Prenatal Class

Hubby and I will be attending the prenatal class this Sunday until Wednesday at Penang Adventist Hospital. It cost us RM125-00 for a four-day class. On Sunday it will be held from 10 am to 2 pm and Monday to Wednesday from 7.45 pm to 9.45 pm.

Taken from the Adventist Hospital website, the course objectives are as follows:

*To let mother & husband be aware of her/his wife's changes during pregnancy.
*To know the development of their baby in her womb.
*To understand her nutritional needs.
*To enable her/him to take care of herself/his wife during pregnancy and postnatal period.
*To prepare the mother for labour & delivery.
*To educate the parents on the benefits of breastfeeding & care of their newborn baby.

Since first-time mothers are encouraged to attend, we signed up for it even though the schedule is quite tight, four days in a row. Hopefully we will be able to digest the information quick enough!

The topics covered will be:

*Day 1 – Sunday
Nutrients Required For Mother & Baby
Healthy Postnatal Diet
Breastfeeding Benefits & Technique
Baby Bath Demonstration

*Day 2 – Monday
Prenatal Care
Development of the Baby
Screening for Foetal Abnormalities
Changes During Pregnancy
Complications During Pregnancy
Labour and Delivery

*Day 3 – Tuesday
Care of Baby at Birth
Immunization & Minor Problems During Infancy
Pain Relief in Labour
Video Show on Epidural Analgesia During Labour
Tour of Maternity Ward

*Day 4 - Wednesday
Prenatal & Relaxation Exercises
Breathing Techniques in Labour
Baby Massage (Overview)

I think overall we have made the right choice in selecting Adventist for our prenatal checkups as well as to deliver Baby there. It has achieved Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) which is a global programme launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and supported by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. They strongly promote breast-feeding and for the baby to room in with the mother after they are born.



Besides that, they are also a husband friendly hospital and enourage husbands to be there at the birth and delivery of their babies and they may also stay at the hospital if they wish to do so.

So we are quite looking forward to it. I will update what we have learnt after we attend the classes.