Mom and Dad go to Baby School

This past weekend my husband and I attended the "Prepared Childbirth" class at the Isis Maternity Center at the Prudential Center, Boston. We had heard from a few friends about the class - mostly about the "gross" birthing videos you watch with the other soon to be parents - so we had some idea what we were in store for, but we went into the 8 hour class with open minds.

Due to the nasty weather, there were only 4 other couples in the class (2 of which I ended up knowing from school and the dog park) so it was a nice intimate setting. To start off the day, we were greeted by our teacher, Sandy, a licensed Doula who is training to become a registered midwife. She was right out of Doula central casting - from southern California, glasses, curly hair, a little crunchy - and right from the get go, you could tell she loved her job. And she was a hoot - jumping around on the ground, on a chair, showing us birthing positions, acting out what contractions are like - she definitely kept us awake with her antics!

The class covered everything from third trimester body changes (where do your organs actually go?) to possible complications in the hospital (reasons why you would have an unplanned c-section) to breastfeeding basics. We also learned about ways to power through contractions and about the different types of drugs you can receive once admitted to the hospital: I must admit that I thought an epidural was just a shot in the spine, but it actually is a tube placed in your spine and taped down over your shoulder with a syringe at the end where the drugs can be administered when needed - D'oh!

To keep the day moving along, we participated in lots of activities with the other couples, as well as the fabulous massage stations - who knew how good a tennis ball could feel on your back?

Interspersed between the demonstrations and activities were the dreaded Miracle of Birth videos, staring the fattest, hairiest women the producers could find. And could their husbands look more like 80s porn stars? There were five too many mullets and thin mustaches in those films for my taste. And birth isn't exactly the most beautiful thing in the world, but when you are watching a 300 pound woman give birth, you can't help but feel a little nauseous. (I will have to admit that I did get a little choked up when they put the baby on the woman's chest right after birth - hormones!) They were also filled with tons of "that what she said moments" so my husband and I were the bad kids giggling to ourselves in the dark. Real mature, I know...

Overall it was a great experience, and well worth the money ($170 for the two of us to attend). We came out of it feeling prepared for our child's birth (that is why they call it Prepared Childbirth) and with a lot more knowledge than we have gotten out of any pregnancy/birthing books we have read, and there have been a lot.

If you do get a chance to take this class through Isis, I highly recommend trying to take one being taught by Sandy from central casting! She brought a crocheted uterus with detachable vagina for God sakes! How do you not love her.

Exercising while pregnant

Listen to your body when you are pregnant. If you feel up to exercising, do it. If you don’t, don’t feel guilty (like you would if you weren’t pregnant)! What is most important is to feel good about yourself while you cook the baby for 10 months. That could mean eating Cheez-Its as exercise, or running 5 miles a day. This is not your wedding--you don't have to have your picture taken much the big day--and no one is looking at you really, they want to see the star.

Most of our Mama’s were most comfortable walking during their pregnancy, while others also swam (they say that breast stroke will help prepare your body for delivery). One Mama did pre-natal yoga, but found that with the additional poundage, her hands seemed to go numb much quicker (and stay that way for a while).

While those Mama’s that continue to exercise throughout pregnancy do not necessarily have easier births (out of our Mama’s they were the ones that actually ended up having more complications, but that is totally unrelated) they did in fact have a much easier recovery after birth. Within a short period of time they were pretty much back to their pre-baby body (many of them also attribute the quicker weight loss to breast feeding).

