Introduction:
Childbirth school is a signifi cant element of prenatal care. The aim of the study was the analysis of the profi le of antenatal courses attendees and the infl uence of the classes on the course of labour and infant’s state.

Material and Methods:
The study covered 90 women attending the Childbirth School at the Department of Obstetrics and Pathology of Pregnancy at the Medical University in Lublin. Their education, pro-health behaviour, labour course and mode of delivery, as well as newborns outcome, were analyzed. The control group were healthy women who did not attend prenatal classes. Multiparas were excluded from both groups.

Results:
Compared to the control group, the majority of mothers who attended childbirth school were urban inhabitants (p=0.001), they were older on average and better educated (p<0.00001), their life style was healthier, which was refl ected in the lower number of smokers in this group (p=0.005), and a signifi cantly lower body mass gain during pregnancy (p=0.04). In both groups, over 63% of the women delivered vaginally. In women who participated in prenatal classes, the fi rst stage of labour lasted 12 minutes less, and the second stage – 4 minutes longer, on average. However, the diff erences were not statistically signifi cant. In the group examined, there were fewer birth canal injuries and episiotomies, pain tolerance during the fi rst stage was better (p=0.01) while it was comparable in the second stage of labour. Women who attended antenatal classes had a similar risk of Cesarean section, compared to the control group, and failure to progress in labour was the most frequent indication for the Cesarean delivery. Newborns after vaginal delivery, in the fi rst minute after birth, signifi cantly more often obtained 10 scores in Apgar scale (p=0.03).