Review : Antenatal Class with Jenlia

In my opinion,  antenatal class is extremely important especially for first time parents as we do not know what to expect. It is better to learn from the expert than go around listening to hear-says from other people because their "advises" could be wrong - although they meant well I am sure. 

Truthfully, we didn't do any research on which classes to attend. We selected Jenlia based on good recommendation from friends who had attended their class and naturally because their classes are conducted in SDMC where I am going to give birth at. 

Jenlia charges RM350 per couple and there are 4 classes which are conducted on Fridays (7:30pm) and Saturdays (2:30pm). Each session lasts about 3 hours. The educators are qualified midwives who had garnered their experience from UK. Both me and Bear had thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and we found them very useful. 

Here are my thoughts on the sessions: 

Session 1

Recognizing derivations from normal progression in pregnancy.

Preparation for parenthood.

Relaxation technique.

Antenatal exercise. 

--> This session was pretty easy-going and light. It is a very basic class on what to expect and what to look out for during your pregnancy and into the first few months with the arrival of the new baby. I have forgotten how to do the antenatal exercise actually. 

Session 2
Importance of early breastfeeding. 
Steps to successful breastfeeding.
Care of self post-csect.
Signs of labor.
Admission procedures.

--> I totally love this session especially on the topic of breastfeeding because I know it is not easy. It is good to be mentally prepared and learn the correct techniques to ensure that I won't give up too easily when the time comes to breastfeed. Also, knowing what are the signs of labor and admission procedures keeps us on our toes to look out for symptoms and not panic when the time comes when the baby bear arrives. 

 Session 3

Tour of labor suite.

Husband's role during labor and delivery.

Preparation for normal labor and delivery.

Normal labor and delivery process.

Pain management.

Breathing techniques.

--> Touring of the labor suite was very interesting. Looking at the suite, my fear of giving birth somewhat was lifted off a little because it looks pretty cozy. It doesn't feel cold and scary like in the operating theater. Secondly was on pain management. I have pretty made up my mind that epidural is the way to go the minute I can use it to completely take away the pain (yes, I am wussy like that). We were thought on how to handle labor and the actual birth, when to push, what to expect, and what is the role of the husband (not to stand there and look pretty ok). We were also shown a video of an actual child birth using epidural - and seriously, this session overall really calmed me down a lot. There is not so much fear of childbirth anymore. I also forgot the breathing techniques.. I hope my husband still remembers them. 

Session 4
Care and support for mothers during puerperium .
The newborn - what to expect in the first few months.
Meeting the needs of your newborn.

--> Informative on post-birth care for the mothers and basic 101 care for a newborn like bathing, swaddling, sleeping position etc.

The subject matter which are being thought are very basic and is only an overview, which is good enough as a headstart. Typically, you are encourage to join an antenatal class about 2 months before your due date. 

Love;

Mummy Geri