“The “Perfect Pregnancy Workout” video is the best – it’s hard enough to be a challenge – even post-pregnancy, but you can do it when you’re pregnant. And eating…sadly, if you do it as much as I did, that is exercise too.” – MAMA E

“I highly recommend exercising during pregnancy. I enjoyed swimming and using the cardio machines at the gym. By keeping up your endurance during pregnancy you get a head start on the incredible endurance you will need once the baby comes. I know everyone says that exercise helps with the birth – I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I can promise you that staying in shape will help when you have been awake for 96 hours straight and have been bouncing a little newborn baby in your arms for that entire time.” – MAMA S

“Walking – it helped to keep me in shape and to relax. I gained steady weight throughout my pregnancy and ended up right in the correct range 25-30 pounds come delivery time. It also helped to tire me out so I would sleep better but it didn’t exhaust me like running or other high intensity exercise did. You can walk in any weather which is good because there is no excuse to stop doing it. Stretching was good too. I felt great going into my labor, I think my fitness level helped me to try for as long as I did (labor for 24 hours, pushed for 3 hours then c-section). It absolutely made recovery from c-section easier because you have to use arms and legs a lot since your abdomen is very sore and you can’t really use the muscles there to get up and out of bed, chairs, etc.” – MAMA C

“Took ballet classes which really helped with the sciatica “ MAMA A

“I was so sore the day after deliver (and I don't mean down there, I mean my whole body! I felt like I ran a marathon. My entire body hurt....my arms, my back, my shoulders, my legs...you truly are using every muscle in your body to push the baby out (unless you have a c-section of course) - I guess maybe if I had exercised more I would have been in better shape, but honestly I don't think so. My doctor told me the next day, it was like the equivalent of running a marathon, and I agree!!” – MAMA P

Prenatal/Birthing Classes

All of our Mama’s took some sort of class before they birthed their little poop machines, and most took them at one of the Boston area Isis locations. Our Mama’s say it is 100% worth becoming a member if you live close to one of their locations (you will receive a discount on tuition if you are a member). It allows you a great opportunity to socialize with other expectant moms (and dads) in your area.

No matter where you take them, we highly recommend taking a Newborn essentials class, where you learn everything from how to use a car seat to how to stop a baby from crying. Also helpful are the Natural Childbirth classes, even if you plan to have an epidural: “you don’t get the epidural until you have already been in labor for a number of hours so you will still want information on how to deal with the pain and the natural CB class will give you that.”

Breastfeeding classes have mixed results. Some Mamas feel they were helpful (those that breastfed for months) and others didn’t (those that breastfed a short period of time): “unless you want to rub your boobs in front of other people’s husbands, and have a woman walk around showing your husband how to properly rub hers – skip the breastfeeding class – the real thing is NOT even comparable.”

If you can, our Mamas highly recommend taking an Infant CPR class as well. And even if they don’t like it, Dad has to come along with you!

“Just beware – you take the class with your husband and they make you watch a video of a woman having natural child birth – I had to convince my husband the movie was fictional in order to get him to go back to class the next day.” MAMA S

“Baby Matters through Beth Israel. I honestly think this is more for the husband (hubby spent a good portion of his time chatting with his friend about the Red Sox, trying to “deswaddle” the practice baby by throwing it into the air, and then conveniently not listening when they mentioned “this is when you go to the hospital” and then had the balls to ask me the question…) than the mother. It’s a rite of passage – you have to do it, but honestly, you don’t learn a lot.” – MAMA E

“Took class at MGH and found it helpful on learning ways to deal with labor pains. Found it helpful to see hospital, birthing rooms and post-partum area. What I wished they talked more about was how to push – all of a sudden you are at that point in labor and they say push and it’s like, how? I never read about it anywhere either and I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. It may have felt this way because ultimately my baby literally didn’t fit and I had to have a c-section but I would recommend asking about pushing.” – MAMA C

“We took the class at the hospital where I was delivering. It was taught by one of the Neo-Natal Nurses there. Very informative and I actually learned more than I thought I would. (We kind of figured it would be a joke). I felt like I was more prepared for labor, as that was one of my big fears that I wouldn't know when I was "really" going into labor. (Everyone says "oh you will just know..." - but how the hell are you supposed to know if you've never gone through it before?!!!) Definitely take a good class.” – MAMA P