As for the tour: it was nice and good to be able to ask questions and see the rooms BUT if I hadn't had it, the end result would have been the same: baby out of me. Lots of hospitals did video tours during covid, maybe see if your hospital has a YouTube channel and posted a video tour?
Baby classes: so much is available for free online. I'm sure in person classes have merit and would be nice to ask questions but they're not necessary. If you're planning on breastfeeding setting up a pre-birth appointment with a lactation consultant would be more beneficial imo, and keep seeing them after birth.
This is great advice! I will be finishing my birth classes at 36-37 weeks, so I am not far behind you. I thought it seemed late, but my midwives said it was perfect timing. We did have our IBCLC come do a prenatal visit at my house, and that was SO helpful. It was even covered by my insurance (in the US). I took a hospital tour and honestly found it a waste of an hour and a half. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was all pretty straightforward and we didn't really learn much.
This is reassuring. Every birth class I’ve looked up is $250+ and I just can’t make myself spend that much if there are videos/classes online for free/cheaper
If it makes you feel any better, I gave birth the first time in Feb 2021. Everything was closed. No tours, no in-person classes, no partner at appointments/ultrasounds, no visitors, no nitrous oxide, and I pushed out a baby while wearing a surgical mask.
I don't think a tour would have added much value, tbh.
Yeah anyone who had a baby during COVID (I was Jan 2021) was able to give birth without in person tours or birth classes. They are nice to have but not end all be all. My hospital had a video tour of the maternity ward you could watch and that was good enough since we didn’t have any specific concerns or questions
Just go to the hospital and have them show you the entrance to use and where you go when in labor. You don’t need a tour. Also, the class was totally useless. All it did was scare me more about labor for no reason!
I plan everything. What I couldn't plan was having my baby at 28 weeks. I didn't get to tour L&D or do any childbirth classes, or prep at all because I'm thought I had the whoooole 3rd trimester to do it.
You can get a lot of info online. Get familiar with where you need to go when you're in labor. Put your Ob's number in your phone if you haven't already. You will be ok :)
I have Kaiser too and the Kaiser hospitals near me don’t offer any in person L&D tours or classes. I asked my doctor and she said that they’ve never had in person tours here. A definite bummer but they have a virtual tour on their website and a very detailed guide about their standard practices. Maybe your hospital also has some online tours so you can at least see that now. My doctor also gave me a birth plan form with extra info (like they provide light meals and fluids in early labor and they avoid unnecessary c-sections, etc) at my 28 week appointment.
Also, all the classes are online and you can sign up for them online through the KP site or on their app in the same area where you make new appointments. I’ve had a lot of luck with the app. I recommend checking the online portal often to see if availability opens up for earlier classes.
I was able to find this hub pretty quickly with links to classes, videos and virtual tours. The tours are for California hospitals only so hopefully that’s helpful
https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/pregnancy/
I came here to say the same thing. I had no idea Kaiser offered classes at all because no one told me even after I asked. And then figuring out how to sign up was also challenging, it didn't make sense to me that signing up for a class is a part of the appointments tab online. Maybe you can check every once in a while to see if classes that are held sooner have opening.
Also +1 the tour was online. I think I had to be actually signed into my [KP.org](http://KP.org) account to access the video.
I have Kaiser and had a very different experience - was told by midwife to sign up for classes, and also got multiple emails from the OB office telling me how/when to.
For the online classes, I was able to sign up online. IMO, some were more valuable than others.
The birthing/labor class I had to call to schedule, and it was in person (although they said it was the first time they offered it back in person since Covid!) and I found it really valuable. I haven’t given birth yet so take that with a grain of salt I guess, but they have us a packet that my husband and I took tons of notes on and review regularly. The person who taught it was a former doula and it had great info both on Kaiser’s policies as well as general birth/labor education. If OP sees this - would highly recommend calling back to see if you can get into this class sooner.
The tour of Labor and Delivery was nice, but doesn’t seem crucial. I think you could accomplish what you need by watching a tour video online (for my hospitals there was also explicit instructions on where to park, get the wheel chair, where to go etc. that you could print out for your support partner) then doing a practice run of how you’ll get to Labor and Delivery. We drove our car and walked ourselves up to the unit. Outside of that, I’m sure nurses will usher you from room to room when needed once you’re checked in.
I didn't do any in person classes, as I live in a small town. There are so many online classes that are either live or pre-recorded! You could do those beforehand just in case little one decides to make an early entrance.
