For many expecting parents, attending prenatal classes is part of their journey to prepare for baby’s arrival. However, for most of these soon to be parents, beyond knowing it has something to do with having a baby, they don’t know much else about what to expect from these classes. Ultimately, this isn’t exactly something you need to know about, until you need to know about. So, we thought we would go straight to the source and get a little insight for our readers about what prenatal classes are all about.
We teamed up with one of our community partners for a little Q & A. Blissful Baby Planning provides parental education and preparation to expectant parents in the Okanagan, BC. Whether pregnant or adopting, Sheri and Tina help parents prepare for this most amazing journey. As both mothers themselves and Registered Nurses, these two are full of knowledge and experience that they love to share with all their students.
Q: What would you say is the greatest benefit of taking a prenatal class?
A: Empowering families and providing them with the most knowledge we feel is important in understanding labor and delivery and postpartum. We are proud to say that most parents have told us they feel more relaxed and prepared after taking our class.
Q: How do you feel prenatal classes empower expecting parents?
A: Education, information, and knowledge are all forms of empowerment. At Blissful Baby Planning, we feel that we provide our students with the full scope of labor, delivery, postpartum, breastfeeding, and newborn care to best prepare the expecting mum and their support person for their birth journey and those first two weeks with baby.
Q: What is the one thing that you always hope students in your classes will take away from the class?
A: That they approach labor and delivery with an open mind – that they feel knowledgeable and are able to make informed decisions about their care.
Q: Who takes your prenatal classes?
A: Typically, first time mums and their partners. We have had single mums and their mums come too, which is awesome to see – its nice to have the grandmas give some input about their experiences. We have also had adoptive mums attend our classes.
Q: So, partners or a support person should also attend the prenatal class?
A: Absolutely! The more support for mum, the better.
Q: What would you say is the biggest take away for the partner or support person attending the class?
A: How to support mum and what they can do at all stages in labor and delivery and postpartum. Feeling their presence and support is so important for the physical and emotional well-being of mum.
Q: Is there one thing that the students in your class are most surprised to learn?
A: How long it can take to push out a baby and the importance of pushing right! Also, the length of time it can take to go from a cheerio to 10cms 🙂
Q: Is there one thing that really surprises you when you are giving a class?
A: Nothing surprises us – we have heard it all 🙂 We assure all of our students that there is no such thing as a silly question.
Q: What would you say makes an expecting parent most nervous/anxious?
A: Fear of the unknown.
Q: Why did you start Blissful Baby Planning? What was your interest, motivation or desire to educate other parents?
A: We saw there was a need in our community for a more informed prenatal class. Our classes cover everything a parent needs to know in preparation for labor and delivery, postpartum, breastfeeding and baby care. We provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to prenatal classes.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching prenatal classes?
A: Sharing our knowledge and experiences. Between Sheri and I, we have over 30 years of labor and delivery and maternal/newborn care so we feel we have a lot to give and talk about.
Learn more about Blissful Baby Planning or post your comments/questions below.
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