Taking birth classes online

There is no doubt that right now in the world many things are changing. One thing that isn’t changing, is that babies are going to keep arriving. And what a joyous thing that is! However, due to safety and isolation needs, face to face childbirth classes are now on hold.

Childbirth education can make a difference to your mental wellbeing

In some hospitals, women aren’t even allowed to take their partners to their antenatal check-ups, so sitting in a room with 10 other couples to learn about birth is a no-no. However, couples still need to learn all about birth and taking care of their babies and quality childbirth education can make such a difference to the mental wellbeing of parents to be. Classes help to dispel many of the myths surrounding labour and birth, which directly impact on the level of fear and anxiety with which a woman approaches childbirth.

Study proves the value in prenatal education

Unfortunately, there aren’t any large studies done in Australia on the impact of quality birth education, but in February 2016, a study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting showed that women who took a childbirth education class or had a birth plan were more likely to have a vaginal delivery than women who didn’t. Vaginal delivery is less invasive than a C-section, and it tends to lead to shorter hospital stays, lower infection rates, and quicker recovery. For this study, researchers at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles followed more than 14,000 women who gave birth over a 3-year period. While the exact reasons for these results are unclear, they do suggest that more preparation before childbirth may increase your odds of a vaginal delivery, proving once again there is great value in prenatal education.

There is no doubt that when a woman feels more prepared for birth and understands her options it can help reduce her anxiety and help to move towards a positive birth which can also help new parents adapt more easily to life with a newborn.

So if we know that childbirth education makes a difference, what do we do in this current landscape where nobody is allowed to leave their house! We take it online!

Your hospital may be offering free online birth classes, or alternatively, you will find reputable companies fulfilling the need to learn, to feel empowered and get all the partners on board with how to support their birthing women. Look for a company that offers comprehensive online birth education programs, endorsed by doctors and midwives and created by childbirth educators, designed to help couples learn all about birth from the comfort of their own home.

In these online birth classes, you will learn about the stages of labour, support, breathing, massage, positions, drugs, interventions, breastfeeding and more.

Technically you don’t have to go to antenatal classes but having the understanding that giving birth is one of the biggest events a woman will go through in her life, it makes sense to get some information and tools on board to help you have a positive experience or at least make informed choices around your care.

You can find About Births online program at www.aboutbirth.com.au