Question: Where do you bring your wife when it's time to give birth? If your answer is the hospital's EMERGENCY ROOM, then you need this!
Childbirth class=fun, fun, fun! That's how it was for us. It was a no-brainer to attend one since this is our first child and we want to be fully prepared for what lies ahead. We wanted know as much as we can about pregnancy, childbirth and infant care.
Learning Relaxation Techniques at Childbirth Preparation Class Along w/
Other Expectant Couples
Other Expectant Couples
On my fifth month, I asked our OB GYNE if she could recommend one to us. She gave us a pink flyer for Childbirth Preparation class. We were also told that Michael has to finish this course for him to be able to enter both the labor and delivery rooms. He needed to get certification as my Lamaze coach.
The 6-week class was headed by Rome Kanapi who is practically an institution in her field. Rome made the classes lively, informative and relationship-enhancing. What's more: her classes are filled with games, freebies and prizes from major maternity and childcare brands. Michael and I won a complete dental kit for baby and organic laundry detergent, aside from getting copies and copies of the latest childcare magazines.
How much the classes cost: P4,500/ couple for a 6-week course
What we learned:
*Proper nutrition for pregnant moms
*Relaxation techniques and exercises to ease pregnancy and labor aches and pain
*What to do, what to bring, how to prepare you and your spouse for labor and childbirth
*The different cases that lead to Caesarian birth
*Complications in pregnancy and childbirth and how to avoid them
*The stages of childbirth and what to do and expect
*Breathing and pushing techniques
*How to prepare the all-important Birth Plan
*How to care for a newborn
Being taught how to change a nappy by Rome Kanapi
I'll be forever grateful to Rome for teaching--
- How to control my weight and curb pregnancy cravings. During my second trimester, I was warned by my OB Gyne that I was eating too much and was thus gaining too much weight. Rome taught me that I need to eat just 2 slices of wheat bread per meal and no more than 1 piece of banana and a slice of ripe mango per day. My first reaction was--WUHATT? I obviously was downing more than that! But I listened to her advice and as a result had normal glucose levels throughout the pregnancy.
- How to prepare a Birth Plan, This made the whole birthing experience so much better because we were taught how to communicate our needs and wants to the doctor and hospital staff. I made a few copies of the birth plan and gave it to the attending physicians and nurses and it saved us from having to repeat ourselves over and over as to the details of the pregnancy and our medical requests.
- How to have a better chance for a normal delivery the second time around. Rome taught the class that in case we moms need to undergo an emergency c-section, we should ask our doctors to do a transverse incision (horizontal cut) to increase the possibility of having a normal birth for our succeeding kids. A transverse cut is said to result to lesser complications. It is also safer for women with this kind of incision to give birth naturally because there is a lesser chance of uterine rupture during labor. We were able communicate this to my OB GYNE weeks before labor. She was not too agreeable to it because it takes time to do this. She said it might not work during an emergency, but when it was time, she was able to heed our wishes. For someone who is hoping and praying for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarian), the message from Rome was heaven-sent.
Rome also solidified my resolve to breastfeed. She offered practical tips like what type of breast pump to get, when to get it or if it would be better to just borrow from a friend. There were tips about milk storage, how to breastfeed for the first time and the proper nursing attire to wear to make breastfeeding less complicated. I really appreciated the information because I was the first child in my family to become pregnant and breastfeeding is an alien concept to us.
Michael and I looked forward to every class. It made the pregnancy more memorable. And when it was time to go to the delivery room, we were ready. For us, the class by Rome is simply priceless!
For more information about Rome's childbirth preparation classes, visit: http://www.childbirthteacher.com
