Wednesday 23 May 2012

Antenatal classes booked

This is probably something I should have done a while ago, but better late than never, right? And thankfully we are in England and not in Italy, the Brits are a tiny bit more organised and quick than the Italians. 

A few days ago I applied for two antenatal classes and yesterday in the mail I found the timetable for the classes I had been assigned to. Very efficient! The classes start at the end of July.
1. So, the first class I chose is the Labour, birth, pain relief and relaxation class. Both Rob and I will attend this. It's a three-hour class that covers the following topics and more: Signs of labour, stages of labour and coping strategies - Comfortable positions, basic massage, relaxation and the role of your birth partner (this is why Rob is attending too! He needs to know what to do.) - Coping methods and options for pain relief in labour - Induction of labour, assisted births with vacuum or forceps and Caesarean section. Just reading and writing these things make me anxious! 
2. The second class, instead, will be just for me. It's all about Breastfeeding (breastfeeding, expressing and storing milk, positioning and attachment of the baby at the breast, as well as where to get help and support for feeding the baby).
All my friends who have had babies before me, or are in the process of having babies, have told me how useful these classes are, so I decided to give it a go. It will be interesting to know a bit more about what I will be going through, but also it will be nice to meet new parents like us who live in our area. Perhaps, we will even make new friends!

Both classes will be held at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre, which I love. It's a modern, very well designed place not too far from our flat. The centre also has a cool nursery which we will tour later on this Summer.
 
And speaking of nurseries, we are visiting one tomorrow at Guy's Campus. I know it may sound weird to you that we are already looking into this but in London you need to be prepared. Getting into the nursery you want may be very competitive and there are long waiting lists for the good nurseries. The Guy's Campus one is a King's College London nursery, so only King's members of staff are eligible to apply for a place (for those of you who don't know this, I am a Research Associate at King's, hence, I can apply). If we like it and they have availability, it will be the best option for us. Fingers crossed! As always, I'll keep you posted.

1 comment:

  1. Great you booked Antenatal! I found them REALLY useful and eye opening. Makes everything VERY real and it's nice to learn how things work in the UK if you need any support! ENJOY!

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