How do you find the right childbirth class?

This is a guest post from Doogie.  She’s newly pregnant with her first and has agreed to give us some insights on what’s she’s thinking and how she’s finding info in her pregnancy.

Just so we get this out of the way quickly, I’m a complete novice at the childbirth thing. I’m the ultimate blank slate waiting to be filled with good information.
Last week, I had my first consult with my doctor’s nurse. Among the things she gave me was a list of available classes for new parents.  She circled the one about emergency childcare and pulmonary resuscitation. They do offer Hypnobirthing, but not Lamaze.  My sister in law I know did Hynobirthing and she spoke well of it, but I’ve never really had much luck with self-hypnosis, so I’ll put that on the back burner to think about while I investigate other options.

They have a prenatal childbirth class that from the description could be a crashing waste of time, or the most useful information ever.  “This five week class helps pregnant women and their partners make informed decisions about childbirth. Topics include information about relaxation breathing, realistic labor options, understanding the process of labor, and infant care.”  It’s recommended for the last trimester, so I have a ways before I have to worry about that.

In my mind, the definitive childbirth method is Lamaze.  I have a friend (sadly, not local) who is Lamaze certified, so I decide to go to their website. I went to http://www.lamaze.org to see what the lamaze class options in my area are.  I click on the provider information and get a search page where I can enter information.  I enter my zip code and come up with nothing.  I enter my area code (figuring that will give me a broader range) also nothing.  I try another entry point which tells me there are only Lamaze classes in 9 states, and mine isn’t one of them.  Well, I find that very hard to believe and eventually it turns out that those are hospital certified programs.  I go back to the original page and search again, on state only this time, and I come up with three pages of names and email address.

Names and email address.  I’m looking for class schedules, times, costs, something that will help me make an informed decision about where I should be going and what I should be doing.  Am I supposed to cold email every Lamaze provide in the towns with names I recognize as being within easy driving distance?  Do I send a mass mail to all of them at once or am I expected to personalize it?  No one has a website?  No one has a calendar?

I do a Google search on Lamaze classes in my state and get everything from yoga to cooking.  I do eventually find a link to another set of childbirth classes as another hospital near me, which doesn’t offer Lamaze, but does offer Hypnobirthing so I read the description:

This popular new course is designed for couples seeking a calm, peaceful and pain-free delivery of their baby. Hypnobirthing is a method and philosophy of gentle birthing that uses deep relaxation to reduce the fear and tension that can cause long labor and pain, replacing it with confidence, calm and comfort. In Hypnobirthing classes you will learn to work with your body as you become focused with preparing for an easier, safe and more comfortable birth through proper nutrition, good posture, fitness and an attitude of trust in the birthing process. With the Hypnobirthing techniques of self hypnosis and deep relaxation, you empower yourself with confidence that will allow you to experience the birth of your baby with relaxed expectation and joy. The course is taught by Certified Hypnobirthing instructors.

It also has times, dates, and cost.
I don’t know what a certified Hypnobirthing instructor is or who certifies the instructors, but it looks like a better class than the one offered by my hospital:

This class will teach expecting parents deep relaxation techniques that help in having a more calm and peaceful-and less stressful-birthing experience. These techniques have been shown to shorten labor and reduce fatigue.

No time, no dates, but the cost is listed and it’s 105$ more than the one at the other hospital.

They’re both roughly equidistant from me, about a 15 minute drive and they both include a number to call for more information, but none of these has answered my basic question.

What class should I be taking to help me prepare to have a baby?  And how do I find it?

Doogie is a 38 year old professional who has been struggling with infertility for 7 years.  During that time, she’s had many drugs, shots, transvaginal ultrasounds,  two miscarriages, and is now 9 weeks into what seems like a viable pregnancy.