Sibley- childbirth class

[Anonymous]

I too have taken the Saturday all-day class recently. Any bias towards epidurals or the "medical establishment" may depend on the instructor. Ours was a certified childbirth educator and a doula who does not practice at Sibley (although she knew everything about how things are done at Sibley). She asked at the very beginning of class how many of us were planning to have an epidural and nearly everyone raised her hand. So, I think she had the interests of her audience in mind as far as what to emphasize during the course of the day. I thought she was excellent and I'm very glad my husband and I took the class.

Also, the cafeteria doesn't take plastic! So if you plan on eating there, bring cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wow ... quite a ringing endorsement. did anyone have GOOD experiences in this class? i'm supposed to take it in december.

in my experience the class was very dry. My DH and I also took a Birthworks class from Susan Messina in the Palisades and we were amazed what a different experince it was---SOOO much better and we got a lot out of it!
I'd take the Sibley tour and see the class as an opportunity to get your questions asked about the hospitals policies and procedures-that's all I got out of it.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My husband and I just took the class a couple of weeks ago and were pleasantly surprised. The information provided isn't earth-shattering but it was definitely informative and gave us both a sense of preparedness, having a better idea of what to expect. Definitely worth taking a day and spending some time focusing on the fact that you're having a baby relatively soon. Also, my husband really surprised me by throwing himself into the massage and relaxation techniques our instructor went over - we'd never really discussed what to do during labor and it was so nice to see how much he actually wanted to help.

[Anonymous]

We took the class a few weeks ago - a 1 day intensive. I felt it was too long - I read a lot before going there - so found some information and the videos that we watched repetitive of what I read.

On the other hand, the tour was great. So, it depends on what you want to get out of it.

The class that I really enjoyed at sibley was the childcare skills.

[Anonymous]

For those of you who took the Sibley maternity tour but didn't take the Sibley birthing class, did you learn about the hospital policies and procedure during the tour? We are thinking of taking a hypnobabies class, but the hypnobabies technique is strongly against mixing methods, so we're thinking of doing the maternity tour at Sibley but not the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who took the Sibley maternity tour but didn't take the Sibley birthing class, did you learn about the hospital policies and procedure during the tour? We are thinking of taking a hypnobabies class, but the hypnobabies technique is strongly against mixing methods, so we're thinking of doing the maternity tour at Sibley but not the class.

they have handouts on this stuff. maybe just call and ask for the handouts so you don't have to pay for the class or waste time going if you aren't interested. i haven't checked, but you might try looking on the hospital's website, too. basically all i recall from the policies is that they said no photography during procedures.

[Anonymous]

I took the hospital tour and the babycare class (on different days) but did not take the childbirth class. The tour was informative, they answered all your questions and went over hospital policies.

[Anonymous]

I took hypnobirthing and then took the intensive one day class. I think if you're taking another class, then you should just do the tour b/c the one-day one is really long and repetitive. Plus the breathing they teach you is something straight out of a 1970's lamaze class (which has shown not to be helpful). Of course, they also don't inform you of the optional aspects of birthing at the hospital...for instance, if you can still pee, you can request NOT to be catheterized when you get the epidural (nurses love the catheter and internal monitoring too b/c you don't move around and they have less work to do). If you're doing hypnobabies, Bradley, or anything like that, don't bother to come to the one day class.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'd love to hear what you thought.

I told my DH about some of the comments on this thread re: you get more watching TV shows about birth, and he said "well, i'm never going to watch those shows so we should just go to the class."

[Anonymous]

OP here. Overall, I'm glad I went. Granted, it is a long day (9 am - 6pm, and no, they don't end early), but for me it was worth one long day to feel much more comfortable overall with giving birth at Sibley. I will note that the class time could probably end at 3pm or 4pm and still teach you all the same information -- our instructor sometimes took a little too long to make some of the points. But in the scheme of things, that's not really a deal-breaker for me.

Our instructer was a certified nurse midwife (CNM), and I think she tried to strike a balance between natural childbirth and the medical interventions. I felt as if the information she gave us was fair, though she sometimes gave us her opinions on certain things. (For example, she is not a fan of pitocin, but she does like the analgesic cocktail that is available if you are around 4-5 cm dilated). I think it is a reflection of her general neutrality that people came away with different reactions to the medical interventions. For example, one woman who had been heavily leaning toward natural childbirth is now more open to interventions, while another woman expressed that she is moving in the opposite direction after learning the information. (For myself, I think I'm leaning more toward trying to avoid interventions, as I'd really prefer not to have my movement so restricted).

I think that if you are someone who has read a lot of books and other information on labor and delivery, you may not need the class. But frankly, I was not someone who had done so (other than reading postings on this forum), so it was helpful for me to set aside one day to concentrate and learn. I also thought it was great for the partners in the class (in our case, all male). The class did a nice job of helping them figure out their role. I know that my husband (and others in the class) were particularly interested in learning the logistics -- where to park, when to go to the hospital, what to do when you get there. Also, I think my husband was surprised to learn that he will play an active role in the birthing process -- at Sibley, when you are pushing, they ask the partner to hold up one of your legs! Probably good that he knows that in advance.

The schedule of the day is basically anatomy and the birthing process (including medical interventions) in the morning and early pm, then a tour of the hospital, discussion of c-sections, and for the last hour and half, breathing comfort and relaxation techniques. (Frankly, I found this part to drag on for too long -- the breathing techniques are fairly basic, and at 5pm I really didn't need to lay on the floor envisioning waterfalls -- just wanted to go home!)

I hope this helps. Bottom line, glad I did it. And hey, what else was I going to do on Saturday when we were getting torrential downpours?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I did the one day class and found it very helpful, especially DH who was not reading books all pregnancy but concerned about the process. I think you get out of it what you want, for those that think they know everything already than it could be perceived as a waste. For those who have not been doing a lot of individual research it can be helpful and a good overview to start from when you do your own reading later. I actually came out of the class wanting to try alternative methods than epidural so you do learn options and important pros and cons. There was no bias with our teacher. If you aren't sure that you understand the birthing process I would go, if you end up knowing everyhting already then you will just be confident that you are in a good place and ready to go. You can call Sibley to get the logistic info. I did not bring anything to class (pillow etc) and that was fine.