When to Take Childbirth Class?

Taking a childbirth class is an important step in your parenting journey. For many couples, this is the first time they’ve come together to really realize they are having a baby and what the process will entail. Getting a class at the right time is a big boost to your confidence as a new parent.

Hi, I’m Hilary — The Pregnancy Nurse 👩‍⚕️. I have been a nurse since 1997 and I have 20 years of L&D nursing experience, I am also the curly head behind Pulling Curls and The Online Prenatal Class for Couples. 🩺​ I taught prenatal classes for my hospital, and all of these work together to make me a bit of an expert in when to take your birthing class.

What are Birthing Classes?

First off, I think we need to define what birthing classes are. They actually go by several names:

• Birth Class
• Hospital Class
• Prenatal Classes
• Childbirth Classes

Of course, there are also different “brand” name classes, but those are the main generic names people use for this type of class.

Types of Prenatal Classes

There are a few different types. They all have a different focus in what they prepare you for:

• Lamaze Classes (these are the classes of our parents generation) — very breathing-focused and some basic labor knowledge.
• Bradley Classes — parents tend to have a “focus item” to use during their labor
• Pain management classes — Some classes focus entirely on pain management, by several methods (my favorite is HypnoBabies — and I’ll talk more about that later)
• Hospital Prep Classes — These classes are most often taught by an RN that has/does work labor and delivery and prepares you for what to expect throughout your hospital birthing process, along with some pain management techniques.

Online Childbirth Classes

Pre-Covid most classes were taught in a hospital at 6 pm on Tuesday nights (or, the dreaded 8 hour Saturday class). However, with the dawn of a lot of online instruction, people realized they could find a great professional to teach them what they need to know on their own schedule.

As one who taught in-person classes I can assure you that online classes are a step up. Why?

• The best time to retain knowledge is not 6 pm on a Tuesday night when you’re starving, tired from work and overwhelmed by all the knowledge thrown at you. 🙂
• If you have a partner, you guys can easily do it together. No business trip taking you out of class, work around your schedule!
• Take it in small bites in your own schedule
• You can also re-watch those parts you want to review, rather than just glancing at some flyers they hand out.

Best Online Childbirth Classes

There are a LOT of good options out there, but of course I recommend is The Online Prenatal Class for Couples. Why?

• My class has been around since 2014, and has had several updates
• Honestly, I’m a great teacher — which is why I do it. Check out the reviews for how engaged both partners were for my enjoyable classes.
• I take both of you in hand. I want partners just involved in this as moms — I bet you want that too.
• I have some of the most helpful postpartum information available. As a mom of three, plus 20 years of bedside experience, I am going to prep you for what life looks like after baby (and I wasn’t prepped at all, so I aim to help moms to be 4000% better than I was).

Best Hypno-Birthing Classes

If you’re looking to take an entirely pain-management focused class, I recommend HypnoBabies. However, you should realize that Hypnobabies ONLY prepares you for the pain, so if you take it in conjunction with The Online Prenatal Class for Couples it is a huge win (because you’ll both understand labor and how to manage that pain). I offer my class at 50% off if you purchase Hypnobabies with it through my link.

If you really want to do labor without an epidural, I strongly recommend taking a pain management-focused class (vs a class that teaches labor PLUS a pain management class). I prefer them separated out as they are really two separate topics.

**I do teach labor breathing, as well as some ways to manage pain in my online class, I just really want to be honest that if your plan is to 100% to go without an epidural you will probably want to focus a bit more on that.

When Should I Take my Birth Class?

Now, back to the question at hand.

WHEN should you take your childbirth class?

The cliffnotes, is that I recommend it any time after 20 weeks — but let’s dive a bit deeper into why I recommend that timeframe:

When is too early to take a childbirth class?

I am not a fan of starting classes before 18’ish weeks for a few reasons:

• During the first trimester there is still a chance of a loss, so your time would be better spent doing other things (likely, napping because you’re SO tired growing that placenta)
• It’s so early you’ll likely forget a lot and need to review anyway

When is too late to take a childbirth class?

Well, back in the day when you had to schedule in-person hospital classes, you couldn’t pick when you took the class. So, I always recommended people start calling/looking around by 20 weeks so they could assure themselves a spot (because they also fill-up very quickly).

However, now that we have online classes, things are a bit easier. You, honestly, can take a childbirth class right up til’ you leave for the hospital. It’s more like college test-cramming. 🙂

When is the best time to take an online childbirth class?

Because you could go into labor at any point, I tend to steer people to their third trimester to start the classes. Of course, you can start earlier because it’s available and it can ease some fears ahead of time, but 30 weeks is a good time to really start digging in and understanding the information.

But, like I said, you could start as early as you want, and study right up until that baby’s coming out. 🙂

Are Prenatal Classes Necessary?

No, the baby will still come out without a prenatal class.

Probably with a lot of worry on your end that the world is ending because it is a very foreign experience for most people.

People are just SO much happier when they have prenatal education. They start out that journey feeling confident about themselves, and their skills — and that is a GREAT way to start out.

Other Pregnancy Classes

I recommend two other doses of education in addition to a prenatal class, and a third if you have the time:

Hospital Tour

While many hospitals don’t offer tours, you can sometimes take them online, or at least call the hospital and find out what to expect. Many have a lot of free online information you can consume.

Breastfeeding Classes

If you plan/want to breastfeeding, I think a simple class can help out a lot with getting started. I also love the online ones because you can refer back to them once the baby is actually there. I recommend two the most (Pulling Curls has a post on all the breastfeeding classes I’ve reviewed).

The Breastfeeding Mama On Demand Classes: I like the troubleshooting that Katie offers in case things aren’t going right (which happens pretty often)

>> Check Out The Breastfeeding Mama Classes Here

Milkology: This class is polished and smooth. She gives a lot of basic information without overhwelming you!

>> Check out Milkology Classes Here

I would recommend checking out both classes, and picking which one “jives” with you more. 🙂

When to take a Breastfeeding Class?

I would start this, again around 30 weeks. As it is more of a physical thing you’ll be doing, the closer you are to delivery, the better. And, the best thing about these online courses is being able to watch them after baby is born!

And, if it’s in your budget….

Newborn Care Classes

If you are interested in a newborn care class — I recommend New Parents Academy. Valerie has a lot of experience and expertise. She also She also has a free expecting parents workshop that people love. She also has one for adopting couples.

When to take a Newborn Care Class?

I would aim to take this one about 35 weeks. Again, most of it is actual physical acts you’ll carry out once baby is here, so a month before your due date is often plenty of time.

Free Online Childbirth Classes

While most free online childbirth classes are worth just about what you paid for them, some good providers offer something to see if they’re a good fit for you. I do offer my own Free Beginning Prenatal Class to help you get a sense of my style and it also includes a lot of helpful tips about pregnancy & postpartum life.

So, that’s the skinny on prenatal classes. If you have more questions, pop them in the comments so I can answer.

I do hope you’ll take one. They can really help you feel so much more relaxed about your delivery, and I hope you have a great one!