15. How to Pick the Right Birth Class For You: Birth Prep Basics

There are so many different ways to prepare for birth, and choosing the methods that align with your priorities, preferences, and concerns can go a long way in helping you feel confident about the journey ahead. I highly recommend using a bunch of resources to prepare: books (my favorites are Britta Bushnell’s Transformed by Birth and Penny Simkin’s The Birth Partner), podcasts (Evidence Based Birth has episodes on specific topics as well as birth stories and The Birth Hour, which has hundreds of different birth stories), and classes. With the expansion of virtual birth classes, you’re not limited to in-person classes in your city, so you can find the course that speaks to whatever you’re wanting to learn in a style that works well for you.

There are three pieces I think are essential for well-rounded birth preparation, and these are the elements I cover with all my clients:

• understanding yourself

• understanding birth

• understanding the context

Let’s dive deeper into each one of them and why it’s so important.

Understanding yourself: A good birth experience is going to look different for everyone, so it’s crucial to start with a deep dive into what you think about birth. What are your priorities? What are you worried about? What would be challenging for you? Have you picked a provider and birth location that are aligned with what’s most important to you? What are you bringing with you into this birth? What stories have you heard about birth? What have your previous births been like?

Then, move into exploring your skills. How do you like to make decisions? How do you want to manage your labor (or not)? What is your relationship with your provider like? Are you able to communicate well with them? What specific tools and strategies are going to help you cope with the harder parts of labor, whether those are physical or mental?

It’s important not to skip this part, even if you’ve given birth before, because it helps you identify what a positive and powerful experience would look like. The more you dig into your ideas about birth and how you work best, the more personalized your plan for moving through labor will be. Thinking about these things will also help you identify what skills you want to learn before you give birth, which can guide you to the resources that will be most helpful for you in preparing. 

It’s also essential to be honest when thinking about your views on birth. If you think birth is scary and dangerous, your preparation is going to look different from someone’s who believes birth is very safe. Good birth prep should meet you where you are.

Understanding birth: Birth is so much more than your cervix dilating to 10 centimeters! When you know what happens in birth and what makes birth happen, it’s much easier to figure out how you, your support person, and your entire care team can support your mind and body. Environment, birther positioning, support people, your headspace… all these play a role in creating a supportive environment for your labor. These support skills are helpful no matter what your plan for pain management is. Learning about all the tools, strategies, interventions, and procedures you may choose from during pregnancy and labor is also incredibly important. By learning about these options ahead of time, you can create a robust plan for what you might want to use in different situations. Of course, your preferences may change in labor, but ideally you’re not learning about your options for the first time in the middle of a contraction.

Birth happens all the time, and yet, it’s something that’s usually kept behind closed doors. (Can you imagine taking a class on how to eat and poop?!) We’re generally not exposed to it until it’s our turn to birth, so educating ourselves on our own bodies and how they work is a powerful tool to build confidence and foundational knowledge.

Understanding the context: Everything in birth has a larger context, and when you see the full picture, it’s easier to make decisions that feel right for you. For many, many reasons (which a good birth prep class will teach you about), birthers will often be presented with one course of action by a care provider, when in reality there are usually several options to choose between. When you understand the values that guide our maternity system and the power players within it, you can navigate the system in a way that allows you to get great, personalized care that respects your autonomy. Often, it’s as simple as knowing how to ask a few specific questions, which can open up more possibilities than previously discussed. We don’t know what situations or challenges you will face in your labor, but coming up with a plan for how to think things through and make decisions can ease your mind and help you feel prepared to navigate whatever comes your way.

As you move through your pregnancy, keep these components in mind, so you can choose resources to help you explore each of these areas. Good birth prep isn’t done in a weekend — it’s a constantly unfolding process as you get to know both birth and yourself better.