Don't be alarmed by the title! Little One hasn't made an unseasonably early appearance! This is the name of one of the classes run by the community midwives.
My midwife suggested it may be worth attending this as well as the NCT classes as they teach different things.
The most convenient classes for me were held at my local children’s centre. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go to all the different classes, just the New Born Know How. I wasn’t too worried about this as I had already attended a pain management seminar as part of the medicine for members program and had had some other advice on labour from my NCT class. The main gap in my educational program was what happens after!
The session was run by one of the community midwives and focused on a few key tips. The main things we were shown at the session was how to bath or top and tail a baby and what to try when a baby cries. This was quite good actually as it was a sort of checklist of things to try if the baby is screaming.
We also got given a poo sheet. Oh yes, the glamour of parenthood awaits… here I was, in a room full of other grown ups looking at pictures of poo!
Clinical Comment
Simon Mehigan Consultant Midwife
All women receiving care from Liverpool Women's will be offered some antenatal classes. We offer 3 different ones and you can attend just 1 of them, maybe a couple or particularly if your first time parents, all 3. They are "Active birth", which helps you and your birth partner understand the role your body and in particular your hormones and your pelvis will play in the birth of your labour. This session is very much a "get involved" session and is geared towards your birth partner and equipping them with the skills to support your in labour. The feedback we get from the sessions is very positive and since we introduced them just over 3 years ago we have seen the numbers of women giving birth on our Midwifery Led unit increase year on year as women opt for an "active birth". They are attended by first time parents but also by those that may have had babies before but who want to play a more active part in their labour.
Newborn know how is for all of those who are worried about the practicalities of having a new baby in the house. It tends to be attended by first time mums as most 2nd time parents feel more confident looking after their new born. And yes we do talk about poo, but lets be honest, for the first few weeks / months of your baby's life it is going to mostly wee, poo, sleep, cry. As a couple you won't be talking about what's on the news or the latest episode of Britain’s got talent but instead be sharing with each other details of the colour, consistency, smell and amount of the content of your baby's nappy!
The 3rd session we offer is a breast feeding workshop. This are offered by the infant feeding team here at the hospital and some Children's Centre's also run. These sessions will help you get an understanding of the how to successfully breastfeed but also give you some tips on trouble shooting.
As an organisation we actively promote breastfeeding as all the evidence clearly shows it has health benefits to mum and baby.
You can find out more about any of the sessions Liverpool Women's Hospital run by talking to your Community Midwife or contacting our Parent Education midwife through switchboard.
The NCT in Liverpool run a number of classes details of which can be found on their website.
Do you have a question for Anna or Simon? If so please email us at Feedback@lwh.nhs.uk or alternatively use the feedback tool at the bottom of this page.