Pre-natal class 1

The class started at 9:10 (we were all there like twenty minutes early and sat mostly in uncomfortable silence all the way through the 10 minute delay). There were twelve bellies, all from the same neighborhood (how many bellies are there in the other neighborhoods??).

During the two-hour session, I found out some things about Burlo (the children's hospital where it looks like all of us are having our babies) :

1.It does about 1800 births a year, and apparently they do a good job with them. I have heard lots of good things about the whole labor and birth thing there.
2. One of the reasons they don't like epidurals is that they don't have enough anesthesiologists, the other reason is that many doctors there feel like they just get in the way of the natural process. If you want one, you have to have an interview with a doctor, take tests, etc. and they will almost never give you one if you decide to have it while in labor. These things must be planned. If you decide just because you're in pain, they assume you're not thinking straight.
3. They have those birthing pools (2) and you can do your labor in water, but there is a shortage of doctors that deliver in pools, so they'll pull you out right before you have the baby (in case you're interested in that water thing), apparently it is a jacuzzi-like thing with a rope hanging in the middle (doesn't sound encouraging) that you can hang on during contractions.
4. You have to bring your own silverware if you plan on eating during the 2-3 days you're in the hospital if all goes well and 4 days if you have a cessarean. If you don't, they will give you a plastic fork or something but then make you use it for every meal until you leave. I think I will bring paper napkins too.
5. They provide clothes and diapers for baby while in the hospital
6. There may or may not be a nursery (teacher says they closed it, one of the bellies, who works in the neo-natal department says it is open and it was closed temporarily because it was getting work done). Either way, plan on having the b.o.j. (bundle of joy) with you 24/7 from the get-go.
7. If you're low risk they put you in the "old" part where you will share a room with 2 or 3 other women and their b.o.j.s and there are two bathrooms on the entire floor (they assure me there will be toilet paper). It's cold at night in the old part.
8. If you are high risk or have a c-section, you will go in the "new" part where you will be alone or with one other person, have your own air conditioning and/or heater and your own bathroom.

as far as our group:

Youngest: 21 years old
Oldest: (hurray it's not me!) 38
Number of people (still) working: 2 (including me), the other works for the train company (Notice how I avoided writing she's been working on the railroad all the live-long day?)
Sex of unborn b.o.js: Boys--6, Girls--4 Surprise-- 2 (including me)
Number of foreigners: 3 -- one American (me), one Australian (yeah!), one Russian.
Number of bellies with babies at home: 2
Bellies with babies pointing up: 2
Bellies with babies pointing down: 10
Earliest due date: Oct 22
Latest due date: Nov 8

Another interesting tidbit.
You can immediately sense that the "Ostetrica"s around here are NOT on the same page as the doctors. As far as I can tell, there is some kind of training to be an Ostettrica but I am not sure it's as rigorous as being a nurse, definitely not the same course of study as a doctor. There seems to be a general dislike among Ostettricas (I guess they're mid-wives but they work for the hospital and deliver babies there and also teach these classes) for pain medication and donating umbilical cords (I had heard this already and tested the theory today. I asked if dads can cut the cord if you donate it and the teacher immediately said NO even though I talked to the person in charge of the donation program who said yes, absolutely, and then said, "but don't ask an Ostettrica, they're totally against cord donation and give out false information about it) and they seem to tend to be overall much more touchy-feely and less "science"y.

So basically if you think of the Meet the Parents movies, so far I would put the Doctors I've had into the Robert Deniro (let 'em cry) side of the family, and the Ostettricas into the Barbara Streisand (co-sleepers) category.

I may be wrong, this is just my impression, but I will come back to it later.
Tomorrow I have my appointment with my regular doctor. Will let you know how it goes.