mum) was just great. I enjoyed it so much, I volunteered to bring my baby in for future classes!

I am qualified to teach pre & post natal yoga..... could you introduce some practical skills to involve your Mummies more? Breathing techniques? Meditations? I find that parents to be love getting to make friends with others going through the journey together....may be more likely to return if they feel that they're making connections and feel part of a community... x

Yy to more practical stuff about baby care

I'm with hrh - I'm really enjoying learning (and doing) exercises/movements that might help at different stages in labour - understanding what my body should be doing, how I might be feeling at different points, and what I can do to play a proactive part in the process for as long as possible. I've read about the mechanics of stages, pain relief options, etc online, but taking a more active approach is helping to make it feel real (if that makes sense?) and think about real life scenarios. But think there's a balance - if I didn't already have a basic understanding of the birth process then breathing exercises wouldn't be as helpful as giving an honest explanation of what's likely to happen - so I guess it depends on the groups you're working with and responding to them based on the prior knowledge/vague understanding/worries/misconceptions they bring with them. Plus I think it's good to get an understanding that all the preparation in the world won't stop things going wrong/getting complicated, and what might happen if it does. You don't have an easy job trying to support so many different needs in 3 sessions.

Best prop was when the teacher got a backpack and packed things into it equivalent to the weight of baby, placenta, waters, breast growth etc. She then got each of the fathers to carry it on his front for a minute or so. DH was more sympathetic thereafter.

She also pushed a doll through a plastic pelvis which was a useful visual aid.

And she got us to act out a C section with each person in the class taking a different role eg mother, father, anaesthetist, midwife, etc. We saw that it would be a busy room but that every single person had a job and wasn't just observing.

Tell the truth! First time round we went to two sets of classes: one that was quite hippyish and the other that was brutally honest. The first one went on about how we were only allowed to talk about our birth aspirations in positive terms blah-de-blah, and mainly seemed to focus on labour and the first few hours of parenthood. The second did practical things like ask us to plot certain tasks (feeding baby, changing nappies, cooking, cleaning etc) on a 24 hour chart to get us to understand how full on being a parent was and to lower our expectations of getting much done except care for the baby.

It would also be helpful to prepare parents for future parenthood. I think far too often it's pregnancy, labor and delivery that it's focused on and then parents have actually not prepared in the slightest for actually having the child. Well, they have the physical things, but they are not mentally prepared at all. It's like the birth is a huge wall they just can't see past!

What about attending some other antenatal providers courses, Daisy birth, NCT ect see what they are doing. Or could you go see classes at another hospital or even another trust.
I've just trained with an OZ organisation to delivery classes to teens. They use roles play, videos, pictures, lots and lots of questions.