Sibley Labor Class Worth it?

[Anonymous]

HI DCUMers-
I'm due with my first and debating if we should pay for the pricey labor & delivery class at Sibley (where I will be delivering). We are doing a childbirth labor class series outside the hospital (more natural birth focused but also covers interventions/pain medication option) and will have a doula, but I am wondering if there's information in the Sibley course that we absolutely need to know.

If not, I'd much rather save the money to use for the many baby things we need.

Thanks so much for your insights!

[Anonymous]

My husband and I just took the Sibley class on Saturday. It was very informative and useful to us, but we aren't taking any other childbirth classes. Probably the only thing covered that you aren't getting in your other class was the labor and delivery tour, but I think Sibley offers that for free (check their website).

[Anonymous]

Definitely not. We took the one day class at Sibley and it was great (it told us everything we needed for both our deliveries at Sibley), but that was all we did to prepare. I'm sure your classes are more than sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Definitely don't need the Sibley class - just sign up for the free tour if you have time so you will be familiar with where you're going when the big moment comes

[Anonymous]

Thanks all-this is very helpful!

We will sign up for the hospital tour (and hopefully pre-register) and stick with our other classes.

My husband was very worried that we'd be missing something-it's cute how badly he wants to do all the proper research.

[Anonymous]

We took the one day class and it was a complete waste of time and money. Everything in that class you'll get from all the pregnancy books I'm sure youre reading. Like everyone else says, just take the L&D tour, which is free, and skip the class. If you really want a birth class take something specific like Lamaze, Bradley etc

[Anonymous]

The class hasn't improved since February - I took the class on 11/23 and found it to be a complete waste of time. There is nothing you can't learn by reading the L&D chapter of any pregnancy book, and the instructor did not seem knowledgable about pain medications or their risks. If you want strategies & tools for natural childbirth, you won't learn them here - we spent about 5 minutes on one breathing exercise. I wish we'd skipped it and taken Lamaze or Bradley.

[Anonymous]

We took the class this past Sunday and found it to be EXTREMELY useful. However, it was the first class we have taken. If you've already done a child-prep class, then there is no need for it. However, I would highly recommend taking the hospital tour (which is offered separately)...it was very eye opening for us (not necessarily in a good way). We were impressed with the Labor and Delivery rooms, but the post-delivery / recovery rooms are just horrendous. And we are both glad to know what to expect now, since we were very much expecting "Hotel Sibley" which is not the case AT ALL. The private room we saw was so tiny, very stuffy (stale air), and hot hot hot! There isn't enough room for a sofa, so they only have a small chair for your husband/partner. I would definitely take the tour so you know what to expect!

[Anonymous]

We took the 6-session course with our first - it was OK but not great. I may have liked a specific Lamaze/Bradley's better -- however, one thing I was very gratefule for is that 1 session of the class focused on what happens with a C section. We ended up with an emergency C (after 12 hours of labor - ugh!), and if I hadn't had that "what to expect" primer, it would have sent me into a total panic.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for no. We left early after learning very little in uncomfortable chairs for multiple hours.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for no. It was a total waste of time. I'd do the tour though...