Hi all!!!

Am currently 33+2 weeks pregnant and havent yet attended any Antenatal classes. Is this wrong? Its not that i know it all as this is my first baby, i just dont feel i will benefit from attending them. However, by not going i feel that my midwife will frown upon this. Should i be bothered?? Has everyone attended these classes or are there others like me in my position??

Where I live you have to book your first session 4 weeks before your due date and there are 4 classes to attend. I thought the classes were good and I have stayed good friends with some of the girls in my group.

I have heard that it is a good way of making new friends. From feedback i received i have heard that most of the information is basic and you learn nothing new. I think i might go along to one and see for myself. Thanks

I didnt go to antenatal classes with my 1st baby either & havent gone this time either.

I just didnt feel like I wanted to go & didnt think I would get that much out of it. I did make sure that I'd read up on everything before hand myself & had watched quite a few birthing programmes too. Then any questions I had after that I would ask the mw at my antenatal appointments.

I dont feel that I missed out by not going nor did I ever regret it coz I felt I'd prepared myself in my own way & my midwife was happy with that too

Hilary x

Thanks for your advice. I have put myself under pressure to decide whether to attend or not. I have also read loads and loads and am forever watching baby programmes and feel this is enough. I think when labour happens i've just got to get on with it anyway, no amount of reading or attending classes will fully prepare me for the experience.
Cheers for the advice xx

Pheww Just read your replies and feel loads better. Everyone has been nagging and saying if i dont attend any, ill be sorry. The bottom line is i just dont fancy it. Its my first baby too and i know people mean well but i wish they would stop going on at me. I think im going to stick to my guns about this however im only 24 plus3 so have plenty of time to panic and change my mind.

Hi, I'm attending the classes at the moment and i'm really enjoy them because its something me and my oh can do together but apart from the local hospital info (look round the hsp/pain relief/not having a brithing pool) there isn't a lot more i have found out, i can mostly find out either on here or in books so don't cut yourself up about it. x

I'm starting antenatal classes this week - had to kick off a bit as they wanted me to go in December, when baby is due in December..would be a bit pointless if he came early. I'm not really sure if I'm going to learn anything, or whether I'll go to them all but at least the massage class and the tour of the ward should be useful.

To be honest I don't really feel the need to go cause I'm not convinced I'll learn anything I haven't already read up on online and I really don't feel the need to go and meet new people - I have perfectly good friends already. I figure I can give them a go, if they are rubbish I can stop.

Michelle - I'd certainly have words - I'd be fuming if a mw said the same to me.. I'm not sure what kind of area a sure start area is but I can't see how anyone can force you to go to classes just because of where you live.

I'd be pissed off too... sounds like you definately need to have words with your mw once you have calmed down a little. Dont be offended by me saying that... I'd be exactly the same - I'd be fired up ready to rip heads off and hubby would be trying to calm me down and make me promise not to open my mouth until I was calm!!

Me being an arsey cow would probably not go to the classes deliberately if someone tried to force me.. were you actually planning on going to the classes at all?

Thats a good point michelle..not sure how much you'd get out of classes full of people like you described - I've seen people complain before now about classes full of people acting like 5 year olds.

I'll be like you I think - see how the first one is, make sure we go to the physio and massage one and then I'll skip the rest if they are rubbish..other than the tour of the ward one. To be honest from all the reading I've done I don't really see how I can learn much more but I'll keep an open mind for now.

Sounds like a good plan making sure your hubby is with you and writing down what you want to say. I find I get on so much better dealing with any kind of medical person if I've written things down before hand because I'm not good around doctors and the like. They are so bloody unsympathetic at times - my mw told me I shouldn't bother getting a referral to a physio for carpal tunnel syndrome until it gets 'really painful' - well thanks very much.. how am I supposed to cope at work if I can't type due to pain when I know it can be eased by getting splints! Anyway..thats a whole different rant!

I can't believe your doc was like that - how heartless...that almost makes my doctor look competant!! I'm sure an unplanned pregnancy is a shock..but that doesn't mean you should just get rid of the baby!!! Thought my doc was bad enough by trying to tell me I was depressed when I knew damn well I had food allergies... apparently I had to be depressed due to my uncle dying 3 years earlier and my grandma dying 1 year earlier! Load of crap.. antidepressants really wouldn't have helped my lactose intolerance!

How did you get on changing doctors? Was it easy? The only time I've done it was due to moving - I want to stay at my surgery but change registered doctors because I don't want to trust my child to a doctor that doesn't listen (the depression thing wasn't the first time she hasn't listened)

And people wonder why I don't like doctors!!!

I have found some nice doctors... shame none of them are mine!! ALl the other ones at the surgery that I've seen are nice and I even had a diagnosis on a knee problem I've had intermittantly since I was around 18 from one doc at my surgery!! Shame I didn't get assigned to a different doc really.. I had a bad feeling that itw ould get complicated to request a change - think I'll wait till I;m on maternity leave and call the surgery then. I picked the surgery after speaking to a lot of people and hearing that it was good - I live close to town where there are several surgeries so I could pick and choose.

My med student friend on the other hand is lovely...and has saved my sanity on several occasions during this pregnancy...he's promised me he'll always listen to people and not just tell them they are depressed!

My dentist on the other hand is lovely..I've been going to him since I was 8 and I hope he never retires!!

Rant away...you need to get it out of your system so you can calm down and get your head together to talk to the mw. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets angry over things like this..my poor hubby has to deal with me getting so mad at things sometimes and he does hsi best to keep me sane and calm!

Its frustrating isn't it with the lifting things. I don't think carrying light stuff will do any harm - just gotta take care not to overdo it. I've learned my limits - I find if I was lifting too much I'd end up with my tummy hurting. Hubby tends to fuss at me a bit about lifting stuff - I'll carry light stuff but he gets to carry the hoover upstairs and full baskets of washing and stuff.. he's a bugger though - he grabs all the shopping bags and won't let me carry anything!! I give in just to stop him worrying but I'd go insane if I had my mother and mil flapping at me all the time! Fortunately mil lives 250 miles away but my mother is starting to do my head in when she starts flapping or trying ot inflict her views on me! Mind you.. I have learned to take it easy when carrying stuff up and down stairs after i slipped and fell down the bottom 3 steps while carrying a load of washing - that was weeks ago now and I haveplenty of padding on my backside so no harm done..but now I'm a little more careful.