Times have changed and parents-to-be these days have a lot more options than just the basic Lamaze class. I hadn’t thought about it, but my midwife gave me a brochure and suggested I take some classes. The brochure was from PacifiCord, a local cord blood bank. (Side note: Cord blood banking is an interesting concept and seems to have a lot of utility. It may be something you want to check out. You can follow the link above to find out more about PacifiCord.) The classes were free so I thought I had nothing to lose really.

My preconceived notions were these:

• It’s a free class how good could it be?
• It’s sponsored by a business, so it will probably be a huge sales pitch with a little additonal info.
• We will probably be pressured into buying their services.

I have to say that all of these notions were 100% wrong. The classes (after the first I signed up for another) were fantastic! Lead by labor and delivery nurse, doula, lactation consultant and mother of 3 Wendy Spry, the classes were extremely informative and entertaining. She also emailed everyone her materials after the class, because as you may know pregnancy does a number on your memory. At the end of her 2 hour presentation, she showed a quick video about cord blood banking and explained it briefly (total it was less than 10 minutes). Then she introduced Kevin, who could answer any questions we had and that was it. Class over, no sales pitch at all!

We ended up taking a breastfeeding class and a childbirth options class (going over the process of childbirth, what happens in a hospital, and what you can do to make the experience the best possible outcome). The classes were great and I recommend them to everyone.

Then I faced the challenge of choosing a childbirth methodology and find a class. Since I had chosen to try to have a natural childbirth experience, I explored Bradley, Hypnobirthing (recommended by my midwife) and Hypnobabies. As I mentioned in a previous post, Bradley is very involved and requires 12 classes. If there was a Bradley “Lite” that probably would have been perfect for me. Self-hypnosis did not seem like it was for me at all and I struggled with the recommendation. My midwife assured me that hypnosis was the method that she saw the most success with in her experience (which is considerable). So I tried to be open-minded.

Finding a class proved an even larger challenge. All of the classes I could find were in LA and I didn’t feel like fighting traffic and getting home at midnight. I found a few teachers that were willing to do a private class with my husband and I, but scheduling conflicts ruled out that option. The weeks ticked by and I was finding myself at a deadend. I emailed Wendy Spry and another childbirth educator (Sheridan from Enjoy Birth) and explained my dilemma. What was I going to do?

They both emailed me back and recommended the Hypnobabies Home Study Course. I ordered it immediately and Sheridan offered to do a review with me when I finished it. Finally, I had found an answer! The course materials could be a bit better organized (hint hint Hypnobabies), but all in all I really enjoyed the program. There were some cheesy parts I had to get past, but I found the deep relaxation that comes with self-hypnosis much more powerful than I had imagined. I was very happy that I was able to be open-minded about the process.