Georgetown Birth Classes

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had any experience with the childbirth classes offered at Georgetown Hospital?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I took two. The breast feeding one (which my husband came along) and another one which I can't remember the title, but they go over vaginal vs c-section, epidural vs non-epidural, breathing, medications, and you get a tour of the maternity unit. Both were very good and I would recommend them.

[Anonymous]

The best part was the tour of the ward. The husband was particularly bored. We didnt find them that helpful.

[Anonymous]

I took the Childbirth one. If I were there alone, I would find only the tour part useful, as I knew most of the things before, from books. However, they told us a bit about the hospital policies, gave pre-registration forms, and I had a chance to try out a birth ball (and changed my mind from buying the 65 cm one to 75 cm one) -so all these small things were useful.
It was also good to sort of get my DH on board - he does not want to read books, etc. - at least maybe he remembers something and now is not such a great fan of the epi

[Anonymous]

The best, most useful part was the tour, which you can do for free. I took the BF class. Looking back, the BFing class was a joke. They rushed through potential BFing problems and issues, and made it sound like it was all wine and roses.

[Anonymous]

I echo that the best part of the childbirth class was the tour. It was good to have a visual of the space. You should be able to stop by the information desk at the hospital and get the pre-registration forms on your own and take care of that at your leisure.

The content of the instruction for the childbirth class I found to be no better than what I could get from books checked out of a library for free. Personally, I would not recommend this class for a first time mom who is looking to gain ideas and techniques for managing labor or for someone who is looking to get the husband on board so he knows what kind of support and coaching the laboring mom is expecting of him. I found that this class skimmed over these topics.

[Anonymous]

PP, what would you recommend to get the husband on board?
As for Bfing class, I took a free one at the Breastfeeding Center on K street.
Babycare class I did not find very useful, it was a bit rushed and gave the very very basics.
There's a new class they have called Comfort measures, it was useful in a sense that we had a chance to practice some massage techniques, my husband gives me feet massage and it is great for tired feet/reducing swelling.

[Anonymous]

I think the best thing you can do to get your husband on board is to have a frank discussion about what your wishes are for labor and delivery (perhaps prepare a birth plan together), share what interventions you are comfortable with (pain meds, induction, c-section, etc.), and run though a few worst case scenarios. I found that in a stressful situation as my first labor turned into, I was not in the right frame of mind to fully explain to my husband what I needed and in retrospect I don't feel I was emotionally supported in the way that I would have liked in order to have had more of a positive experience and something that brought us as a couple closer together.

With #2 I am being far more direct telling my husband specifically what I expect him to be in charge of, everything from not letting med students in the room to what cameras he needs to have with him. With regard to emotional support, we are having very honest conversations about how I respond to stress and what actions he can take to be supportive.

I did not find that the childbirth prep class at Georgetown touched on the emotional support of the laboring mom and instead emphasized the pain of the process. Books told me about pain management, so I didn't think this class was worth the money.

[Anonymous]

I think you could just go to L & D at Gtown, get buzzed in and then ask at the desk for a tour. The nurses are so nice, I bet they would walk you around, answer questions, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the best thing you can do to get your husband on board is to have a frank discussion about what your wishes are for labor and delivery (perhaps prepare a birth plan together), share what interventions you are comfortable with (pain meds, induction, c-section, etc.), and run though a few worst case scenarios. I found that in a stressful situation as my first labor turned into, I was not in the right frame of mind to fully explain to my husband what I needed and in retrospect I don't feel I was emotionally supported in the way that I would have liked in order to have had more of a positive experience and something that brought us as a couple closer together.

With #2 I am being far more direct telling my husband specifically what I expect him to be in charge of, everything from not letting med students in the room to what cameras he needs to have with him. With regard to emotional support, we are having very honest conversations about how I respond to stress and what actions he can take to be supportive.

I did not find that the childbirth prep class at Georgetown touched on the emotional support of the laboring mom and instead emphasized the pain of the process. Books told me about pain management, so I didn't think this class was worth the money.

My issue with DH was that every time I tried to tell him I did not want this or I wanted that he would ask: what's the reasoning behind that? Don't docs know better? and with my pregnant brain I found it really hard to concentrate on the logical aspects, I tended just to yell at him or get upset he does not support me and cry.
In classes, at least he heard some of the research and data, like pros and cons of the epi or why routine episiotomy is not recommended.