I winged it in my first pregnancy. Here’s why I took a birth course the second time around

Dubai: “You can’t expect to run a marathon without first preparing for it.”

The words of my birth instructor hit hard. That’s literally what I did the first time around – as a first-time mum, without much knowledge of the science or practical realities of pregnancy and child birth, I pretty much winged it in my first pregnancy. Don’t get me wrong – I did do some research. Downloaded a pregnancy tracker app, read as many articles as possible on different topics like morning sickness and plummeting energy levels, subscribed to YouTube channels of mummy bloggers … the works.

The one thing I didn’t do? Attend prenatal birth education classes. And I think that went a long way in making my first experience quite traumatic. To this day, when I look back at the 14 hours of labour and the subsequent switch to new motherhood in the next few weeks, the memories are a black-and-white haze.

This is why when I found out that we were ready to welcome Baby#2, survival mode kicked in. Hard. With a clear resolve to not repeat the mistakes I had made the first time around, I started looking for a course that would fit into my schedule as a working mum.

An overload of information

The first thing I realised was that not only was there way too much information available out there, the approach people took to child birth also varied quite a bit. Some supported a completely natural birth experience – ‘minimum medical intervention’ being their mantra, while there were others who believed that episiotomies and epidurals were completely expected in today’s day and age. Add to that terms like water birth, hypnobirthing, delayed cord clamping and more, and things can get a bit overwhelming.

The trick, like most things in life, is to be very clear about what works for you and what instinctively makes sense for you. So, with that as a my compass, I navigated my way through the bustling landscape of birth courses.

Something for everyone

The good news is that no matter what your choices are, you will have something available to you in the UAE. Most hospitals offer free antenatal classes to women who are registered patients, and even if you are looking for something more intensive, there are several course that you can pay for and enroll in. For me, an online course made most sense, so I registered for a two-month long course, with weekly classes that took me through the basics of pregnancy, child birth and post-natal care. Yes, I had gone through the experience once already, but actually learning about the medical aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, connecting with other mums (many of whom were also part of the course after stressful first experiences) and understanding the scientific process made a world of difference. Sometimes, the simplest of messages communicated during the classes would stick to my mind. Like the marathon example I shared earlier. Or a birth instructor making a statement as simple as, “Pain is a natural part of the process, but suffering isn’t. Learn how to manage the pain.” Such a statement followed up by clear, simple, practical steps that you can take - from breathing exercises to manage pain, to building a birth support team - can go a long way in giving you a sense of control. Then there were lectures on pregnancy and nutrition, the options to hire doulas, and also detailed courses on the different stages of labour, that helped create a better sense of understanding of the entire process.

So, if you do find out that you are going to have a child, do yourself a favour and join a birth class. It is the most empowering thing I did as an expectant mum.

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