"the word-of-mouth survival guide for SAN FRANCISCO parents"
Review added 5/15/2008
I took the childbirth prep class and was underwhelmed by both the quality of the instructor and the very basic nature of the information given. It seemed more a rallying cry for natural childbirth rather than a serious class on developing a game plan for going the natural child birth route. As someone who had already decided to go au natural, I found the material really quite basic, condescending almost and more geared toward convincing people of the virtues of natural childbirth rather than actually how to go about it!! I don't feel like I'm prepared and if anything, it made me question the credibility of the school and the those who've recommended it. I decided to post a review because they didn't offer an end of class evaluation and they really should! The worst part of the class is that they make you sit in the most uncomfortable room on the floor (while the instructor is on a chair) and they don't let us eat until 2 hours into the class. The best thing about the class was that you met other couples but unfortunately we never had opportunities for group discussions and by the time we got to a break, we were all in the bathrooms or heavily snacking.
Review added 3/2/2008
We love Dionne who teaches the Developmental Movement Class at Real Birth. My son has been going since he was 8 weeks and we feel it has been beneficial for us to learn the stages of development and learn how to encourage them and for him as he now is loving tummy time!
Review added 10/25/2007
Took all of our classes here; Birth with Epidural, Breastfeeding & Newborn Care. Some were fairly useful, some were simply awful. Biggest negative is the 3 hour length at the end of the day, the classes could be 2 hours with an optional videos and Q & A session after for specific questions not pertinent to all (for example, we spent quite a lot of time talking about being induced because one couple out of our ten was being induced). Our main instructor was really good but her fill-ins were a waste of time and unfamiliar with the material being presented. Overall, would not recommend based on our experience.
Review added 10/19/2007
My husband and I took this class at the midtown west location. We enrolled in the 2 day 14 hour intensive weekend course, but I felt that it could have been cut down to 7 hours. The class was useful in teaching different pain relief methods and the different stages of labor. I didn't take the class for epidural, but didn't feel that it was biased towards natural birth at all. It was very balanced. The classroom was very comfortable and they offer light refreshments.
Review added 10/4/2007
We took several classes here: Childbirth, Newborn Care, Breastfeeding and Infant Massage. With the exception of the breastfeeding class, which was underwhelming, all of the classes were excellent. We'd take some more of their postpartum classes if we hadn't moved to Brooklyn. The curriculum seems comprehensive, and all of the educators are very experienced and good instructors as well as warm and open people. I was particularly impressed at the gentle and compassionate way our childbirth class instructor dealt with some pretty shockingly clueless yet obnoxious parents-to-be. Some of the classes - the newborn care in particular - seem a little rushed could use to be expanded. Some also were a bit too crowded. The programs are well worth the money, but they should get with the times a bit more and allow online registration. The two/three step process is a bit cumbersome.
Real Birth New York, NY - Real Birth Childbirth prep, Doulas - Real Birth Reviews