Antenatal classes

[Amymidwife]

Hi all!

How are you? I am a midwife, and I am doing an antenatal class at my hospital, and I would like to know what future parents are interested to know or what they want to get from the Antenatal Classes?
The class runs for 7 hours and I am already planning to do it really interactive (I do not want to bore anyone til exhaustion! )but it would be really helpful what do you want to get from this, and how would be your ideal class covered?

Thank you in advance!

Amy x

Just done NCT, the best bits (for me anyway) were about being upright in labour to open the pelvis, the role of a birth partner and how important it is to try to relax (breath etc) through contractions. We practiced some birth positions which was cool.

Also some pictures on what normal new born babies look like when they're just born (blue/puffy eyes etc).

Pros and cons of active/passive third stage was cool.

Good luck :-)

My antenatal classes aren't until September but from research I've done I'd like to know more about the epidural debate, positions during labour and why we state whether or not we want an episiotomy on the birth plan as surely if it's needed it's needed.

These may be covered in my MW appts between now and the classes so apologies if this is the case.

Recently completed an 8 hr hypnobirthing course at my local hospital, it was fab.
The breathing and relaxation element of it was obviously very important.
Talking about birth preferences and making women feel empowered to have some choices and say in their care was also essential.
Also we attended a separate 2 hour breastfeeding talk which again was very useful and informative

Unbiased advice with no dogma. Good explanation of birth and feeding options. Relaxation/ hypnobirthing to help you prepare for whatever type of birth you end up having.

Realistic advice about recovery from both natural and medicalised births. Please don’t gloss it over. What birth injuries are common. How do you tell if you need help with birth injury? How long do you bleed for? How will your body recover. Post natal depression and baby blues.

After birth... what you can expect to do at home with the baby. Key milestones in the first few weeks.

We did a 4 week course (8 hours) in total with an additional baby first aid class at the end, which was really useful. One class covered budgeting for a baby and the impact having a child can have on your relationship as parents - I found that one quite interesting. Other helpful bits were information about breastfeeding, an honest account of what you might encounter in labour (with a no-nonsense midwife who didn't hide any of the scary bits!), how to wash a baby and dress them and information about where to find help/resources when you're trying to navigate those first few weeks of motherhood.

I'd like to see something specifically aimed at dads. Covering what they can do to be supportive during pregnancy and birth, what NOT to do/say, a lowdown of the sorts of changes to expect when the baby arrives re: exhausted wife, PND, sex etc. I feel like some dads could do with a bit more beyond just the usual stuff that gets covered in these classes, to help them manage their expectations, be a good partner and father, and prioritise the right things. Some dads-to-be want to do their best but just don't 'get' where to start. Cue all sorts of relationship issues during pregnancy that could easily be resolved by a few wise words early on from someone professional.

Things that I found useful from my course was birthing positions and pain relief.

My birth was not straight forward and there was no talk about what happens when it all goes wrong. I was terrified and felt I had no control and all I had were horror stories of 4th degree tears, forceps etc. I would have loved someone to have told me about back to back births, that it's possible to never have regular contractions and what to do, open and honest information that empowers

I feel like I'm one of the only people who never felt they needed any antenatal classes. I knew things from watching my mum raise my brother and sister. So I pretty much did the same things she did.
Even if I hadn't had that experience, I would never go to anything like that, it's not me at all. I didn't need to learn how to look after a baby, I knew already..

Might sound silly but can you look at timing of the class? My local nhs classes ran 12-2 on a weekday for either 6 or 8w. Virtually impossible for working people as you have to take a big chunk of a working day off every week. Not do-able in many jobs (eg teaching) so certain women excluded at the outset.

To echo a bit what @PirateWeasel said, we did a hospital one that was ok and covered all the basics but then a hypnobirthing great one, and part of what made it good was emphasising the birth partner's role in being a support and advocate and encouraging oxytocin through massage/positive affirmations etc and the need to practise this in advance - got my DH way more on board!
They also showed how the contractions work with a balloon and ping pong ball and that imagery really stayed with me and helped, even though it seemed a bit cheesy at the time

@happymummy12345 not sure if that is helpful, for op, for others or for you. My mum is a great mum and my role model, but she also put all her kids down on our fronts to sleep better, and formula fed from early on as was from a generation that was told a let about 'not having enough milk'. There's been new research in the meantime to suggest differently but I would never have learned without the lovely midwives who took the time to teach us.

How to properly use gas and air. I was doing it wrong but by that point was too out of it with the pain to take advice on board.

Thank you so much to everybody!
I really appreciate all your stories and feedback, it is really important :)
Sorry it took me a while to answer, I was having trouble with the log in!
I will try to include all those topics in my session :)
Once again, thank you so much

The best bits for me were:
Breathing exercises /visualisations
Upright active positions to birth in.
Information about the different drug / pain relief options available and their side effects (including tens machine and hypnobirthing) so you can make a completely informed choice.
Bathing / changing a baby
What a baby looks like when first delivered as this could be a bit of a shock if not prepared.
Breastfeeding advice and advice about formular feeding in case breastfeeding doesn't workout or you don't want to.