Antenatal Classes - Getting Ready for your Baby

When you become pregnant there is so much to learn and so much to prepare for. And of course, when your baby arrives, it doesn't stop there.

Antenatal classes are a great way to get ready for birth and be taught the basics in caring for your precious newborn child. Classes are usually for mums in the last few months of pregnancy and will normally give advice on keeping healthy, birth options - home, hospital, water birth and so on, what happens to your body during birth, pain relief options during labour, caesarean birth and assisted deliveries as well as preparing for parenthood, caring for your new arrival, and feeding, whether by breast or bottle. Some will also teach breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques to help with labour.

As well as the practical benefits, antenatal classes are a brilliant way to meet other expectant mums in your area so you can build up a support network of friends who are all in the same boat and who will no doubt share the same mixed feelings of joy and anxiety at becoming a new mum.

The BBC Parenting website is a brilliant resource for expectant mums and dads.

Types of antenatal classes:

NHS antenatal classes
These are free and are usually run by a midwife or health visitor at the local health centre or clinic and often include a visit from another health professional such as a physiotherapist.

They are a good way of meeting people in your immediate area and you will find that you will often bump into the same mums you met in the classes at the weigh-in clinics when your baby is born and for all the inoculations your baby needs.

NHS classes are normally held in the day and usually for mums only. By law women are entitled to take time off work to attend. However, the majority of NHS Trusts now provide evening and Saturday classes too which are sometimes open to husbands or partners.

For more information you should talk to your doctor or midwife.

Hospital classes
Many hospitals offer a tour of the maternity ward and delivery rooms to prospective mums and dads so they are already familiar with the surroundings before the birth. Some hospitals offer water birth facilities and you will be shown these on your tour. Again your midwife should be able to tell you about these visits.

National Childbirth Trust (NCT)
These classes are for first-time mums and are run by a trained antenatal teacher with qualifications. Some teachers are often midwives or have been midwives but with the quality of the NCT training, course instructorsmayhave come from other occupations. Often the teachers are mothers themselves.The classes include support for dads or birthing partners and they are held in the evening or at weekends in small groups. All the mums are usually due within weeks of each other, so it's a great way to bond. There is a charge of around £120 per couple but the NCT never refuses anyone on cost and allowances can be made according to circumstances. Once you've had your baby there is a great support network of mother and baby coffee mornings and advice available on all manner of things from excessive crying, breastfeeding, post-natal blues and so on.

for more information on classes to to become an NCT course teacher, contact National Childbirth Trust

Hypnobirthing
This is tried and tested by the mumknowsbest.co.uk team and comes highly recommended! As well as special breathing techniques, hypnobirthing is about helping mums to understand exactly what the body is doing during labour and teaches women to focus the mind away from the pain and concentrate on helping the muscles to their job.

Hypnobirthing - it worked for us!

Yoga classes
Yoga classes especially for pregnant women can help gently exercise the muscles, aid relaxation before and during birth and be extremely helpful in getting your pelvic floor back into shape.

Active Birth Classes
There's no reason to lie flat on your back with your legs in the air to give birth! Active birth classes teach you various positions and exercises to help nature on its way.

Active Birth Centre