laugh and learn about childbirth

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-05
helpful facts but biased presentation - think twice if you know you'll need/want intervention in your birthplan
This is a DVD set that's full of good factual information that's then clouded by the instructor's biases and obvious corporate sponsorships.

The facts: she does a very nice job of presenting critical information that I'm glad I now know - such as the 3 phases of labor and the stages within each, simple breathing techniques that I won't be likely to forget in the moment, etc. Yes, she's a little to full of her own sense of humor but in my opinion that's easily overlooked when you consider that you're getting tons of good information in roughly 4 hours of material. And at least she tried to make the subject matter interesting rather than just dry facts.

Biases: she's obviously a very strong advocate for natural birth - no pain meds, no interventions. While she acknowledges that there are sometimes medical reasons that make interventions necessary and describes the interventions well, she does nothing to alleviate the viewers concerns about these procedures and in fact makes you feel pretty bad about "putting your baby through it" (not her exact words but definitely her attitude). The pattern for describing an epidural, and inducement, or another intervention goes something like: (a) here is how the procedure works (facts), (b) here's why it's bad for you, (c) here's why it's bad for your baby, (d) oh, and sometimes it's medically necessary, oh well. As someone who knows that she fits into the "medically necessary" category I didn't appreciate the judgment and lack of support. I went to my OB with a list of questions a mile long after watching the section on being induced and he countered quite a few of her "why it's bad for you and your baby" arguments as extreme cases based on his professional experience and knowledge - I think she's presenting worst case scenarios for these interventions as if they're the most likely outcome. I bought the dvds to increase my knowledge and decrease my anxiety about labor -- I know more than when I started but she definitely did not decrease my anxiety.

The corporate sponsorship: she's very obviously a shill for Viacord (a cord blood banking company). I briefly worked for one of the companies (not Viacord but a major competitor of theirs) and I can tell you she presents a very, very one sided argument for cord blood banking. She's not presenting facts, she's using the marketing techniques that all these firms use to convince you to buy this "insurance". For some people it may be a wise choice - especially those with a strong family history of diseases that cord stem cells have been proven to treat - but I did not expect to nor appreciate being marketed to in the guise of education, especially since I PAID for this dvd set.

All in all, if you can ignore the rest, there's a lot of good factual information here that's pretty well presented. But, if I had known how biased the instructor would be, I would have looked for a different dvd.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-28
The Good and The Bad
My wife was put on bed rest so the only option for any childbirth class was a dvd. I have read mixed reviews on this product and can attest that they all have validity to them. On the good side, the information is presented in an easy and helpful format, the presenter seems to know what she is talking about and the dvd offers 6 sections which are the same that are offered in a live class. The ability to watch each section, take notes, then go back and watch them again if you forget is great. The only downside is after section 3 the presenter gets a bit annoying with lame jokes. She simply is just trying too hard to get a laugh so I suggest watching a section every few days to avoid getting to the point where the preseter makes you want to throw the dvd in the garbage.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-23
Definitely worth getting
We chose to get this DVD prior to enrolling in any local class. I'm glad we did. I've never gone to a class on this information so won't really compare a class to the video.

This DVD was extremely informative. Yes, there are some antics and humor in the DVD that may not suit all tastes, but this is not a comedy DVD. The purpose of us buying this was to gain understanding of what's in store for our first childbirth, not to be entertained. If she didn't have some of the comedy and antics this would be a really boring dump of straight knowledge like a college course or something. I think she does a great job overall in the DVD mixing facts, concerns, choices, questions, and keeping us paying attention with some comedic examples and editorial.

I would recommend this to any of my friends/family. It's great to own because I know we will need to watch this again at least once. There's a lot of content for review.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-09
Worth watching---stuck on bedrest
I was unable to attend classes due to being put on bedrest at 22 weeks. To be quite honest, i was hesitant to purchase these due to some of the feedback on Sheri. I found the tapes and her to be delightful. This is a great resource. It is also great for couples who arent into crowds. All in all i feel prepared for labor and love the fact that i can watch these videos as many times as i want---as opposed to a one time class. Way to go Sheri :0)

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-06
Great Info!
This dvd gave me more information than my childbirth class at the hospital. She went over many things that we didn't think about asking during the class. I recommend this dvd to any expecting parent.

List Price: $9.95
Lowest Price: $2.85

New Items Remaining: 29

List Price: $34.49
Lowest Price: $12.87

New Items Remaining: 2

List Price: $599.00
Lowest Price: Too low to display

New Items Remaining: 27

List Price: $349.99
Lowest Price: Too low to display

New Items Remaining: 45

List Price: $39.99
Lowest Price: $25.54

New Items Remaining: 24