Welcome to Ottawa Childbirth Education Association

Let's talk birth and babies!

Freedom of choice Based on a Knowledge of Alternatives

Practical tools to prepare for birth

Hands on parenting class for expectant parents

Bringing baby home

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For over 40 years, trusted by Ottawa's parents-to-be.

People who took our online class had this to say:

Julia is an excellent educator. Doing online classes on this topic must be challenging but we found it to be a very engaging, interesting and practical class. Julia's experience and vast knowledge is very clear. We really enjoyed Julia's personality and sense of humour which made the class fun to attend. She is also very good at providing a lot of information in a clear and structured manner and at ensuring that the key points are highlighted and memorable.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

She was very engaging and passionate about the information she was sharing. I enjoyed her teaching style.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

I actually learned about the Ottawa CEA through a friend. I would definitely recommend the Bringing Baby Home course to all first-time parents. It really helps to demystify a lot of things surrounding baby care. I feel much more prepared to welcome baby home after taking this course!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Ottawa CEA's classes are consistently informative and well thought-out. As a first time parent, I feel much more confident and empowered after taking classes with them.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Everyone should take advantage of the courses offered by OCEA! What a great service for new, local parents.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Erin was an outstanding educator. You can tell she really enjoys what she does. She has a huge wealth of knowledge and wisdom and is very skilled at sharing it and making it easy to understand. The use of props, play-alongs/demos , videos, images, slides, breakout groups, etc., were done. Online courses are challenging, but Erin made it engaging and the two days went by much better — and were much for fun— than I was expecting!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Yes. Julia was a great teacher! We appreciated her forthright and balanced approach to teaching. We loved the frank way she handled all questions and concerns. She created a judgement free environment - which is exactly what you want as first-time parents.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

My partner and I were both really happy with how easy Zoom was to use. Brandie made it feel like we were really in class!

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

Discussions and candid disclosure of information about various topics

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

This class was so useful and well thought out! As first time parents, we feel so much more confident now about the practical side of things. Highly recommend taking this class before creating a registry to feel less overwhelmed!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Julia was really informative and full of excitement, so it was indeed a wonderful series of class

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

The Bringing Home Baby course offered by OCEA was worth every penny. My husband and I were thoroughly impressed with the educator’s level of knowledge and experience. The class covers a lot of material but somehow flies by! 10/10 would recommend!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

We would highly recommend the OCEA's Bringing Home Baby class to any expecting parents. Our instructor was extremely knowledgeable and was very generous with sharing her time and vast experience. This was incredibly useful in helping us navigate the overwhelming amount of information available and left us with a great overview of the most important points of caring for a new baby as well as a long list of quality resources for more detailed information when we need it. Thank you so much Erin!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

She was fantastic ! Made the class fun to attend !

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Brandie did an excellent job at teaching the course via zoom. She was engaging, offered great tips and information.

Bringing Baby Home – with Brandie Lekovic

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.

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

Our prenatal class was an amazing experience! Brandie made us feel comfortable and created a safe, engaging learning environment. Her great energy and use of visuals made everything easy to understand. Thanks to this class, we are leaving feeling reassured, confident, and ready for our baby’s arrival. We truly appreciate the thoughtful approach and highly recommend this class to any expecting parents!

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

Erin was an amazing educator. She had such an amazing personality! Her presentation was very captivating. She was confident and knew what she was talking about. I really appreciated how she shared both side or opinion (e.g. sleep training vs not sleep training) in a way that was i formation but still allowed us to make our own decision. She was also great and know previous guideline and rational for why they change. Loved the rational. She also did such a great job at making the class interactive through open ended questions, chat box. Loved how she would use our names when we would contribute in the group. Made it that much more personable. For topics like feeding which might be more personal, she did a great job at offering for people to private message her. Absolutely amazing instructor.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Comfort of my own home :)

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

Brandie was amazing, very knowledgeable, answered all our questions. Very engaging instructor and would recommend her to anyone taking the course.

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

Very informative, encouraging, and well worth the time and money. The educator was wonderful and I trusted her experience and knowledge. My partner and I feel much more confident going into our own upcoming birth and I would recommend this course to all expecting parents.

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

We both LOVED Julia's approach to teaching. She provided us with so much useful information and supported all areas of pregnancy. It was nice that she explained the pro's and con's of each topic without making one seem better than another or making us feel like we made a bad choice going the route we've chosen.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

Before baby gets here

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Pre Natal Classes

OCEA's prenatal class will give you all the practical tools to prepare you for your birth whether at home, hospital or birth centre. Our small interactive group classes include the following information presented in small group formats ... Pre Natal Classes Schedule

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Bringing Baby Home

Our Bringing Baby Home class is a hands on parenting class for expectant parents that covers normal newborn behaviour, diapering decisions, bathing strategies, bonding and attachment and more! ... Bringing Baby Home Schedule

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Comfort Measures

This hands on class includes coping strategies to help you feel confident understanding the Pain - Tension - Fear cycle. How to interrupt this cycle using a variety of positions, massage and breathing techniques to help you at each step of labour and birth ... Comfort Measures Schedule

With baby

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Infant sleep class

Are you an exhausted parent that has tried everything and cannot get your baby to sleep? Do you want to find a solution that is not crying it out? We will be creating a space for parents to follow their instincts when it comes to their new baby... Infant sleep class.

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Infant Massage

Learn the health-giving properties of Infant Massage: growth and motor skill development, blood and lymph circulation, immune system stimulation, building bones, helping with gas and colic, aid with deeper and longer sleep, emotional and physical bonding time ... Infant Massage Schedule

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Baby at the Table

Baby at the Table – a baby foodie class for the first year. Thinking about introducing solids? Not sure when or where to start? Purées or Baby Led Weaning? Baby is eating solids and you want to connect with others, diversify recipes, or create mealtime routines? ... Baby at the Table

Specialty

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It Takes a Village

About to be a Grandparent? Or maybe an Aunt, Uncle or another "villager"? This class is just for you! Sure, babies will always be babies, but parenting has so many new dimensions these days. Let us get you up to date on newborn development, sleep, tummy time, infant feeding, car seats, and more. We also explore how to be helpful and supportive while keeping your family relationships happy and boundaries healthy. It Takes a Village

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CPR

Our virtual CPR classes focuses on infant choking, signs of readiness for starting solids, babyled weaning and baby proofing strategies. This life skills class is excellent for family and friends who are interested in learning all aspects of infant, child and adult CPR ... CPR Schedule

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Baby Steps - Parenting Group

Join us for the new OCEA parent group, BABY STEPS! Come and discuss life with your newborn. This group is geared to families with babies from 0-6months, covering topics including family adjustments, creating new family traditions, normal sleep patterns, and Parenting Group Schedule

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Premiers Pas d’Ottawa

Êtes-vous francophone avec un nouveau bébé? