Prenatal Class #6

First part of the Class consisted of going through a caesarean procedure step by step, the class was again held up by someone (read fucking annoying bitch) asking specific questions about the recovery time frame difference from having had a general versus an epidural. It turns out there is an hours difference….OK that was really important to know.

Then we got shown how to bath your baby. This was a good thing to see and again Tim got to have a go at undressing the doll. One good suggestion was made during this time, which was to ensure that your nappies, wipes, creams and change table were already set up before you left to go to the hospital. Lucky for me as I’ve already got that all set up.

We were visited by someone from the Australian Breastfeeding Association, who gave a very rushed presentation about what the association is about and trying to get people to subscribe to the association. We got a show bag with more reading material. Honestly I wasn’t very impressed with the presentation, for me it was too rushed and she was a bit too pushy about joining the association. But I will check out the website and have a sticky beak of the forum that they have.

We also had a video on the prevention of SIDS, which was good to see and we learnt that having a baby sleep on another’s bed (like a big double bed) surrounded by pillows is not a good thing. This was something that we previously didn’t know.

At one point the Midwife mentioned that the hospital was against dummies, and I tried to ask why, but as usual my question was lost or disregarded to the someone (again ready fucking annoying bitch, plus sister). It was quiet obvious that these people were not just annoying Tim and I but also some other couples. At one point I distinctly heard being murmured “We don’t care about your girlfriends babies…” I had to chuckle.

I did make it a point to get to the class early last night so that I could ask the midwife some questions one on one. Throughout the whole Prenatal experience I haven’t felt nervous about ‘handling’ the pain factor. I’ve been more worried about the fact that I may not be able to have the stamina to handle the duration of the birth process and that I will easily get tired. I wanted to ask if I could demand a caesarean if I felt that I wouldn’t be able to go the hard long yard. Her response was to talk to my OB, but did state that I may just surprise myself with what I can handle.

I asked about a Birth plan and she frowned and then said that in her experience most women rock up with a birth plan in their hands and due to something or another, the birth plan was thrown out the window.

Sassy – Your last comment though gave me some things to talk to Tim about, like cutting the cord and whether or not he wanted to witness the birth. During all the Prenatal Classes these things were not really discussed and it was interesting hearing my husband’s response. But like me we have both decided to keep an open mind about the whole birth and try not to pre-empt any decisions or situations that we may face ourselves in.