This series will help you feel informed, prepared, and confident as your big event approaches. You’ll learn about how labor begins, the process of labor, and physical and emotional coping strategies (breathing, relaxation, positioning), and you’ll get hands-on practice in comfort measures. You’ll learn how to write a birth plan, and you’ll be informed about medical options and procedures, including pain medications and cesarean birth. There’s plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Learn about nutrition, exercise, choosing a care provider and a birth team, and normal 3rd trimester changes & discomforts.

Define labor, how labor starts, true vs. false labor, stages of labor, timing contractions, when to call caregiver/go to the hospital, and what to bring.

Discuss the role of pain in labor and how to best cope, including breathing exercises, focusing, imagery, relaxation, massage, and the role of labor support person.

Learn the benefits, risks, and alternatives to common interventions such as pain medications, episiotomy, forceps/vacuum, induction, and cesarean section. Prepare a birth plan to define your priorities and be prepared for various complications.

Learn the essentials of parenting and newborn care from birth to 3 months. This class includes the basics of diapering, bathing, infant behavior, sleep patterns, recognizing illness, and comforting techniques. It's intended for expectant parents who have had very little experience caring for newborn babies.

Discuss the benefits of breastfeeding for both mom and baby, and prepare for breastfeeding success. Learn about positioning for proper latch, hold, establishing supply, common problems, and pumping, as well as connecting to local resources for help and support.

Car seats and strollers and carriers, oh my! This class offers an introduction to baby gear, from choosing the safest car seat to hands-on demonstration of the main types of carriers. We bring you the most up-to-date information to help you put together your registry.