Asking on behalf of my friend, do you think prenatal class organised by hospital is useful? Why and why not?

It is useful for basic knowledge which is somewhat like what you will learn in books or videos. However not too applicable to real life as theory and practical are seldom similar. They practice and model with dummies which don't move. In real life some babies can be very active. Yes, speaking from experience. My baby was a very active newborn who loved to bathe. She would kick a lot and make noises during baths. That made it difficult to hold on to her as the water made it very slippery. Another challenge would be the umbilical cord, which as first time parents, was quite a daunting experience for us to clean and maintain it. Thankfully it dropped off about 2 weeks later and it was really a relief as we worried about hurting her when we accidentally touched it. Many other experiences cannot be learnt adequately as well. Like how to latch on properly, how to make baby go to sleep or how to decipher a baby's cries.

I did not attend any prenatal class, but a friend who attended a ParentCraft workshop (few sessions over a few weeks) said that she couldn't really remember most points. Although she was taught how to bathe the baby at the workshop, she ended up learning from her confinement lady as she was afraid to handle the baby on her own at first. However, for myself, I love children and have been reading up on parenting since I was a teenager, so I didn't think it was necessary to attend the classes. All the theory can be acquired online, but you'd need to handle an actual baby to be aware of the challenges. I would think it is more effective spending an entire day at someone's house with their newborn than to attend a few weeks of lectures.

I don't think it's really useful to attend prenatal classes at all. My husband and I did not attend any of these classes. Information on how to care for could be easily found online and even on youTube. Of course, friends with babies did teach us the essential of taking care of a baby. But if you are still considering different type of birth methods, you might considering hiring a doula who will be able to help more than the prenatal classes provided by the hospital.

I agreed hands-on experiences are better than the classes.

Yes I would love to join with my hubby if there’s one.

thanks