When I was pregnant I had no urge, inclination or desire to take part in prenatal classes. I didn’t want to spend the money, or sit for a whole weekend or a few hours once a week with a bunch of people I didn’t know, learning about the birthing process and what to do with baby once we brought him home. Perhaps it was all the reading I’d done online, especially my nightly insomnia-driven perusal of Reddit’s Baby Bumps forum, but I kind of thought I had a really good idea of how things were going to go down.
My mother, on the other hand, consistently asked about and urged me to take prenatal classes. Of course this planted a seed of doubt in my mind, so I started looking into various options. There are a lot of privately run classes in Hamilton and Burlington, all of which looked very informative and in-depth. They also had pretty price tags and time commitments attached to them. I’m guessing they’re a great experience for those who want to be prepared for labour, birth and beyond. But I was approaching the whole experience with a “take it as it comes” mindset. And looking back, I’m happy with the way things went!
Not wanting to go all-out with prenatal classes, I did some research on the City of Hamilton’s offerings. It turned out they offered in-person group classes (either four evenings or two Saturdays) for $50. But I also discovered that they offered online prenatal classes (they were $25 at the time, but now they’re free!) with the option of attending two in-person classes (they were free at the time, but now they’re offered for a fee). I decided the online course was the way to go so I could tick that box on my baby prep to-do list, and do it in the comfort of my own bed in the evenings.
The online course is created by The Gift of Motherhood, and the City offers a demo, here. Hamilton’s website says it will take 6-8 hours to complete, but honestly, it took me about 1.5 hours. I didn’t learn much that I hadn’t read online already, but I suppose I found the parts about the phases of labour interesting– it gave me an idea of what to expect once I went into labour. This was also covered in the in-person prenatal class we attended one evening for two hours.
The in-person class we attended was focused on labour and delivery, and was two hours long. It was, in my opinion, and my husband’s, not a good use of time. We were shown some old-school videos of people in labour, had to do some group exercises on pain management, and there was a lot of conversation around what each of us had done to prepare for giving birth. We literally did not learn anything we didn’t already know.
At least we got some humour out of it– at one point we had to put a clothespin on my finger so I could practice being in pain, and so that we could discuss how I’d like to manage my pain in labour. Did it hurt in the slightest? Heck no! Did it make us laugh when I actually went into labour and my baby was positioned “sunny side up?” Heck yes! Husband, jokingly: “Baby, does it feel like a clothespin on your finger?” Me, not jokingly: “No it effing doesn’t! Where’s my morphine? Is it time for my epidural??” Husband, urgently: “Can we get her her epidural?!”
There was a second in-person class offered, on breastfeeding, which we declined to attend. I was worried it was going to be similar to the birthing class, and I’d also been meeting with McMaster Family Practice’s lactation consultant as part of my prenatal care. Yes, breastfeeding was a total struggle in the beginning for us, but I do not think attending the class would have made it any easier. You kind of get what you get when it comes to breastfeeding, and you’ve got to work through it in the moment based on your body and baby’s response.
So there’s my opinion on birthing classes, including Hamilton’s online offerings. The online course and in-person classes are worth the time if you think you need a little more information before going into the birthing process, or want to ease your anxiety about being unprepared. They’re not my thing, but that might be because I planned to go full out with pain management, up to having a c-section if it was offered (and it was, and I took it– but that’s another post on its own). You might have a totally different mindset and approach to labour and delivery and may want to take advantage of the variety of courses available, including those from doulas and midwives to help you work through natural pain management strategies. Everyone has their own idea of how they want to give birth, and that’s ok!
In addition to my thoughts on Hamilton’s online and supplementary in-person prenatal courses, I wanted to highlight the other resources available through the City of Hamilton. Their in-person courses cover the topics of healthy pregnancy, labour and birth, breastfeeding, recovery, caring for baby, infant safety, parenting and community resources. You can check Hamilton’s website for class availability including timing and location.
Hamilton offers a lot of other valuable prenatal resources, such as Prenatal drop-in groups for women under the age of 21. The meetings are free, and participants are provided with bus tickets and grocery gift cards. There’s a location on the Mountain at St. Martin’s Manor on Mohawk Road W, and one downtown at Grace Haven on Herkimer Street.
Additionally, you can follow along with Hamilton’s Healthy Families Hamilton Facebook page where they frequently share useful resources, events and health and safety information.
Since I didn’t take a conventional prenatal class, I’d love to hear about your recommendations and experiences with prenatal classes in the Hamilton area. Are there any that you would recommend to fellow readers?
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