I cannot say enough about how awesome Birthing Basics is. In fact, I loved my childbirth and new born care class so much, I've signed up for the comfort measures class at the end of the month. The information provided in this class is that useful.
Looking for birthing classes was intimidating, and I knew I didn't want a multiple week class series. Enter Lisa-Marie's Birthing Basics! I settled on this class after not one, but three of my OB's (I see many as I go to MFA/GWdocs) recommended the class. Lisa-Marie is a labor and delivery nurse at GW but has experience at many hospitals and knew a lot about each hospital's delivery policies and practices. Anyway, the class was 6 hours long, consisting of only 5 couples. This made the class easy to follow and provide 1:1 attention for learning a few comfort measures and for answering specific questions. The atmosphere was lovely; with plenty of cold water provided, comfortable seats and chairs, birthing balls, and generally relaxed place to learn all about giving birth!
If you've already made up your mind that you'll have an epidural or natural child birth, I cannot stress enough how much you more you will learn and enjoy this class. I am dedicated to natural child birth but Lisa-Marie provided explanations for when it's time for something else or what to do if I'll need an emergency c-section, other types of pain mgt, etc... It's more than just a breathing class or how to handle birth. I learned about how to measure contractions, how the hospital will measure contractions, baby heart monitoring, fetal monitoring, etc. Regardless of how you plan on bringing your beautiful child into this world, you will learn everything you need to be prepared when you step foot in that delivery room! The different comfort measures I learned have helped me now in my 3rd trimester. For weeks leading up to Lisa's class I had horrific back and hip pain. Now my husband practices the comfort measures learned and I haven't had any back or hip pain at night! Lisa, I love you for this! Lisa actually is published as well for her "Cook Counter Pressure" move. Who doesn't love a good butt press!
Lisa is also an amazing teacher. She kept to an easy to follow syllabus and stays up to date on her research in order to provide real-time updates on child birthing and child-care. Examples include the importance of a healthy newborn gut to prevent asthma, discontinued use of corn starch and baby powder for your little one, and recent opinions and journals on episiotomies. I feel more prepared than ever to give birth.
At the conclusion of the class, we learned basic infant care, including tummy time, bathing, and swaddling. You may think this is a no-brainer but it's nice to practice with a trained eye watching you.
I highly recommend this class, regardless of where you plan to deliver. I feel I am an informed consumer and have read many journals and articles in preparation for child birth but this class will make you an expert. read more