Is antenatal classes a must??

P

peainpod

Registered User
I'm just finishing my second trimester and was wondering how necessary it is to sign up for prenatal classes. I've had mixed comments from dif friends/family.

It's our first, so I'm very inexperienced. But on the other hand, I will be delivering by elective c-section and have engaged a highly recommended and experienced confinement nanny ("pui yuet") for the first month and a half post-delivery.

So in my case would prenatal classes still be of value/relevent? Thanks!
 
I didn't have any antenatal classes before my first but then I had my grandma and some aunts around and I also read up a lot on what to do and what not to do. Its really up to you but I personally do not think that I missed out. Though you may meet some friends (other pregnant women there).

I think with the pui yuet you may have to careful as the Chinese tradition is to overdress the baby.
 
I didn't attend antenatal classes but I attended labour classes (breathing etc) in the physiotherapy department. It prepared me for labour. Itgave me peace of mind because the expalanation and demonstration was very thorough. It was held in a public hospital so two 1 hour lessons only cost $160.
 
peainpod said:
I'm just finishing my second trimester and was wondering how necessary it is to sign up for prenatal classes. I've had mixed comments from dif friends/family.

It's our first, so I'm very inexperienced. But on the other hand, I will be delivering by elective c-section and have engaged a highly recommended and experienced confinement nanny ("pui yuet") for the first month and a half post-delivery.

So in my case would prenatal classes still be of value/relevent? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't think antenatal classes would be very pertinent in your case.

However, you might want to see if the hospital where you will have your baby has a tour (so you'll know the lay-out and be more familiar w/ it).

I would also very much recommend learning as much as you can about caring for babies - and if you're really inexperienced, ask a friend, relative, or neighbor w/ a baby to allow you to do a little holding and maybe change a couple of nappies.
 
I found the antenatal classes very useful from the point of view that a doctor came in to give a talk of 'what can go wrong'. I know this sounds quite negative but it was a good reality check as to what to expect after the birth, not the actual birthing procedure itself. We attended classes at the Adventist and Dr Leo Chan was the paed. who gave the talk. Overall, it was also good because we got the see the birthing suite where the 'action' would take place!!

Hope this helps.

CK
 
If you are wanting to breastfeed it might be worth taking a breastfeeding class even if you decide that learning about the birth is not necessary. LLL hold breastfeeding classes. The next one is scheduled for Monday 7th January from 6:30 to 9:30 at Annerley Midwives, Unit 1801, Car Po Commercial Building, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, HK. Details are available at http://www.lllhk.org/Class.html

I believe that Yvonne Heavyside (tel: 2530-1905, 9887-3235, http://www.thefamilyzone.hk/) will also do tailor made antenatal classes, so you could just ask for information about c-section recovery, breastfeeding and normal newborn behaviour.

My understanding is that a pui yuet will help you look after your baby and cook you many special foods to help you recover your health quickly. Some pui yuets are trained to help you with breastfeeding but many aren?t. If the one you have hired doesn?t know about supporting a mother while breastfeeding it might be worth getting lessons in this.

Best wishes,
SARAH
La Leche League Leader in Hong Kong
http://www.lllhk.org
 
We were in the US and took a bunch and they were all helpful to one degree or another. Breastfeeding, baby CPR (which I believe is mandatory, in the hospital we were in, before you can leave with the baby), pregnancy massage, the tour of the facility, what to expect, what could go wrong. All good stuff. Maybe not 100% useful, but you got something from every class and could talk to a bunch of people in your situation, which helped too.
 
Thanks everyone for the really helpful input. To be honest, I haven't felt any inclination to go - not based on any solid reason, it just feels more like a chore than anything I'd look forward to. (I've been keen on other stuff - reading up on pregnancy books and researching stuff on the Net - but just not on these classes, for some strange reason).

Anyway, I'm worried that I'll sign up and then not go and just end up spending the money, feeling guilty but not getting anything from it! (I also skipped a lot of classes in high school and university!)

But I am definitely keen to breastfeed so maybe I'll do some tailored classes like what Sarah suggested. (Thanks so much, Sarah, for the contact info!)
 
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