When Chary Martin and her husband discovered they were expecting, they started learning all they could.
"We just started reading. We started getting into books. I'm on Tiktok, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Google," commented the North Philadelphia resident.
But when Chary developed gestational diabetes, which she knew nothing about, she was relieved to have her Temple Health medical team.
And especially the childbirth class taught by Kathie Rieck, MSN, RN, C-EFM, and Pam Watson, MSN, C-EFM - veteran labor and delivery nurses and educators.
"It's very important to be prepared," says Pam.
"The scariest part of labor, especially for a first-time mom, is the fear of the unknown," Kathie adds.
The class covers childbirth from A to Z.
"The stages of labor, the signs of labor, how to differentiate true labor versus false labor," Kathie says, ticking off just a few of the topics. Pain control is another big topic, along with the tests and procedures done during labor.
"Within labor, there's a lot of decisions that have to be made. I think we want to empower our patients to make decisions for themselves," Pam notes.
That sets a mother's expectations and limits surprises, although, as Kathie says, the baby is still the boss.
"We might need to intervene very very quickly to make the boss happy," she says with a smile.
Kathie and Pam also cover what happens after birth, including breastfeeding and postpartum depression.
They update their teaching often, to include the latest scientific findings, and sometimes, correct misinformation.
Kathie says knowledge on epidurals is especially rife with outdated information and Old Wives' tales.
Chary saw a differing, even contradictory advice on social media about getting an epidural. For example, "You might want to wait later, or you might want to get it right away, If you don't get that epidural now, you might have to wait," she recalls.
Kathie set it straight, says Chary, "There are no time restriction! We have an anesthesiologist as their 24-7. As long as you're not crowning."
"Labor is often glamorized a lot, um, through TikTok specifically. You see moms bringing all these things into the hospital," Chary says with a laugh.
She was glad to have Kathie to keep it real. She says Kathie's decades of delivery experience was invaluable for preparing her to welcome baby Charlotte Rose just before Thanksgiving.
"That's not something I can find on TikTok or YouTube or Google," notes Chary.
Pam and Kathie say the best time for the class is between 24 and 32 weeks, so the information is fresh whenever delivery comes. But parents can take it more than once, even if they've had children before.