What does the NHS antenatal class cover?

[Boomerangb0bby]

I’m going this weekend & just wondered what to expect

Mine was a look around the maternity suite, a chat about pain relief, and a bit of expectation management.

It’s not at the hospital so won’t see the maternity suite

Mine was a 6 hour class, it covered pain relief, stages of labour, signs of labour, what to bring to the hospital, how to get to the hospital...many more, but I can't remember now. It was really helpful though with lots of handouts to take away too.

Ours didn't have a tour of the maternity unit. Most of it was about signs of labour and pain relief. It covered the practical stuff of when to go to the hospital, who to phone and what to take and there was a short session about the first few days with the baby, how to bath them and change a nappy, how many dirty nappies a day to expect etc. And a session on feeding which was mostly bf but she quickly went over how to make up a formula feed as well.

Ours covered the various stages of labour, knowing when to go into hospital or call up, labour itself including pain relief and what may happen, various ways to help baby out etc. There was also a little bit about what happens after baby has arrived, the checks they do and when, and basic baby care.

I also did the NHS breastfeeding workshop and found it really informative.

Mine was 3 2 hour classes. Class one covered pain relief and start to end of labour. Class two was about postnatal appointments and vaccinations available for the baby. Class three was breastfeeding and an optional add on.

We had a BF and Formula class in One, then a your around MLU as consultant led is blocked for infection control. Then 3 classes.
One for normal delivery, one for consultant led and another for what can go wrong in MLU and why it's important to not be rigid in planning.

Loved all the classes and it was fun seeing everyone try the entenox.

We went about a month ago, I'd say if you are like me and know very little (first baby!) then it was really helpful. Was 2 classes, each about 2 hours, went through the stages of labour, pain relief, reasons for intervention etc. Second one was geared around after the birth, breast feeding, checks they do etc

We found it really helpful as the midwife was happy to answer any questions.

If it's not your first baby, I'd imagine it would be pretty useless though.

Hope you enjoy it!

The only bit I remember is that formula fed babies don't sleep any better than breastfed babies. Which was not true for mine! I liked my nhs physio sessions for the spd better :) they taught oh how to massage :)

It seems to vary a lot by area looking at the above.

Mine were two sessions, each one started with an hour session by a physio then a 2 hour session by a midwife.

First week we did pregnancy exercises (pelvic floor etc) and recommendations to reduce/prevent pain in pregnancy, then a discussion of stages of labour/pain relief options/what choices were available and what to expect in birth and hospital.

Second week we did breathing techniques/positions for labour, more pelvic floor reminders, then the midwife led bit was about breastfeeding and what to expect from antenatal care and after having the baby/where to contact for support.

They were all very happy to answer questions about anything else too, plus it is good to meet people in the same boat!