Easy going, could speak up and ask questions without feeling judged.

This class strikes a great balance between super practical guidance and insights on day-to-day life with a new baby, and also up to date, thoroughly referenced, scientifically backed health information and parenting discourse.

The OCEA pre-natal classes are extremely valuable for first-time expecting parents. The information is shared in a very open, practical and fact-based manner without any judgement attached. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the advice and research that is out there, but the OCEA classes really manage to distill this information and present it in a clear and structured way. The instructors are very experienced and knowledgeable and are great inter-personally. We were particularly impressed by how they handled giving online classes during the pandemic. They also provide a lot of Ottawa-specific information on the amazing resources that are available here. This was particularly useful to us as newcomers. We have many friends who have given birth in other countries, and when telling them about our experience with OCEA they have all said that nothing like this was available to them and it would have been so useful. Overall, we would highly recommend taking these classes.

Erin was very personable and shared her expertise freely and in a non-threatening way. The way she laid out the information and gave us room to ask questions and determine the best route for our own choices was so appreciated. Her quick responses to questions on the chat was also most welcome.

The prenatal course was so thorough and really helped us feel ready for this next big step in our lives. The instructor was so knowledgeable, kind, supportive, and just an all-around amazing teacher. The course helped relieve our anxieties about the birthing process, and what to expect afterwards, we feel so much more confident now. Thank you!

Absolutely ! As first time parents the Prenatal course helped us feel informed about the labour, birth and post-partum stages. My husband and I both feel we're better prepared to know what to expect, what is normal, what isn't and it prompted questions and discussions we wouldn't have otherwise thought to have ahead of labour. We both feel more empowered coming out of this course. As a soon-to-be first time mom I now feel like birth isn't something that has to happen to me but rather something I can take more ownership over. I can't recommend our facilitator, Brandie, enough as well. She is absolutely phenomenal!

I'm really happy my partner and I took this course. I feel better prepared for going through labour and delivery, and feel I learned lots of practical tips that I had not come across in my work in the medical field. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone I knew expecting a baby in Ottawa!

This class was unbelievably helpful for navigating the crazy world of new / first borns. My husband and I feel more equipped for bringing our baby home and learned so much about the options and resources available to us. Highly recommend for first time parents!

Thanks for being willing to add in information about how to deal with our fur babies when we bring the baby home!

Julia was an amazing educator and I would highly recommend her and this course to new parents. It was incredibly helpful.

The course Bringing Baby Home was suggested to me, I had no idea there would be so many other options - what a great service to the National Capital Region!

This course was a great introduction in all things labour. Things are a bit different in Covid-19 times and our instructor made a point of keeping us up to date with what to expect while being very empathetic with the challenges this situation brings to labour and tricks to get through it positively.

Bring Baby Home presented important information that helped my husband and I feel more prepared for our baby's arrival. The class set expectations accordingly around "stuff" baby will need and cleared up any old wives tales that surrounded topics such as: breastfeeding, solids, food allergies and swaddling.

Excellent experience, good speed, well communicated. She made everyone feel very comfortable, able to contribute and take something away. She is a knowledgeable trainer who kept the training interesting and stimulating. Loved the ice cube exercise!

My wife and I recently participated in two Ottawa CEA programs - Prenatal/Labour and Bringing Baby Home. Both programs were taught by extremely knowledgeable instructors who were very efficient at passing on the information in a manner that was suitable for everyone in the class. I believe that their information was all up to date as often they were quoting from very recent and varied resources. I strongly recommend that expectant parents who may be uncertain of their own level of knowledge about baby care, consider these programs. We found them to be great value for the money. Trevor McLeod Ottawa

Sure! Bringing Baby Home is an information packed course that is based on current research and the latest information. It has topics from car seats, to sleeping to eating and any question you could possibly ask is answered thoroughly. All parents will benefit from this class.

My partner and I took a one-day condensed class and feel more prepared to recognize the stages of labour and techniques to cope when the time comes. I would suggest the course for anyone who wants to better understand the birthing process!

My partner and I were extremely pleased with the course we took. We learned a lot about childbirth and immediately afterwards, and feel now that we can make better informed decisions when it comes to the day of our child's birth. The information presented by our instructor was unbiased and often referred to the actual evidence in the literature, which we appreciated. We would highly recommend this course to anyone needing a pre-natal preparation class.

I HIGHLY recommend this course. Our instructor was so knowledgeable, and so understanding of the issues facing new parents. I feel so much more confident about our upcoming baby than before this weekend. Both my husband and I walked away from this weekend feeling more excited, and better prepared than before. The information was based on base practices/guidelines, but also incorporating real life parenting experiences. Truly, a really great course.

This course exceeded my expectations. I learned more in 14 hours then I have reading books over the last 5 months. The information (unlike a lot of books) is current, accurate with Canadian health standards and taught with a hands on, practical approach. EVERY new patent should take this class.

I am a medical doctor & took this course with my spouse who does not work in medicine at all. We both found our instructor knowledgeable & reassuring. We felt better prepared approaching the birth of our first child.

Julia was wonderful. She kept us engaged and created an environment where we felt comfortable asking questions and was very thro with each topic. Highly recommend:)