What is Childbirth Express?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Hello welcome back to Kaely Daily. Today's question is what can I expect from a Childbirth Express weekend class? Kaely Daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things doula tips and tips, 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. Welcome back. My name is Kaely Harrod, I am the host of this wonderful podcast. And today we're continuing on the theme of childbirth education genres. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what does it look like to have a childbirth education week in class? What does that mean? What's included, etc. So, to get us started, I want to just add some context. So a lot of times, childbirth Ed gets called things like childbirth Express, childbirth, weekend class childbirth, one on one childbirth basics. Most of those classes if they're between like, four and eight hours long, they're meant to cover the basics of birth without giving you a ton of extra information.
Kaely Harrod 1:20
Now, I teach some of these classes at a local breastfeeding center. If you are in the DC area, the breastfeeding Center of Greater DC is amazing. I highly recommend checking it out, not just because I teach there, but because they're just an awesome resource for the community. And so when you're thinking about a childbirth Express or weekend, childbirth class, you're usually looking at something that covers like the bare bones of what labor is what to expect what's happening in your body, typically geared towards hospital birth more often than not, and usually doesn't have a ton of extra comfort measures outside of some like basic positioning, and some information about medications and things like that. So if you're planning an out of hospital birth, or an unmedicated birth, it's not a great choice for you, probably, unless it's your only option, because it doesn't go into great detail. And in most cases, right, I obviously can't speak for every single class, but it doesn't go into great detail about comfort measures, usually because the time is limited. Okay. So in that case, you would want to seek out something that specifically deals with other comfort measures besides just epidurals and pain medication. Okay. Now, um, for a childbirth Express class or like a weekend class, you do typically get a little bit of postpartum information, a little bit of breastfeeding information, but not a ton of either of those two. So I wouldn't expect it to be exhaustive about postpartum preparation, newborn care, or feeding, so bottle feeding, breastfeeding, any of that. So just keep that in mind if those are topics that you feel like you need more comprehensive care for. And then I would expect for it to be potentially more biased based on the ideas and thoughts of the instructor. And I fully admit, as an instructor, I bring some biases to this process, right. But I think because it's not emphasizing non medicated comfort measures, for someone who doesn't want an epidural or who's having an out of hospital birth, it can be a situation where you get a lot of emphasis on what it's like to have birth to give birth with an epidural, which is great if that's your plan. If that's not your plan, it can kind of undermine the process of you preparing for an unmedicated labor. Now, I, you know this about me if you've been around for any length of time, I prefer people having information about even things they're not planning to do or have happened. The reason for that is that I think it's super important in labor to have informed decision making.
Kaely Harrod 4:23
I think the best way to have that is to have information even about things you don't plan to use. So the epidural for instance, if you're a person who's planning an unmedicated labor, I still think it's important for you to know the risks and benefits of an epidural. Because if you're giving birth in a hospital setting, you do have the option of having an epidural in most cases, right. And so, in the midst of birth, it doesn't help in my mind to pretend like epidurals don't exist, right. However, the risks and benefits might be So, like such that you still don't want to use it right, it's still something that you don't find beneficial for you or you find too risky for yourself or something like that right? Now, um, one thing that I think is important to consider is, if the class is touching on the things that matter to you, right? So if it's a hospital based class, expect for them to really talk about the policies of the hospital, not necessarily evidence based care in general, but more about like, why their policies are really good, right? And then expect for there to be variation in what you're being taught and what your provider does. And what I what I mean, when I say that, to clarify, is not necessarily that you're being taught something amazing, your provider does something not amazing, right? What I mean is, if you're in a class that giving you very basic information, it's helpful to go back to your provider and ask them if that is accurate for them. Let me give you an example of what I mean. So I recently taught a class and one of my students asked me about walking epidurals and they didn't actually ask I don't think I think they stated it, like my plan is to use a walking epidural. And I was like, I've been to your hospital a bunch of times. I haven't seen walking epidurals there. Right, I would guess that that's not going to be an option for you. But you should ask your provider about it, right. And so that's what I mean, when I say that is like if you go to a class, and you learn about a medication that's actually not offered at your place, right? Or you learn about how amazing it is to give birth in a tub. But your hospital doesn't have tubs, right? Or you learn about nitrous oxide, but your hospital doesn't have nitrous oxide, right. So I don't want a class like that, that kind of, is giving you sort of the basics of childbirth Ed, to then set you up for disappointment, or extra surprises and anxiety in the midst of the actual process of birth. Okay, now, I think a childbirth ed class like that, like a childbirth Express is most beneficial, if you can take it while it's being taught live, doesn't mean it has to be in person, right? Like in the midst of COVID, we all have learned to do lots of things virtually. So I teach that class, both hybrid class and virtually as well. And I think it's not so much that I think you need to be in person, it's that I want you to be able to ask questions in real time as you go through it, right, so that you're not getting this kind of basic kind of bare bones information, and also not getting to clarify questions as they come up. Okay. So that's kind of a quick and dirty of like, what childbirth Express means and kind of is alluding to, right? If it is a class that's less than eight hours, I would expect that postpartum stuff and breastfeeding stuff is probably not included. So that's just something to know, a lot of classes give you a list of what is in that class. So that's a helpful way to kind of gauge if this class is giving you exactly what you actually need, or not, as you're deciding which one to enroll in. Okay, so, in the next couple episodes, you'll be hearing from a few different instructors who teach different classes, different methods. And I'll also be diving a little bit more into just some general childbirth education information. And so that's kind of how we're starting out season two. I do still have some space for more questions this season. So please do hit me up on Instagram if you have a question that you'd like for me to answer. And I'd be happy to throw it into Season Two at some point. And I'm excited to have like more interviews and things like that. So I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. In the meantime, I do wish you wonderfully informed consent filled births, and I will talk to you soon.
Kaely Harrod 9:18
These episodes are edited and produced by Kaely Herat as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music gets 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 birth.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Childbirth Express or Weekend Birth Classes are common types of Childbirth Education. This episode dives into what those classes usually cover, how they work and how to decide if that’s a good fit for you.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Childbirth Express Classes are meant to be the basics of birth
If you’re planning a hospital birth with an epidural it’s usually a good fit
These quick classes don’t always contain in depth information on postpartum and lactation
RESOURCES
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
