hey guys it's alice here childbirth educator and
doula ready to answer your top internet questions about childbirth classes and we're going to try to
get to as many as we can in the next five minutes the timer is going to start as soon as my
assistant reads our first question why are childbirth classes important oh they're so
important because they're preparing you for this huge life-changing event they're giving
you information about how it's going to go what your options are and really setting you
up so you can feel prepared and make the most a positive experience on this big day what
childbirth classes should i take so you can take a variety of childbirth classes there's some
taught at the hospital with private educators group classes there are individual classes my main
recommendation is just look for a class that's taught by a certified child birth educator what
is a childbirth class like so they could be either online or in person but usually you meet you bring
your support person and you you learn about how labor goes you learn about coping techniques you
learn about intervention about how postpartum goes sometimes you do different activities but it's
lots of information and they it's presented in a lot of different ways depending upon the
educator are childbirth classes necessary so you can have a baby without taking childbirth classes
definitely not necessary but recommended of course what do childbirth classes cost so they
vary in cost they can be um like under 100 or they can be over say 400 500 depending upon
if you're doing a group or a private if you're doing a class that lasts for a series so meet
several times it really has a huge variety also where you live can have an impact on the cost
are childbirth classes covered by insurance so some insurance will cover childbirth classes
it really depends on your insurance plan but i always encourage everyone to talk to their
insurance to see if they can get it covered are childbirth classes hsa eligible so similarly
as depends on your insurance plan but if you have a health savings account you can usually use
those funds to cover your childbirth class what do you bring to childbirth what you bring
really depends upon your instructor so sometimes instructors will give you a list of things to
bring sometimes they'll say to bring pillows to make sitting in class more comfortable sometimes i
always recommend to bring something to take notes on a notebook or something like that but if you
are doing your childbirth class in the comfort of your own home via online classes usually anything
around your house you can grab will be ready for childbirth class when do you take travel class
usually it's recommended in the 30-ish week mark maybe a little bit before if you are taking
a longer series of class or maybe a little bit later if you are taking more of a comfort
measures class and you want to be really fresh are childbirth classes worth it absolutely that's
who even ask that question yes they're worth it they're so worth it i mean anytime you do
something new i think preparing for it is worth it should you take childbirth classes for a
second child so yes um taking childbirth classes for a second child is helpful especially if you if
it's been a while since you've given birth or um if maybe your birth didn't go quite the way
you wanted it to and you want to be more more prepared with skills there are a lot of educators
that teach a refresher class for people that have given birth before what are childbirth classes
for dads so there's a variety of classes for dads sometimes you'll see like a boot camp class those
are usually geared more towards how to parent as a dad afterwards and um there are classes like the
supporting her online class that i've created that is just for how to support your partner in labor
i'll put a link down below so there's a variety for dads are there childbirth classes for single
moms yes so all childbirth classes should be open to single moms or uncoupled moms what i recommend
though is bring whoever will be supporting you in labor because that person um working together
in your class is really important are there childbirth classes for c-section so there are um
there are special classes just to prepare you if you know you're going to have a c-section and also
in most classes they discuss about c-section so if you don't know if that's your plan you'll be
prepared anyway are there childbirth classes for vbac yes there are special classes for vbacs and
they are highly recommended if that's your plan what is an express childbirth class that's where
you do mostly just coping skills and it's usually like a one day and you get it all at one time
what if you can't afford chocolate classes you can look for free videos on youtube just like
this one if you can't afford an actual series or look in your community there might be some free
classes available yay okay so i routinely give free childbirth classes online here on youtube
live um if you want to find out when the next one is coming up make sure you check in the links
below and you can find out all that information also if you want to see the other rapid fire
topics that we have covered i put them all in a playlist and you can find them right here and i'll
see you guys next time thanks for joining me bye you