For a happy birth day
Thirtyone-year-old Nishat Shah couldn’t have been happier when she found out she was expecting a baby. Soon, the happiness gave way to anxiety and questions.
Thirtyone-year-old Nishat Shah couldn’t have been happier when she found out she was expecting a baby. Soon, the happiness gave way to anxiety and questions. All the attention she got from her family could not put her worries to rest.
“Will I get back in shape? How much pain will I undergo? I had many questions. My gynaecologist suggested prenatal classes when I entered the fourth month of pregnancy and I’m glad I took the suggestion,” she says. The classes answered her queries, she was no longer apprehensive. “The information provided in these classes helped me deal with my anxieties. I knew exactly what was happening with my body and how I could cope with the changes,” she says.
These classes, typically, cover aspects such as nutrition, labour, Caesarean section, newborns etc. “At Columbia Asia Hospital, prenatal classes for women are conducted in their fourth month of pregnancy to the ninth month. For the first three months, fitness classes that include cardiovascular exercises and weight training are offered thrice a week. Alongside, the couple is offered counselling. In the seventh month, we begin Lamaze classes for couples —these sessions are for teaching breathing exercises that make childbirth easy,” says Dr Renu D Arora, lifestyle physician, Columbia Asia.
Prenatal classes do a lot more than prepare couples for childbirth. “At these classes I met many mothers-to-be and made some very good friends, too. We discussed our problems quite openly. It was like a support group. In the fifth month of pregnancy, I suffered from severe acidity. So, one of my friends at the classes told me about a home remedy — drink a glass of warm water after eating anything. It really worked,” recalls Shah, who delivered a baby girl this April. She highly recommends prenatal classes.
“I had put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. I would worry about it. But once the fitness classes began, I was confident I would get back in shape,” says a content Shah, adding that she just has eight more kilos to shed to look like her old self.
A common feature in the West, prenatal and childbirth classes started in India more than 40 years ago. They cater to a niche market and have grown exponentially in recent years. Couples today have a greater awareness of the benefits to health and well-being from undergoing such courses, Biba Bhusri, childbirth instructor who conducts classes in Koramangala, says: “Statistics prove that women who are well prepared for childbirth have a shorter and a safer labour. Prenatal classes help women use their energy right and not exhaust it by tensing up during labour.”
Along with information, these classes also offer couples an informal and relaxed environment to talk freely about their emotions, doubts, queries and so on. “A couple would meet me roughly 72 times during a pregnancy. Women come for regular exercise classes and their husbands would attend counselling sessions (90 minutes) on nutrition, do’s and don’ts, breastfeeding, postnatal care, infant care and preparation for labour,” says Sonali Shivlani, Mumbai-based certified childbirth and lactation educator, who also has a complimentary group called Early Years on Facebook for expectant couples; it helps constant contact and provides online support.
Shivlani says that the classes also help husbands. “A lady in my class was convinced her husband would not be able to deal with the birth process. But, the husband sincerely attended all the sessions. When I met the two post delivery, she couldn’t stop raving about her husband. She attributed the smooth delivery to his support and confidence they gained during the classes,” she says.
Most prenatal classes go on till the very end of the pregnancy; there are a few short courses that are equally effective. “I conduct a week-long programme for couples to remove myths about pregnancy. I give them tips on nutrition, fitness, stress, labour,” says Dr Madhavi Gunasheela, physiatrist, Gunasheela Rehabilitation Centre. She adds that mothers-to-be need to get over their inhibitions about these classes. This is already happening.
“Will I get back in shape? How much pain will I undergo? I had many questions. My gynaecologist suggested prenatal classes when I entered the fourth month of pregnancy and I’m glad I took the suggestion,” she says. The classes answered her queries, she was no longer apprehensive. “The information provided in these classes helped me deal with my anxieties. I knew exactly what was happening with my body and how I could cope with the changes,” she says.
These classes, typically, cover aspects such as nutrition, labour, Caesarean section, newborns etc. “At Columbia Asia Hospital, prenatal classes for women are conducted in their fourth month of pregnancy to the ninth month. For the first three months, fitness classes that include cardiovascular exercises and weight training are offered thrice a week. Alongside, the couple is offered counselling. In the seventh month, we begin Lamaze classes for couples —these sessions are for teaching breathing exercises that make childbirth easy,” says Dr Renu D Arora, lifestyle physician, Columbia Asia.
Prenatal classes do a lot more than prepare couples for childbirth. “At these classes I met many mothers-to-be and made some very good friends, too. We discussed our problems quite openly. It was like a support group. In the fifth month of pregnancy, I suffered from severe acidity. So, one of my friends at the classes told me about a home remedy — drink a glass of warm water after eating anything. It really worked,” recalls Shah, who delivered a baby girl this April. She highly recommends prenatal classes.
“I had put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. I would worry about it. But once the fitness classes began, I was confident I would get back in shape,” says a content Shah, adding that she just has eight more kilos to shed to look like her old self.
A common feature in the West, prenatal and childbirth classes started in India more than 40 years ago. They cater to a niche market and have grown exponentially in recent years. Couples today have a greater awareness of the benefits to health and well-being from undergoing such courses, Biba Bhusri, childbirth instructor who conducts classes in Koramangala, says: “Statistics prove that women who are well prepared for childbirth have a shorter and a safer labour. Prenatal classes help women use their energy right and not exhaust it by tensing up during labour.”
Along with information, these classes also offer couples an informal and relaxed environment to talk freely about their emotions, doubts, queries and so on. “A couple would meet me roughly 72 times during a pregnancy. Women come for regular exercise classes and their husbands would attend counselling sessions (90 minutes) on nutrition, do’s and don’ts, breastfeeding, postnatal care, infant care and preparation for labour,” says Sonali Shivlani, Mumbai-based certified childbirth and lactation educator, who also has a complimentary group called Early Years on Facebook for expectant couples; it helps constant contact and provides online support.
Shivlani says that the classes also help husbands. “A lady in my class was convinced her husband would not be able to deal with the birth process. But, the husband sincerely attended all the sessions. When I met the two post delivery, she couldn’t stop raving about her husband. She attributed the smooth delivery to his support and confidence they gained during the classes,” she says.
Most prenatal classes go on till the very end of the pregnancy; there are a few short courses that are equally effective. “I conduct a week-long programme for couples to remove myths about pregnancy. I give them tips on nutrition, fitness, stress, labour,” says Dr Madhavi Gunasheela, physiatrist, Gunasheela Rehabilitation Centre. She adds that mothers-to-be need to get over their inhibitions about these classes. This is already happening.