Carolyn and I went to our first maternity class at Kaiser Permanente last night. For a husband of a pregnant wife who is having his first child, it was time well spent. When we first got pregnant (And yes, I said “we”. We are definitely in this together.), we started reading books and talking to people about the whole process of pregnancy and giving birth. Now that we’re half way to our due date (January 30^th), I was due for a refresher course. 

However, this was far more than a refresher course for me. I really learned a lot! First, we did an ice-breaker. Our instructor, Faith, had us share our name, due date, number of weeks pregnant, whether we knew the gender or if it was going to be a surprise, and what we wanted to get from the class. I heard that doctors tend to give more c-sections around 5:30 PM at night, so they can get home to dinner. I didn’t want that happening to my wife, so I brought it up in the class. Faith assured me that this would not be the case with Kaiser Permanente because they have doctors and mid-wives on duty twenty-four/seven.  

It was fun hearing about everyone’s pregnancy. You have a tendency to start comparing. “Hmmm… she’s not as far along as my wife, but she’s quite a bit bigger…” Yeah, I did start thinking thoughts along those lines, but our instructor encouraged us not to compare. “You all are different, and your babies are going to grow at different rates.” Faith described all the different body parts used in the birthing process. She made a rather graphic topic very informative and fun to listen to. 

There was so much practical information, I could write pages and pages, but I’ll give you the highlights. We learned a handful of do’s and do not’s about pregnancy. Do eat nutritional food and do drink 64 ounces of water a day. Baths are OK as long as they’re not over 100 degrees. Hot tubs are not ok. She went over what labor would be like and told us about the health care specialists we will be dealing with such doctors, nurses, mid-wives and perhaps a doula. Faith explained the risk factors for pre-term labor. Apparently, ages 19-37 are the safest years to have a baby; there is greater risk for older or younger women. Faith also mentioned other classes we should take on topics such as Exercise and Nutrition in Pregnancy and Breast Feeding, and she covered intriguing subjects like mood swings, sex while pregnant and Kegel exercises. Great information and a lot of laughs. I’m telling you; this is not a class you want to miss!