Shady Grove childbirth classes

[Anonymous]

If anyone has taken a childbirth class at Shady Grove hospital, could you please share your experience? Would you recommend the class? Thanks

[Anonymous]

We just finished the three day condensed version a few weeks ago - both my husband and I enjoyed the class and were glad we took it. Our instructor, Tibbie Turner, was great - very calm and knowledgeable and gave good advice to couples considering a variety of birth options.

[Anonymous]

3 years ago, we took the one day condensed course. It was fine.

[Anonymous]

We also did it about 3 years ago, also had Tibbie as our instructor. Keep in mind that these classes (at least the birthing part) are more useful if you are planning on doing natural childbirth. I believe Tibbie was trained in Lamazze. I knew I would want the epidural, and I went very fast with both my kids, so I didn't end up using much of the breathing exercises. But it was still nice to meet other expectant parents, get the tour, and learn something about what to expect with the whole childbirth experience.

[Anonymous]

I do agree that the classes are more focused on ways to cope with natural childbirth, in part because I'm not sure what they would do with several of the hours if they didn't spend it on breathing techniques, etc., but I think it's useful no matter what type of delivery you're hoping to have/end up having. I haven't given birth yet, but I did find the breathing exercises to be somewhat helpful when dealing with a truly awful leg cramp. My husband really liked hearing about things he could do to try and help me through labor - whether we use any of the techniques remains to be seen, but I think having him feel like he has a clearer picture of what his role could be was a nice outcome of the class for him. For me, hearing more about the different types of interventions, and how one may lead to another, or how choosing X may mean you can no longer do Y, was the most useful part of the class. Was good for me to think through a few different scenarios that way, and nice to hear about things that could happen so they're not news to me when we're in the hospital.