Which is Better: Online or In-Person Birth Classes?

Should you take your birth class in person, or online? The answers might surprise you, and may actually be even more simple than you thought. Don’t over-complicate this, just get prepared!

But first, how do I know so much about birth classes? Hi, I’m Hilary, also known as The Pregnancy Nurse®. I’ve been a nurse since 1997 and I have 20 years of labor and delivery experience. I taught prenatal classes for my hospital and I now teach them online. I’ve seen all ends of this spectrum, so I think I’ll have some good tips for you.

But first, if you’re wondering if you can enjoy online birth learning — check out my quick labor tips class:

Which is best? Online or In Person Prenatal Classes?

Personally, I think online reigns supreme. When I taught for my hospital I realized that in-person was just so hard on couples:

• Meshing schedules to get it to fit (often with one partner missing a session or two)
• They’re taught when you’re TIRED (and often hungry — although I encouraged eating in my class) and maybe not getting all the info out of it you could
• No way to re-play things you missed or want to review
• If you’re taking it at a hospital, they are miserable to navigate (think traffic, parking, finding the room and sitting on our hard chairs)

Honestly, I LOVED teaching for our hospital. But, as I saw the couples trying to pay attention, and often partners missing I decided to take them online.

Well, that — and I had a lot more freedom to teach whatever I wanted. But that’s another side to it.

Ok, let’s talk about the….

Pro’s of In-Person Classes

(I’ve thought about these long and hard and you’ll see that an online course can address most of these as well)

Being able to ask questions as you go

Yes, this is the big one. It is really nice to ask them to clarify something or be sure you understand.

However, I have a question section of my online class where you can see if anyone else has asked the question, and I re-do each lesson frequently to make sure I am addressing things and making SURE things are clear that couples need to know.

I will say that sitting through other couples asking their questions is one of my LEAST favorite parts of an in-person prenatal class. You imagine that you’re learning from each other, but Sue down on the end always wants to get the instructor’s take on her hemorrhoids, or her mom’s cesarean section. You’re tired, you’re ready to go home and you don’t need to hear about her mom’s vagina, if you catch my drift.

Couples actually end-up with very few questions for the teacher in a well-taught class (that shouldn’t be answered by their provider — looking at you Sue).

Meeting other couples

It would be amazing if, in a few hours, you were able to find a friend who’d be delivering near the same time and you could be mom-buddies with.

I just rarely saw that happen. The classes are short, you’re concentrating and you just don’t have time to mill about and make buddies.

I would 100% recommend checking out a new moms group though. I think they can be really handy.

I also have an online group right here that so many people find support in. Come join it!

Vetted Experts

You know that the hospital finds this person to be an expert, the information that is being taught is good and you’re learning the important things.

Or, are you?

Honestly, my hospital has no idea what I was teaching beyond getting surveys from students after the fact (all glowing). Check out more of my reviews here.

I will say they also don’t often think about how engaging the teachers are. Some just drone on and add fluff to get more hours into the class (I saw this when I was training to teach my own).

You also don’t get to see reviews of that teacher before you take the class. It’s sort of like a birth class lottery, and we know how often you win the lottery.

So, yes — you know they’re most likely teaching the truth, but just because the hospital offers it, doesn’t mean it’s golden (or frankly, even bronze).

This isn’t to say who teaches your class doesn’t matter. You NEED an expert. Someone who’s seen LOTS of births, interventions and outcomes so they can teach you about ALL of it. I recommend a labor nurse as they tend to be the most experienced teachers.

BTW, if you’re wanting MORE tips on birth classes check these out:

• 6 Lies You Hear About Birth Class
• The Power of Prenatal Classes: A Deep Dive into the Studies
• Online Breastfeeding Classes
• Signs You Need A Birth Class
• How Much Do Birth Classes Cost?

Pro’s of Online Prenatal Classes

On Your Schedule

This is the main one. You’re busy — how on earth can you find a 3-week span you can BOTH be there at 6 pm on Tuesdays (and stay awake for it).

Note: Some birth classes are taught virtually at a specific time. While you’ll avoid the hospital issues, you’ll still have the “be there at this time” issue. Something to be aware of.

Bite-Sized Learning

Who loves a 3-hour lecture? Not me. Not at all. Nursing school taught me that one pretty solidly.

I think we’ve all learned that we can really concentrate for maybe 20 minutes and then we’d like a break and do something else.

Taking an online course allows you to split it into smaller parts to both learn better, engage more but also not get overwhelmed by all you’re learning!

This class’s lessons are all under 20-minutes, just for that reason.

Read Reviews

If online shopping has taught us anything it’s that online reviews are the KEY to being happy with your purchase.

You want to see if someone else got the expected outcome from the class!

It’s really important for me to get truthful reviews from my students. Believe you me, it’s hard to get reviews from busy students but I have over 100 because people love my class.

I love this one:

Read the rest of the reviews here (and yes, there’s some 4-star ones, because I really want you to get a full picture).

Now, here’s one a lot of people don’t talk about:

Full class every. time.

I have to admit that Sue over there in the corner sometimes pulled me off my game, and I missed parts of the class sometimes.

That’s how live things work, there can be mistakes said, or things missed.

However, in an online course I can re-watch them and think, darn it — I didn’t talk about forceps, and then go in and add it back in. It’s a real win, mostly for you. An online class is polished, well-done and correct. At least, they should be. 🙂 This one is.

What do studies show about in person vs online learning?

This study showed that it made people feel more confident and empowered for their birth, similar to an in-person class. Great news, since it also showed it’s a LOT easier (that study took place in an area with a lot of congestion and traffic, so as you can imagine online is MUCH easier in that case).

While we’re here, get your bag packed too:

So, what’s best for you?

GREAT question — studies and pro’s/con’s can’t always show what’s best for YOU

I do NOT believe that one type of class is right for everyone….

• If you think you NEED that appointment on your calendar to get it done — in person might be right for you (to be fair, you could also make appointments to do the online class too)
• If your schedules are busy — an online course takes a lot of stress off
• If you’re one who likes to re-watch stuff to make sure you’re getting it — and online class caters to you (this one even has some key-point videos in the bundle that people LOVE before the hospital).
• If you want to meet other couples consider an in person class.

Many hospitals offer a fairly cheap (or free) in-person class. You can always back-up that learning with a cheaper online course as well. I recommend this one.

I ALWAYS say the best birth class is one that you do and you learn from. For me, that’s online. You have to ask yourself which one will actually get DONE (and learn from, because if you sleep through the class that isn’t helping anything).

Why are online courses so expensive?

It SEEMS like there’s less effort, right – overall?

I will say that MAKING the class requires a monumental amount of effort to set-up and get going. Probably more than you’re imagining. There’s writing, filming, editing, getting it all uploaded, etc. It is a lot.

However, online course creators have been told by the large online learning platforms that they HAD to price them over $100 — and likely over $200-$300 so their students will value them. Of course, those platforms make more when creators price things higher — so, it doesn’t really mean the course is better. It just means it costs more. That’s it. If you don’t believe me, check out my post on the cost of birth classes.

I’ve decided that’s not helping out our pregnant couples though. They need to take a class that doesn’t break the bank. The Online Prenatal Class for Couples is will under $100 and if you join right now use coupon code ONLINELEARNING to get 10% off the class. I just hope you’ll get started and get prepared.

Not sure we’re a good fit check out my free class — It’s your first step towards being your own birth boss.