The Importance of Choosing The Right Antenatal Class
Preparing for childbirth in advance is a guaranteed way of ensuring you always have control of the situation throughout your pregnancy. Antenatal classes are by far, the best place to get valuable information on how to prepare for your baby’s arrival, the best breastfeeding methods, and generally, how to best look after your newborn.
We look at 5 reasons on why attending an antenatal class is a wise decision for any pregnant mother.
Benefits of Antenatal Classes
- Helps prevent complications. Attending an antenatal class increases your awareness and helps you catch complications early. You are also constantly in the presence of healthcare experts who will monitor and alert any condition that arises.
- You get a chance to understand things in detail. Being in a quality parentcraft class gives your caregivers a chance to explain things in deeper detail. You therefore, generally become more knowledgeable about what you should or should not do for a safe pregnancy.
- You can make important decisions early. Getting antenatal care gives you an insight into what happens during childbirth. You also get factual information in regards to your pregnancy, birth options, and also how to care for your baby after birth. You can therefore make the decisions that matter in advance and get prepared, avoiding a last-minute, rushed decision that you are likely to question down the road.
- Gives dads a chance to learn too. Childbirth classes are as important for dads as they are for mums. Your partner will get to understand the pregnancy process and be in a better position to help you care for the baby.
What is the right time to start antenatal classes?
The best time to begin your parentcraft class is when your pregnancy is between 22 and 26 weeks old. During this time, you have enough room to make some of the more important decisions like clinics to attend, birth options—natural delivery or caesarian section— or other preparation work you need to do. Your class instructor is also going to provide great advice on how to best prepare for the first few weeks after childbirth. Some of this information will be in regard to breastfeeding, and the best postnatal supplements to take.
How to find an antenatal class and choosing the right one for you
There are several ways of finding the best antenatal class for you. One of the easiest is to ask friends or family members who have attended these classes before for some recommendations. You can also do your research online or browse through parenting magazines for options. .
You may also be interested to know that there are one-day crash courses available for busy parents-to-be, where you can spend up to 6 hours with your antenatal educator to learn the useful tips in pregnancy and childbirth.
Choosing the right class for you depends on a number of factors. You need to consider how much time you have, and also what things about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and child care you want to learn.
