Last night, Katie and I attended our first antenatal class at the birth centre in Canberra Hospital. The class ran from 7 until after 9:30, and let me tell you, by the end, there were ten pregnant women looking extremely tired, haggard, and uncomfortable.
Katie and I left the class with a profound sense of disappointment, and a reasonable amount of frustration/anger, too. The class last night was about breastfeeding, and SIDS – both important topics, to be sure, but we had expected to cover labour, and the hospital’s policies and procedures surrounding the event of birth (additionally, I would have expected a lengthy focus on the incredibly important and weighty issue of SIDS, but alas, that accounted for about ten minutes of our 2.5 hour class). Instead, we had to sit there and listen to an incredibly judgemental lecture about how breastfeeding is the only option for baby, and anything else will impede development.
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