People who took our online class had this to say:
Julia's manner and the information she provided was so reassuring. We feel prepared for the birth and so excited to meet our baby girl. It was a delight to be enrolled in her class.
Every parent should take this class to feel empowered and capable of making informed decisions on the care of their child-to-be. Our instructor stayed very current on industry trends and current stats and figures, and had a number of fantastic contacts and resources to pass along to us. My partner and I feel so much better about parenthood after taking this course. Highly recommend it!
I love the Bringing Home Baby class my husband and I attended. I would recommend it to any new or soon to be new parents. The information provided was very useful and balanced. I left feeling substantially more confidant than when I started! Thank you OCEA!
Brandie was great! She was non-judgemental, calm, and made it all feel informative but not scary. We weren't sure what to expect and felt that we had an instructor who valued healthy mom, healthy baby and involved partner more than anything else. That was really important to us.
Money well spent! We weren’t sure what we would walk away with, but would recommend to everyone we know looking for a prenatal class!
This class is a great service provided for Ottawans, and at a low cost, especially considering how much we learned. My partner and I feel more comfortable and empowered knowing the stages of labour, ways we can make me more comfortable during labour, and, even though we're planning an outside of hospital birth, what to expect if we have to go to a hospital.
The Bringing Baby Home course was incredibly helpful in preparing my partner and I for our exciting new transition to parenting. The course material and instructor were exceptional. I would definitely recommend this course to all new parents!
I would highly recommend the Bringing Baby Home Class to any new parent, regardless of how much experience they already have with babies and children. Our instructor, Brandie, provided a thorough, clear, objective overview of what a new parent needs to know in the first year. She had great, non-judgemental advice and made the job of being a new parent seem far less overwhelming.
Fantastic course for new to-be parents. The course offered essential, practical, and evidence-based information in an open and inclusive manner.
Again thanks for all the work you've done to make the class accessible during this time and to update all the resources.
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
Julia was wonderful! She did a great job of making the information engaging and easily accessible for first time parents. She was really encouraging and inspiring!
Julia was great! She kept things light, down-to-earth, and didn't sugar coat things. We all tend to have ideas about what childbirth is like based on tv, movies and old-wives tales, but she was great at dispelling anything that may have mislead us in the past. Her knowledge and experience in the area of childbirth was incredibly helpful.
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!
We took the Bringing Baby Home course. The course went over so many hands on and practical tips to help prepare us for daily life with a newborn and beyond. In addition, there were a lot of resources shared (including Ottawa based resources for new parents). We’re so glad we took the course. Highly recommend for any first time parents!
My partner and I took the Pre Natal Class with OCEA. The class was hosted on Zoom, since the COVID-19 pandemic meant we had to have a virtual class. Our teacher, Julia, really made this class top-notch. We learned about all our different birthing options in Ottawa and what to expect from each, including any adjustments resulting from the pandemic. It was comforting to learn the current standard of care we can expect in Ottawa, and how this matches the most recent scientific information about birthing. The local information is really what makes this class worthwhile compared to reading a general pre-natal book. We left the class feeling informed and empowered in our choice of care and our choice of birthing place.
Michelle is an excellent instructor. Her presentations and commentary were useful and very insightful for first time parents. I appreciated that she took the time to answer all questions that came up during class and handled difficult or more contentious topics with grace and nuance that respects that some solutions will have to be tailored to the baby, mother or family preferences. She also provided us with a wealth of resources that have been useful. My husband and myself both feel better-prepared for birth and the postpartum period thanks to this class.
The information taught in the "Bringing Baby Home" workshop exceeded my expectations and I would recommend it to all first-time parents. The education really helped ease some of my unnecessary anxieties.
Erin is a fabulous teacher! Great personality, very approachable, very non-judgemental. She is also super knowledgable. Would highly recommend her and would love to hire her as a Doula if they are allowed to work again when we give deliver.
We really appreciated Julia's approach. She was objective, knowledgable and funny! I appreciated her non-judgemental but also no-nonsense attitude very much:)
It was useful to understand the real benefit of breastfeeding compared to formula, as opposed to all the judgemental information that is out there.
Brandie sent us SO many links and provided us with a lot of different reading materials... a dream for someone like me who loves information
