My husband and I took four of the pregnancy classes that Kaiser offers: Labor and Delivery Tours, Newborn Care, Breastfeeding, and Preparing for Childbirth. I found some "worth it/not worth it" comments on the internet, but not anything more detailed.
Labor and Delivery Tour (Kaiser Oakland)
Time: 1 hour
Cost: Free
Benefits: Know exactly where to go, feel more comfortable with your birthing environment
Attendees: May bring 1 support person
Worth it?: Yes!
This was the one class that my ob/gyn said she strongly recommends for everyone to take, and I agree, if you haven't been through it before. Another couple walked right past us at the Howe St. entrance and seemed to know exactly where to go, but I was hobbling along with my sciatica, so we didn't exactly follow them. After a few wrong turns to the wrong elevators, I was winded and my sciatic nerve was irritated. We did figure out where NOT to go. I was already getting some value out of this before we even found the tour!
A couple of women brought 2 support people with them (a doula or sister in addition to partner). The guide seemed to be fine with this, but we were also overbooked, so sometimes it was difficult to hear/see what she was talking about. Our tour guide also works at Alta Bates, and it was nice to hear that she thought Kaiser was more progressive regarding patient birth plans and requests.
We went over the guest check-in process, the triage/patient check-in, and saw the delivery rooms. It calmed me a lot to take the mystery out of what to do and where I'd be delivering. It was nice to see the bed, know where my husband could sit, and how many people the delivery room would hold. My goal is to have a natural birth, and "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" suggests that birthing is more comfortable for a woman when laboring in a familiar environment. The tour was definitely worth attending!
Newborn Care Class
Time: 2.5 hours
Cost: Free
Benefits: Very basic overview. Fits those who don't like to read, do research, or talk to parents. Helpful handout packet to take home.
Attendees: May bring 1 support person
Worth it?: Not really, no.
Our instructor was sweet but slow and followed the handout pretty closely. I think she was nurse at the hospital. The class was full of couples. My husband took care of his youngest brother, so the class was mainly for me. We each had an infant doll and practiced dressing, dry bathing, diapering, and swaddling with a blanket. This was the most useful part of the class and with a few other tidbits, could have been done with the class in an hour. A few couples left early. I wish we had too.
Going in to the class, I'd already watched videos on newborn bathing and talked to my friend with a newborn. What's changed since my parents' generation is that cord care is now different. Sponge baths are no longer required as you may have seen in some older videos.
I'd really hoped the instructor would demonstrate or show a video on normal infant breathing and grunting, and how to recognize an emergency (I'd been reading horror stories on the internet). Even though she took 30 minutes at the beginning of class to ask what we'd like to know, we never covered this. That 30 minutes was a waste of time because the packet/slides already covered the topic (lightly), or she just didn't get to it by the end. She even skipped the car seat demonstration to answer general questions (mostly about breastfeeding! Um, that's covered in another class, m'dear).
My recommendation is to go if you have time to kill. If you aren't particularly interested but still curious, show up and take the handout packet, then leave if your instructor isn't adding value. Otherwise I think most parents would benefit from doing research on their own.
Breastfeeding Class
Time: 2.5 hours
Cost: Free
Benefits: Emotional support, troubleshooting
Attendees: May bring 1 support person
Worth it?: Yes. My husband would say no, but I needed someone besides myself to tell him how he can help.
I knew in college after taking a nutritional science class that I'd breastfeed my children, so I started my breastfeeding research early on. I would say it is sort of an obsession because I blame my mother's vanity for my acne and weak immune system, sister's eczema, and brother's asthma. (I don't truly blame her, but I can't help but feel the lack of breast milk was a sure contributor!).
Going in, I'd read all about the benefits, how-tos, recommendations, common mistakes, latching, pumping, and watched a detailed video series from NZ on Youtube. Most women seemed to be similarly informed as well. The lactation consultant went through the key points very quickly and showed a few videos. It was helpful to hear about breastfeeding support from Kaiser and the general philosophy of the staff. A few women brought their partners. My husband thought he did not need to be there at all. I liked that he came out more educated about breast pumps, frequency of feedings and wet diapers, and that he should help bring the baby to me.
While I already learned most things on my own, I thought the class was worthwhile because it was fast paced. I am continuing to watch more videos and read about personal experiences on my own, so the videos and stories we went over in class was something I'd spend my time on anyway.
Preparing for Childbirth Class
Time: 8 hours (choose from 1 full day session, 2 weekend series, or 4 weeknight series)
Cost: $80
Benefits: Learn when to call during labor, Kaiser's birth philosophy and hospital procedures, pain medication options, and natural coping options
Attendees: May bring 1 support person
Worth it?: Yes.
We chose the full day single session option and the day went by quickly. Our instructor turned out to be a doula. She covered a lot of material and was energetic. You can go in knowing nothing, and learn about the different stages of labor, when to call, how to cope with pain naturally, practice laboring positions and massages with your partner, and practice pushing positions.
What I loved about the doula was that she was open-minded about natural births and epidurals, and talked about the benefits and risks of different birthing choices. Some couples asked about specific studies on epidurals, and the doula had read the actual study -- not the article or abstract, and talked intelligently (yes, my opinion) about the validity of the study as well as other possible explanations for the findings.
My husband and I both watched "The Business of Being Born" and I'd been reading Ina May's "Guide to Childbirth", so I had an idea of what my "ideal" birth process and baby bonding would be like. We were very happy to find that Kaiser would respect our birth plan. I can only labor in a tub at home since Kaiser Oakland only has showers, but everything else I wanted, I could have with Kaiser! My husband has remained very pro-epidural through our own research, and actually came out of the class more supportive of my goal to have a natural birth.
We got a nice childbirth book which covers the material from class, and it was helpful for my husband to see other men enthusiastically practice massage and supportive dialogue for the women in labor. The price was very reasonable as we'd found other highly rated options for $300-$800 (for a longer series) in the area.
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