Do I HAVE to Have Childbirth Education in Order to Give Birth?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Hello, and welcome back. Today is the last episode of the childbirth education series. And the question is, do I HAVE to have childbirth education? Is it absolutely imperative that I have a birth class before I give birth? This is Kaely Daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things doula Tips and Tits, where we answer one question about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent. Hello, there and welcome back. I'm Kaely Harrod, the host and educator here on the Kaely Daily podcast. And today, we're tackling our last question for this short series on childbirth education, which is do I have to have childbirth education? Now, if you've been around for a while, you know that I already have an episode early, early days in the podcast that was about if I think you need childbirth education. So I'm going to link that in the show notes. So you can go back and listen to it. Yes, I do think you need time for education for the record. But this question varies a little bit in that I want to dig a little bit into if it's absolutely imperative to have it. Okay. Now, the short answer to this because this is a yes or no question. Do I have to have childbirth education in order to give birth? No, you don't have to, right? It's not required. It's not something that like your hospital is going to turn you away? If you don't have it alright. Far from that, in fact, however, I think there are some, I want to give you some kind of context on both sides, like arguments for taking childbirth arguments against taking childbirth.
Kaely Harrod 2:00
Okay. So, first of all, some of the reasons that I have clients who sometimes don't want to take childbirth classes, or hope to not take them honestly, is because of the overwhelm of understanding everything that's going to happen. So this might be a situation where a person who's pregnant is incredibly anxious, or has some traumatic history, either around pregnancy or just in life in general, it could be a scenario where there's been some recent trauma, like a death in the family or something like that. And there's just like a level of mental overwhelm that feels like a childbirth class will add to that and not make it better. And so there's, there are, I mean, there are other experiences outside of that, right. But those are three of the main ones that I see is, are those things that are like, well, you know, do the do the benefits outweigh the anxiety? Or what the other reasons are for not taking it? Now, on the other side, I think there are classes that can be helpful, even if you fall into one of those camps. And one of the things I think, excuse me, sorry, one of the things I think is that anxiety is oftentimes fueled by surprise and unexpected things. And so if you're a person that has high anxiety, and you are preparing for childbirth, and you've never done that before, and you're going to go through the process of labor and delivery, then I think the surprises along the way, might increase your anxiety more than having a childbirth ahead of time. I can't say that for certain, right? Only you can say if that's actually true for you. But if you're a person that tends to be triggered by unexpected scenarios, then that might be the case for you. However, in that scenario, I would say a person should not take a like eight hour one day class, that's way too overwhelming. Okay. So even taking like very short kind of broken down bits of information, or having the information where you can like pause it and come back like a self paced kind of thing. That's, I think, a more holistic way to do that kind of education.
Kaely Harrod 4:38
The other thing that some people decide if they're really nervous about the birth process itself, is to have a doula for instance, so that you have someone who's done this before who's experienced in this who can kind of guide you as the labor plays out, and then take classes in like newborn care and CPR and that kind of stuff. Um, more geared towards like,
Kaely Harrod 5:01
we have this professional who's going to guide us through the labor. And then in postpartum, we've done some education for like safety and things like that techniques to use for the baby once the baby's here. And so that's another way to kind of tackle that. The third thing is cost. And so I think a lot of folks, I mean, there are some very expensive childbirth classes. So I'm not going to start by saying childbirth classes aren't expensive, because they can be very expensive. Sometimes insurance covers them. So that's one thing to look into. If you do have insurance, many insurance plans do cover some form of childbirth education. And so that's an important thing to ask and to look at. But there are some excellent free childbirth education resources online. So you don't have to be able to pay hundreds of dollars for an actual class in order to have some sort of childbirth Ed, okay, that it's important that you have it if you want it and need it. And cost should not be the thing that keeps you from getting it. Okay. There are also lots of classes that provide scholarships or sliding scale.
Kaely Harrod 6:20
One thing that was very important to me when I created my class was diversity and inclusion, which you've heard me talk about, right, both in language and images, all of that stuff, but also in income, because my family has had times of being incredibly poor. And so it really matters to me that folks who are in a variety of income brackets have the same kind of quality education. And so for the birth prep blueprint, the class that I have, that sponsors this awesome podcast, I actually have an offer where that class only cost $20 If a family is on any kind of social services. So essentially, like if you qualify for free lunches, or you qualify for WIC, or Medicaid, or food stamps, or any of that kind of stuff, then the Class is only 20 bucks for that for those families. So if you know someone who fits that description and could benefit from the class, please send me a quick message, I can send you the link to send to them. But also I want people to know that they can get good quality education, the kind of education that they want and need without having to pay hundreds of dollars for it.
Kaely Harrod 7:32
So um, so that's wrapping up our childbirth Ed series. I'm kind of excited to have these like, I don't know, John genres of things this season. We'll see if it goes for the whole season or not. But I am excited to dive into the next one. All about doulas all about doula care, and, and to continue answering your questions. In the meantime, please, please, please send me some questions because I really love having questions straight from you, and being able to dive into them and answer them on the podcast. So until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled births. These episodes are edited and produced by Kaely hurrah rod as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a wonderful and consent filled
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Do you HAVE to have Childbirth Education in order to give birth? Will your hospital turn you away if you haven’t had a Birth Class? Obviously No, they will not. It is not an absolutely imperative part of the basic process of birth. If you’ve been around for any length of time you know that I think Childbirth Class is good for everyone, however I do realize that there are many reasons people choose to take a class or not.
Today’s episode finishes our Childbirth Education series for this season and we dive into the ins and outs of why someone might choose to take a Birth Class or not. The previous episode on taking a childbirth class is link below in the resources section!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Reasons someone might want to avoid taking a Birth Class:
If they are overwhelmed by too much information
If they are high anxiety and generally feeling anxious about the whole process
If they are overwhelmed due to recent stress or trauma
Some classes are expensive!**
Reasons someone might want to take a Birth Class:
Your anxiety is fooled by surprises or expected things
To feel informed and prepared for what will happen mentally and physically
To practice types of movement and touch to see what’s actually helpful.
Classes that are ideal for people with anxiety or overwhelm:
A private class if you want the information tailored to you specifically and taught in a more vulnerable way that doesn’t include random strangers
A self-paced virtual class (like the Birth Prep Blueprint below!) so you can start and stop and even skip certain parts as needed.
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
RESOURCES
Podcast Episode: Do I need Childbirth Education:
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/kaely-daily-podcast/episode-3
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below to get that great deal!
https://thebirthprepblueprint.com/offers/884d5a56-9089-4482-a944-6bb7c26c9b04
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
