People who took our online class had this to say:
Ottawa CEA is a fantastic organization. My husband and I have taken two classes through them and feel less anxious about welcoming our first child, and more prepared about what to expect both during labour and when we bring our baby home. The instructors who lead the classes (Erin and Brandi) were extreme knowledgeable, friendly and explained everything thoroughly.
Great class! Would definitely recommend it!
The classes offered by Ottawa CEA are great courses for first time parents. We took the prenatal classes and the Bringing Baby Home classes. My husband and I really enjoyed them. They were very useful to get up to date information specific to Ottawa. It helped us greatly in preparing to be parents. The classes stimulated a lot of discussion between us that I do not think we would have had if we did not take the classes. Erin and Tabitha are great instructors, we really enjoyed our time with them. Thank you!
Erin was absolutely fantastic! She was engaging, explained topics enthusiastically, answered all questions and overall was an excellent instructor. My husband and I are very grateful for all info we learned throughout this 2 day course.
Easy going, could speak up and ask questions without feeling judged.
We were a bit skeptical going in to the class as so many friends have said they didn't find prenatal classes useful. We found both days of the course to be interesting and useful. I would not hesitate to recommend CEA to a friend or family member. Both my husband and I feel a little more prepared for the big day!
It was easy to share questions verbally or in writing, or that you had the opportunity to ask them more privately, before or after the class via text with Julia. It was a nice option that made me feel more at ease.
We really appreciated the very frank, honest, non-judgemental explanations. It has helped us to separate the facts from the opinions.
Brandie was amazing, very knowledgeable, answered all our questions. Very engaging instructor and would recommend her to anyone taking the course.
The six week prenatal class was worth the investment of time and money. It allowed us the opportunity to not only meet other expectant couples, but to absorb the information between classes and then come back to ask questions the following week. Our instructor, Lilly, was very warm, reassuring and knowledgeable. We would recommend this course to others
This class prepared us extremely well for the birth of our wonderful daughter. We had planned on delivering at the Birth Centre but due to a fast labour had her at home. The information received during the session greatly helped and took away any worry I had. And Lilly was an absolutely fantastic teacher!
It really prepared us for the journey we are about to experience, we highly recommend everyone who is going to have their babies to take this prenatal sessions. Removes the fears and unknowns about childbirth. Being able to share your knowledge and experiences with the other new parents in the class was very helpful.
Thank you Lilly for an awesome prenatal class! We feel much better informed and ready for the birth experience. The information presented was evidence based and despite the transition to online, the class had a welcoming and safe atmosphere.
Bringing Baby Home is a great opportunity for new parents to help learn the basics, get answers to common questions, and connect with the local parenting community and resources.
Lilly is a very skilled educator. She lays out the course material in a way that is very approachable and spends an appropriate amount of time on each subject. More importantly, Lilly created a safe environment in the class where no one ever felt intimidated by asking a question, and used inclusive terms like "partner" instead of "dad" or "husband" and "chestfeeding" instead of "breastfeeding". I would recommend Lilly's class to everyone I know!
Julia was really informative and full of excitement, so it was indeed a wonderful series of class
We felt a lot better after attending this particular prenatal course. It was well worth the time and money as first time, soon-to-be parents. We had tried other prenatal courses and left feeling scared and non-confident.
Lilly was great at fostering a community environment through the screen! She was always available for questions and encouraged group atmosphere in an unprecedented new learning environment!
I liked the structure, and being muted at home meant my partner and I could talk about the information as we were learning it.
My husband and I had done very little reading prior to taking this class - as each and every prenatal book we started would frustrate us in some way (tone, type of information, etc.). This class was the perfect primer to labouring - a good variety of information and activity. While we recognize that the birth of our child may not go according to our birth plan, we feel confident that the knowledge we have gained will empower us to make the right decisions for us no matter the challenge.
Absolutely! Taking this class is one of the best decisions we've made as first-time parents-to-be, and we are so glad that we enrolled before making any major purchases or having our baby shower. We are bombarded with so many decisions regarding feeding, diapering, transportation and parenting, and this class was very effective at presenting some of these options to us in an easy to understand way, which has made us feel empowered to make consumer choices that will best suit our lifestyle. The course paid for itself within the first hour, when we were able to immediately rule out some of the purchases that we assumed were "must haves".
She was fantastic. I really appreciated her non judgmental approach. She provided information in a scientific manner, without inserting a personal bias.