Pregnancy & Baby 

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Antenatal classes

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Classes which are exercise-based are an extension of the above and not a substitute for them. They are not strictly necessary but a number of mothers enjoy them. Check that the class leader has herself been on a specific course on the supervision of exercises during pregnancy. The ligaments which stabilise joints become looser during pregnancy. This coupled with stretched abdominal muscles which are less able to stabilise the lower spine, means that pregnant women need careful supervision during exercise classes to ensure that they do not strain their back or damage (rather than strengthen!) their abdominal muscles. It is not quite so much that there are certain exercises to avoid, but that exercise during pregnancy needs to be supervised by an expert.
There are classes that concentrate solely on preparation for ‘natural’ childbirth or on idiosyncratic techniques for giving birth. These ultimately hinge upon you having a short, straightforward labour – something which is difficult to predict with certainty, particularly because it depends largely on the position of your baby just before birth and the shape of your pelvic bones. With this in mind, beware of classes which take an ideological stance, which insist that it is best to deliver in a particular position or place, and which oppose all forms of pain control or are anti-midwife or anti-obstetrician. Be very wary of classes that assume you can choose the kind of labour you will have. Left to nature the vast majority of women (87 per cent) will have a labour that does not require medical intervention.

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