Courses > Thinking of doing 2 courses

Are you considering doing both courses? 

below is a mixture of comments from couples who have already completed both the Transition into Parenthood course as well as the calmbirth course... were they glad they did both?   read on...

Comments from Rosie and Brad: 

As we are aiming to have a natural birth we found the first course Transition to Parenthood very helpful and informative re the different stages of labour. I did not know a lot about pre labour and thought once you started having contractions that you should be getting ready to go to the hospital immediately. Now I know different. It was great to spend a whole day on the actual labour and how it progresses, and the different positions that will help bring on the different stages of labour and how they can help with the contractions. It made it alot easier to imagine and alot more sense with all the prompts you used and passed around the class as it is very different to read about something and then to actually visualise it. Brad particularly found the prompts very helpful.
After that 1st class we met friends for dinner that evening who already have 2 children.The husband asked me if I was really scared now about the labour after having our 1st antenatal class. It was with great  joy that I was able to turn around to him and say "that it is the first time I have not felt scared about the labour and that was thanks to the class we had just attended" then he turned to Brad and said you must have found it really boring I cant believe your doing 3 more Saturdays. Brad then preceeded to tell him how  great he felt leaving the class and how he couldn't wait for the rest of the course.
The second day of that course was also very good and rewarding. Whilst looking after children and babies in my line of work I was not sure how much new information I would learn. How wrong I was. Its easy to take care of a sick child when I know what is wrong with them but having to decide why a healthy baby is crying or unsettled is another story. Just also learning about what to pack for the hospital and after the birth and all the outfits needed for a new baby was all new to me. I learnt an awful lot about breast feeding as well which Is something I plan to do but have not had much time to read up on. I have since joined the ABA on your sound advice.
You kept everything at a very basic and need to know level and no question from any us or the other couples was ever dismissed as been silly. You made us feel that we could ask any question big or small. I loved the intimate atmosphere in the room and how you kept it light hearted and added a lot of laughter to the discussions.
I really had no idea what to expect from the second course Calmbirth. I had read a little bit a few years ago about hypnobirthing but even still did not know the principles of or what would be taught at the Calmbirth class. I thought it was going to teach a lot about positions for birth and felt that it might be a bit of repitition from the first day of the other course. Again I was wrong in my thinking. I found the meditation and breathing techniques that we learnt at the calmbirth course very helpful.. I really feel that being my first birth I have to prepare and teach myself techniques to help me cope at the time of birth as with every important event in my life there has been lots of preparation i.e job interviews, wedding day etc. It can take months of preparation and I feel that if I want to have a natural child birth i have to prepare myself for that as well. The meditation has been great even at night time just helping me to fall asleep after waking in the middle of the night from being uncomfortable.
I also tried the breathing techniques the other day when I got a pain in my side after been out walking. The pain was quite strong and was not going so I started the deep breathing and it really eased the pain until eventually it went.
Brad and i spoke about the 2 courses and how they differed a lot from one another as in we found the transition to parenthood was very practical and brad felt we learnt a lot more from that class but we also agreed that on the day of the birth we feel the calmbirth classes will really stand out to us and help us through on the day.
I feel if someone really wants to try and have a natural birth that they should attend both. I also think Julie that they should attend the Transition to parenthood first and then the calmbirth after in that order as I feel it was great to already have a good knowledge of the labour before doing the calmbirth as we had.
We are thrilled that we have done both courses and would highly recommend them to anyone we know having a baby. I would love my girlfriend in Ireland to have attended who really wanted a natural birth but ended up with an epidural as I know she would have learnt so much.
I feel we know a lot more than friends who have had children and who attended the hospital classes. Especially the effect all of the labour drugs have on the babies and how it can interfere with breastfeeding and in some cases bonding. Its also hard to talk to some of the people about your course who have children as they say you just wait and see till you are in labour. As advised by you we dont listen to the negative stuff anymore and I really feel that I am preparing myself for a very special day what ever happens when it comes. The take home course work is really good to be able to go and look up at any time as it is hard to remember everthing on the day. It is a great source of refrence for us. Also it was great to be able to take home on loan some of the DVD's from your extensive library. We also loved the folders you had done up on baby products and whats good and whats not. That was very helpful for us.I have asked Brad to add his own point of view for you as well julie. Kind regards Rosie.

Brad's Comments:

Hi Julie, I must first say a big thank you for the last four weeks! I went into the first class (transition to parenthood) wondering how long the day would drag on, how wrong I was. It is hard to describe as an expectant father the emotions and angst you feel about the whole pregnancy/birth/early childhood process and to have it presented to you in such a candid manner was fascinating. I must admit that I was one of 'those' people who had no idea about any potential side effects of drugs in labour, I am embarrassed to say but I thought that is what everyone did. I also was not sure whether it was possible for me to be of any real assistance to Rosie during the labour - now I feel that I can be of enormous assistance. I walked out of class on day 1 full of renewed enthusiasm and renewed confidence in our decision to attempt a natural birth. As Rosie eluded to, I found the visual aids (and even the posters on your wall) to be of great assistance in understanding your topic points. The 'homework' was enjoyable and I found Rosie and I discussing topics that I would not have even understood before the classes. Week 2 was also a revelation for me. As we discussed topics such as 'different types of crying' to 'the colour of baby poo!!' I found myself absorbing more information than I thought possible. Again, I know I was quite unsure (and admittedly concerned) about how we would take care of this little baby after the birth and I had to trust that Rosie would take the lead here with her professional experience as a paediatric nurse. After this class I was amazed at how much Rosie and I had learnt and I really appreciated the fact that I had a greater practical knowledge of what to expect. I feel that I now have a greater awareness of what will happen from day 1 onwards and I can not wait for the experience to begin. I now believe that I can take a greater share of the responsibility of looking after our baby and help Rosie in many more ways than I thought possible.
The analogy was used several times by other nervous expectant fathers in our group in saying 'its all about the wife'.  Whilst this may have been said light heartedly, it is actually true. Rosie is the one going through this amazing bodily experience and I truely believe I can assist in making the labour just that bit more comfortable. I will be massaging, fetching water, running showers, heating/cooling gel packs until I am exhausted. 
Week 3 and 4 brought about the calm birth classes and I enjoyed the relaxation and breathing techniques. The calm birth classes helped me to understand how Rosie can use her own body to help manage contractions and labour. I agree with Rosie in saying that I am glad we did this course second as I felt we were more educated about the birthing process already (from the previous course) and could focus on the relaxation techniques given.
Moving forward, I believe that the Transition to parenthood provides a practical guide to pregnancy/labour and birthing through to early childhood whilst calm birthing provided a more in depth way of managing the experience of pregnancy/labour and early childhood. Rosie and I have listened to the CD's and watched numerous DVD's from your library and I am amazed how much I have learnt and grown in the last 4 weeks. The course guides sit on my bed side table and I find myself reading more and more every night. The courses have been a god send to me and I can now approach the rest of our childrens lives with a greater confidence than I thought possible. Regards, Brad 

Comments from Katherine: 

I found both courses great and they were very different.  If a mum to be is looking for ways to relax during labour and would like a natural active birth then I would recommend the Calmbirth course as it taught me to relax, visualise and it helped keep me calm and in control.  Even though I didn't have a natural active birth I still found it incredibly helpful especially the visualisations.  Paul didn't do the Calmbirth course and to be honest I don't think he needed to as I found that I just took myself away, it was actually a lovely thing to do on my own.  The most important thing is to practice practice and practice and I also listened to your CD's which helped.  The workbook was very informative but also very detailed and I didn't really have the time to sit down and read through everything, any spare time I had I would listen to the CD's.
The preparing for parenthood course was totally different to the Calmbirth course and I would recommend this course to everyone.  For me this course really was about preparing for parenting rather than relaxing etc...  I have had no exposure to babies as I am the first in my family to have a baby so I had no idea about parenthood, childbirth and all the other topics you covered.  I felt very confident about having my baby after doing the course and the highlight for me was when you acted out the labour and birth - it was spot on!  Paul did exactly what you suggested with the water 'sip', shower the smiling and encouragement. It was great!  I found that you covered everything and you were very open and honest about what it was really like.  I also enjoyed reading the workbook and if I had had your workbook before buying any of my birth books I would not have bothered reading them as you covered everything.  I didn't watch the DVD's but that was only because I didn't have the time. 
So to sum it all up I would recommend both courses as they are totally different, yours sincerely, Katherine Turner.

Comments from Joanna and John:

We found both courses beneficial in different ways. The parenting course was excellent in preparing us for parenthood. The information was provided in a relaxed environment making us feel comfortable and even my husband looked forward to going to the class each week.
The Calmbirth course rationalised our fears and taught us how to overcome negative fears and emotions. It changed our perspective of the birth from fearing it and planning to use drugs in the birth, to knowing we can control the way we handle the birth and the way we perceive pain.  We are glad we did both courses and found Julie's resources very helpful ( the DVD's and books in the library). They were very informative and we both got a lot out of them.
We found Julie to be an excellent teacher with loads of helpful advice and information ,who is always happy to answer questions. We are very glad we did these courses with Julie, rather than at the hospital as we originally planned. We now feel as ready as we'll ever be for the birth!  Joanna & John.

Comments from: Kerry and Michael: 

In regards to the Calm Birth classes, the lessons learnt were of great use when trying to stay composed and focused during labour. I stayed calm and in control the entire labour thanks to the techniques, but it was the pure effort that birthed the baby. We would suggest to would be parents that they complete both courses to get maximum benefit as Transition into Parenthood has quite different content.
Transition to Parenthood was extremely informative and provided relevant information. All bases were covered, but for Michael, the best thing was how his role was explained. Offering drinks, food and not disturbing a woman during birth were followed to the letter and was of most help to me. For me it was the knowledge of the effects of the drugs that could be provided which gave me confidence to make an informed choice if drugs were needed or offered.
The books were useful for knowledge of different positions. Julie's library DVD's made both of us feel comfortable with what would probably happen during birth so we went into our own birth with a sound base knowledge. The difference between Michael and I and other pregnant couples at our Birth Centre introduction night was that for every point the midwife asked the group if they had any knowledge of, we had an answer, whereas all 9 other couples who had not completed the Calm Birth or Transition to Parenthood classes had no clue what to expect during labour and had no idea about drugs and their effects or any other piece of information she was offering. We felt much more confident than ever when we realised how much more we knew compared to the other couples,as we already knew from our course with Julie what the birth centre midwife was talking about. It was a good feeling when we left the introduction evening at the birth centre knowing we had tracked down the right course and the information we had was the same as what the midwives hoped we had.  We had a great birth experience and we both feel it was largely due to how well prepared we were.
Thanks Michael, Kerry and Zavier.