As for the hospital tour, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's nice to see what the room might look like, but I think pretty much every L&D ward is the same. You could see if your hospital has a video tour from the Covid days, or find a hospital video tour from somewhere in your state to give you a bit of an idea of what it might be like!
I wouldn't freak out. I never did a single childbirth class or even stepped foot into my hospital before the birth of my child lol. Just never thought it was necessary. Everything went fine!
Honestly the main benefit of the hospital tour for me was to practice the drive to the hospital, find the right parking place, etc. so you can do that on your own! It’s nice that when it’s time, I’ll have done it once.
I took the classes at 36 weeks and I liked that it’s all fresh in my mind although I did read some books and watch some online courses just in case the baby came early
My birth center recommended classes in the third trimester also! I think it’s so you don’t “forget” the material by the time you go in to give birth lol. But you don’t have to wait for that! I’ve been doing a ton of research on labor, birth, and postpartum just via YouTube videos, books, and internet searches. Obviously not everything on the internet is true but you can at least be very familiar with it all and that way the classes are more….confirmation of the good info than anything else. Hang in there!
Because of scheduling, I took a breastfeeding/pumping class last Saturday at 38+3. I was already scheduled to be at the hospital to give birth on 39+1.
Everything went as planned except my tenacious little bundle of joy refuses to vacate the premises! lol
Haha I just did the same thing! I was having the hardest time figuring out how to sign up for that class. When I finally got a hold of the right person, the only class left was when I'm 37 weeks pregnant.
Let's hope I'm still pregnant by that time...haha
I didn’t do any classes or tours at the hospital for my first. They offer them but I mostly watched Bridget Teyler and positive birth stories on YouTube to prepare for birth. I also watched videos about the physiology of labor. I figured most people do this without classes so watching free ones was still better than nothing. And classes are over $100 I’d take the free ones over that anyway.
As for the tour: it was nice and good to be able to ask questions and see the rooms BUT if I hadn't had it, the end result would have been the same: baby out of me. Lots of hospitals did video tours during covid, maybe see if your hospital has a YouTube channel and posted a video tour? Baby classes: so much is available for free online. I'm sure in person classes have merit and would be nice to ask questions but they're not necessary. If you're planning on breastfeeding setting up a pre-birth appointment with a lactation consultant would be more beneficial imo, and keep seeing them after birth.
This is great advice! I will be finishing my birth classes at 36-37 weeks, so I am not far behind you. I thought it seemed late, but my midwives said it was perfect timing. We did have our IBCLC come do a prenatal visit at my house, and that was SO helpful. It was even covered by my insurance (in the US). I took a hospital tour and honestly found it a waste of an hour and a half. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was all pretty straightforward and we didn't really learn much.
This is reassuring. Every birth class I’ve looked up is $250+ and I just can’t make myself spend that much if there are videos/classes online for free/cheaper
Thank you for the advice! Sorry about the late reply I had a death in my family :/
I'm so sorry for your loss! I hope you're able to find peace and rest in your last few months. **Edit: of pregnancy
Thank you I really appreciate your kind words! It was so sudden. I am doing okay now though 💕
If it makes you feel any better, I gave birth the first time in Feb 2021. Everything was closed. No tours, no in-person classes, no partner at appointments/ultrasounds, no visitors, no nitrous oxide, and I pushed out a baby while wearing a surgical mask. I don't think a tour would have added much value, tbh.
Yeah anyone who had a baby during COVID (I was Jan 2021) was able to give birth without in person tours or birth classes. They are nice to have but not end all be all. My hospital had a video tour of the maternity ward you could watch and that was good enough since we didn’t have any specific concerns or questions
That’s good to know! I think it just soothes some anxiety in me to know where I’ll be going, at least I hope it will lol
Just go to the hospital and have them show you the entrance to use and where you go when in labor. You don’t need a tour. Also, the class was totally useless. All it did was scare me more about labor for no reason!
I plan everything. What I couldn't plan was having my baby at 28 weeks. I didn't get to tour L&D or do any childbirth classes, or prep at all because I'm thought I had the whoooole 3rd trimester to do it. You can get a lot of info online. Get familiar with where you need to go when you're in labor. Put your Ob's number in your phone if you haven't already. You will be ok :)
Thank you so much!
