Prenatal care training

For the vast majority of pregnant families, qualified prenatal care training can help you filter out 90% of pregnancy rumors, reduce 70% of the panic about childbirth, and reduce the risk of postpartum complications by 30%. However, there is no "optimal training plan that is suitable for everyone." You must choose based on your own physical conditions, childbirth wishes, and family support to be truly useful.

I have been working as an obstetric health educator in a maternal and child health hospital for almost 7 years. I have dealt with nearly 400 groups of families with pregnant women in different situations. I have seen people who spent tens of thousands of yuan to sign up for high-end private tutoring classes but ended up having no use for them. I have also seen people who attended two free classes at a community hospital and saved their lives at a critical moment. Not long ago, a 30-year-old pregnant mother of her second child came to me to complain, saying that she had suffered a major sin with her first child by cesarean section. She had signed up for a full set of Lamaze breathing + natural birth meditation classes at a private institution early in her second pregnancy. She spent less than 20,000. However, at 28 weeks, she was diagnosed with velamentous placenta combined with vasa previa. The doctor clearly recommended an elective cesarean section at 39 weeks. She stared at the 8 sessions of natural birth classes left in her hand and couldn't laugh or cry. She said she had known she would have asked the doctor before signing up.

It's interesting to say that prenatal training on the market now basically takes two paths. There is no absolute good or bad, but it is suitable for different groups of people. One is public welfare or low-cost training offered by public hospitals and community health service centers. They are all based on the latest maternal and child health guidelines. The content is very hard: how much weight gain is normal per week during pregnancy, how to accurately count fetal movements, how to deal with redness and rupture of water and uterine contractions, and the need to run to the hospital immediately in any situation. Even the preoperative preparations for vaginal surgery and cesarean surgery are clearly listed for you, and no extra emotional value is given. Many young pregnant mothers find it boring and start scrolling through their mobile phones after sitting for half an hour. But to be honest, these contents have been verified by countless clinical trials and are not half-truths. Especially pregnant mothers with high-risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and placenta previa. Don't run around looking for fancy lessons. Listen to these public lessons first, which is better than anything else.

The other is the paid courses offered by many confinement centers and private obstetric institutions. The experience is really good, the classrooms are softly decorated, and low-sugar snacks are prepared. In addition to basic nursing knowledge, the content also includes a lot of breathing training, the use of birth balls, husband The content includes delivery skills, postpartum psychological adjustment, and some will also arrange simulated delivery room drills, which are especially friendly to pregnant mothers who are afraid of pain and have strong anxiety about childbirth. I have seen several pregnant mothers who had originally made up their mind to have a caesarean section. After the class, they relaxed and finally gave birth smoothly. But there are also problems. In order to sell courses, some institutions will deliberately exaggerate the benefits of vaginal delivery, and even instill in pregnant mothers the concept that "if you can't have vaginal delivery, you don't work hard enough." They completely ignore individual body differences. There was a pregnant woman with a narrow pelvis who was originally recommended by the doctor to have a caesarean section.

Last week, I accompanied a 32-week-old pregnant mother to attend a free class in the community. The teacher had just finished teaching "fixed one hour each in the morning, noon and evening to count fetal movements, and more than three times per hour is normal." The pregnant mother became red-eyed on the spot, saying that she was an operator of an Internet company and had endless meetings every day. How could she have three fixed times to sit and count fetal movements. The teacher laughed at that time and said that no one asked you to block the time. If you are busy at ordinary times, just remember a general pattern. For example, your baby moves every morning when you are eating breakfast, moves when fishing in the afternoon, and moves while lying on the bed while scrolling through his mobile phone at night. As long as the baby moves about the same as usual, it will be fine. If suddenly one day the baby moves half as much, or twice as much as usual, it is not too late to go to the hospital. You see, this is the difference between practice and books. The content in many training courses is not wrong, but needs to be adjusted according to your own life to be useful.

Oh, by the way, there is another point that everyone has been debating for a long time: Should we learn about newborn care and postpartum recovery in advance during prenatal training? Some people think that you should take care of prenatal matters before giving birth, and you can study after the birth, so don’t put a burden on yourself. Others think that you will be in so much pain that you can’t even open your eyes on the day after giving birth, so you won’t have the energy to study. It’s better to figure it out in advance before giving birth. My own experience is that if you are your first child and the elders at home have little experience in raising babies, taking 1-2 prenatal classes to learn how to burp, how to tell when the baby is hungry, and not to drink greasy milk soup in the first few days after delivery can really save you a lot of detours. I met a pregnant mother last year who took a postpartum care class before giving birth and knew that she should not take supplements immediately after giving birth. On the day after giving birth, she drank some millet porridge instead of drinking a single sip of the old hen soup her mother-in-law gave her. Her milk did not increase at all. Another pregnant mother in the same ward drank two large bowls of soup on the day after giving birth. The next day, her milk was as hard as a stone and she cried all afternoon.

Of course, don’t think that prenatal training is too omnipotent. In the past, I met someone who signed up for a "painless and natural birth guarantee class" worth tens of thousands of dollars. In the end, he had a caesarean section because of the abnormal fetal position. He came back to the institution to refund the money, saying that he had learned in vain. In fact, it’s not for nothing. The breathing techniques and relaxation techniques you learn can also be used when you press your belly and get out of bed after an operation. Don’t tie the purpose of the training to “must have a natural birth”. As long as it can make you more at ease during pregnancy and not panic when you are about to give birth, it will be worth the price.

Finally, I don’t have any special suggestions. Every time I recommend a class to pregnant mothers, I ask three questions: Do you have any underlying diseases during pregnancy? Are you more inclined to be cis or cis? Can anyone who is accompanying me at home make time to come with me? You can follow these three questions and choose the one that meets your needs. You don’t have to follow the trend and sign up for more expensive ones, and you don’t have to feel like you’re sorry if you don’t sign up. After all, when it comes to pregnancy, your own comfort and stability come first.