Out of Hospital Childbirth Education Options
There are quite a few options you have for out of hospital childbirth education!
I’ve seen each of these techniques in action (except for lamaze) in a birth and each one is awesome in its own right. Finding a class is all about finding one that you connect with (just like finding a doula 😉).
✨ Hypnobirthing
Typically a 5 week course with each class being about 3 hours long. Hypnobirthing is breathing, relaxation, visualization and fear recognition while focusing on all aspects of pregnancy, labor, and birth. Knowing your options to prepare a birth plan you are comfortable advocating for yourself as well as working through any fears and building a foundation of support both antepartum and postpartum.
Costs between $350-$400
Roughly 15 hour class education
✨ Gentlebirth
It’s 2 day intensive workshop with each day being about 7 hours long. There is also an an app that is used on your own at home everyday until baby is born that has guided meditations, affirmations, hypnosis tracks, and positive pregnancy/birth/parenting tracks as well. A 30 day trial of the app is included in the purchase of the course. GentleBirth focuses on a positive pregnancy, birth, and parenting experience. The class covers pregnancy as a whole, hospital options, hypnosis and mindfulness, as well as how to facilitate a positive birth experience.
Costs about $300
Roughly 14 hour class education
✨ Bradley method
This is typically a 12 week course with one class per week being about 2 hours long. It is partner driven, meaning the focus is the birth partner being the main support for the birthing person (the coach). The classes go over nutrition in pregnancy, pregnancy and the changing body and how to cope with the changes, the coach’s role, stages of labor, planning your birth, variations and complications, preparing for the postpartum period, and comfort measures.
Costs about $350
Roughly 24 hour class education
✨ Hypnobabies
Typically a 6 week course with each class being 3 hours long, and teaches real medical hypnosis techniques to cope with the intensity of surges by reframing pain. The class also teaches the anatomy and physiology of birth, pregnancy and nutrition and exercise during pregnancy, stages of labor, your options in birth, training birth partners, and the postpartum season.
Costs about $350
18 hour class education
✨ Lamaze
This is very similar to Bradley method in the sense that support focuses on the support person, however, this education method is getting harder and harder to come by. I know of ONE certified Lamaze teacher in ALL of San Diego County, and she is not teaching Lamaze classes anymore (she’s become a midwife). And no they don’t do the famous breathing anymore (you know the one, we all saw it in movies growing up) because people were actually passing out while doing it in labor (umm not safe at all).
Cost: ???
Not sure how many hours of education because I unfortunately cannot find a class local to us.
But really, just like when you’re trying to find your doula or birth photographer, really research what each one offers your family, interview the instructors, and then choose which one feels right for the journey you wish to have.