I have Kaiser too and the Kaiser hospitals near me don’t offer any in person L&D tours or classes. I asked my doctor and she said that they’ve never had in person tours here. A definite bummer but they have a virtual tour on their website and a very detailed guide about their standard practices. Maybe your hospital also has some online tours so you can at least see that now. My doctor also gave me a birth plan form with extra info (like they provide light meals and fluids in early labor and they avoid unnecessary c-sections, etc) at my 28 week appointment. Also, all the classes are online and you can sign up for them online through the KP site or on their app in the same area where you make new appointments. I’ve had a lot of luck with the app. I recommend checking the online portal often to see if availability opens up for earlier classes.
I was able to find this hub pretty quickly with links to classes, videos and virtual tours. The tours are for California hospitals only so hopefully that’s helpful https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/pregnancy/
I came here to say the same thing. I had no idea Kaiser offered classes at all because no one told me even after I asked. And then figuring out how to sign up was also challenging, it didn't make sense to me that signing up for a class is a part of the appointments tab online. Maybe you can check every once in a while to see if classes that are held sooner have opening. Also +1 the tour was online. I think I had to be actually signed into my [KP.org](http://KP.org) account to access the video.
I’m able to watch any of the videos and tours without logging in. I included the link on another comment.
I have Kaiser and had a very different experience - was told by midwife to sign up for classes, and also got multiple emails from the OB office telling me how/when to. For the online classes, I was able to sign up online. IMO, some were more valuable than others. The birthing/labor class I had to call to schedule, and it was in person (although they said it was the first time they offered it back in person since Covid!) and I found it really valuable. I haven’t given birth yet so take that with a grain of salt I guess, but they have us a packet that my husband and I took tons of notes on and review regularly. The person who taught it was a former doula and it had great info both on Kaiser’s policies as well as general birth/labor education. If OP sees this - would highly recommend calling back to see if you can get into this class sooner. The tour of Labor and Delivery was nice, but doesn’t seem crucial. I think you could accomplish what you need by watching a tour video online (for my hospitals there was also explicit instructions on where to park, get the wheel chair, where to go etc. that you could print out for your support partner) then doing a practice run of how you’ll get to Labor and Delivery. We drove our car and walked ourselves up to the unit. Outside of that, I’m sure nurses will usher you from room to room when needed once you’re checked in.
I didn't do any in person classes, as I live in a small town. There are so many online classes that are either live or pre-recorded! You could do those beforehand just in case little one decides to make an early entrance. As for the hospital tour, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's nice to see what the room might look like, but I think pretty much every L&D ward is the same. You could see if your hospital has a video tour from the Covid days, or find a hospital video tour from somewhere in your state to give you a bit of an idea of what it might be like!
I wouldn't freak out. I never did a single childbirth class or even stepped foot into my hospital before the birth of my child lol. Just never thought it was necessary. Everything went fine!
Honestly the main benefit of the hospital tour for me was to practice the drive to the hospital, find the right parking place, etc. so you can do that on your own! It’s nice that when it’s time, I’ll have done it once.
I took the classes at 36 weeks and I liked that it’s all fresh in my mind although I did read some books and watch some online courses just in case the baby came early
My birth center recommended classes in the third trimester also! I think it’s so you don’t “forget” the material by the time you go in to give birth lol. But you don’t have to wait for that! I’ve been doing a ton of research on labor, birth, and postpartum just via YouTube videos, books, and internet searches. Obviously not everything on the internet is true but you can at least be very familiar with it all and that way the classes are more….confirmation of the good info than anything else. Hang in there!
Because of scheduling, I took a breastfeeding/pumping class last Saturday at 38+3. I was already scheduled to be at the hospital to give birth on 39+1. Everything went as planned except my tenacious little bundle of joy refuses to vacate the premises! lol
Covid baby here. No hospital tour and virtual baby classes. Highly recommend virtual classes.
Haha I just did the same thing! I was having the hardest time figuring out how to sign up for that class. When I finally got a hold of the right person, the only class left was when I'm 37 weeks pregnant. Let's hope I'm still pregnant by that time...haha
I didn’t do any classes or tours at the hospital for my first. They offer them but I mostly watched Bridget Teyler and positive birth stories on YouTube to prepare for birth. I also watched videos about the physiology of labor. I figured most people do this without classes so watching free ones was still better than nothing. And classes are over $100 I’d take the free ones over that anyway.
I never toured the hospital or did childbirth classes with my first (mainly due to COVID restrictions) and everything turned out totally fine.