Birth class for second time mom

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Hello,
I'm interested in finding a natural birth class (Bradley, Hypnobirthing, etc) for our second time around. I'd prefer not to spend 12 weeks in Bradley to learn some of the things I already know from my first birth (like how to care for a newborn, nutrition, etc), but would love to refresh my learning on labor and delivery techniques. I did not take a class before, but read a bunch of books and wish I would have taken a class. Has anyone found a good class to learn some skills that might be good for the second time around? We're in NW DC so hope to find something in the city.

Advice appreciated, thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would advise hiring a doula and doing some practice with her for natural birth. Even if you don't want a doula for the birth, you might find one who would give you one-on-one instruction in techniques.

[Anonymous]

Taking a HypnoBirthing class would be great for a second time mom. Learning how to relax deeply and easily, and working with the body instead of against it would be benefitial to a mom whether she has had a baby or not. Probably 90% of the class material will be new to you. It's only a 12 hour class (4 or 5 sessions).

[Anonymous]

We had a really good experience with a Birth Works class. The focus is definitely on birth rather than on childcare. It was my first baby, my husband's second, and we both found it very useful (although his first child's birth was many years ago and with an epidural, so I don't know that he had ever really learned much about the process). There tends to be a lot of emphasis, especially in the earlier classes, on parents' emotions, including exploring feelings about previous pregnancies or births that did not go as you had hoped. This may or may not be useful to you. But we also learned a lot of techniques for encouraging a smooth labor and managing pain. We also talked a lot about what physically happens during birth--the stages of labor, etc.--that may be old hat for you.