An honest exploration of the ups and downs of childbirth, this course provides essential research-based, practical information to help soon-to-be parents prepare for one of the most memorable experiences in life: the birth of a child.
In hopes of shifting nervous anticipation of the unknowns of labor and birth to mindful readiness, we will discuss relevant topics to help you build confidence and give you and your partner time to practice skills to help you cope with the pain of childbirth. We will explore practical information through thought-provoking dialogues; have a frank discussion of pain in labor and how to proactively cope with it; directly explore some of the “what-if’s,” possible medical interventions, and proactive techniques to reduce the potential of needing them.
Each class includes components of relaxation and labor support skills and practices to work with -and through- the rhythm of labor. Our aim is for you and your partner to finish the series feeling more confident, prepared (despite there being ‘unknowns’), and excited to meet your baby when he or she arrives!
Key topics of this series are:
- The process of “normal” labor and birth — plus the signs that you’re getting close to starting labor
- Pain in labor and how to proactively manage it
- Practices to support a more relaxed labor and coping skills to relieve stress and anxiety
- Positioning to facilitate the normal progress of labor and birth
- How to minimize the chance of back labor or actively cope with it
- Massage and touch to ease the pain of labor
- Self-care for the birth partner — it’s a big job caring for a woman in labor!
- Practical information for birth partners to help them understand some do’s and don’ts of supporting a woman in labor
- Skills to communicate effectively with your birth partner and healthcare team
- How to proactively work to minimize or work through common challenges in labor
- Understanding some key people potentially supporting the birth and their roles: OBs, Midwives, Doulas, Anesthesiologists, and Nurses. (Medical personnel for those planning hospital births or needing to transfer to the hospital)
- Guidance to make informed decisions about pain medications, compassionate use of epidurals, and medical interventions, including cesarean birth
- And an overview of the first few days postpartum and considerations like having visitors, sleep, and considerations for a woman’s recovery from birth.
Getting breastfeeding off to a good start will be covered in your Complementary Breastfeeding 101 class; Life with a Newborn and understanding Your Newborn is covered in our Living on Baby Time class (which participants have a 15% discount on).
*On occasion, due to instructor illness or urgent unforeseen reasons, we may need to postpone a scheduled class. Make up classes may be required and we have preemptively scheduled them. For this Childbirth Preparation Series, the make up is scheduled for the Friday evening (6:30 – 9:00pm) following your last planned class. Even though we rarely need to utilize this make-up, we find that it is very helpful in the event that a teacher truly is ill or has an emergency. Please be sure that you have this date “penciled in” just in case it is needed.
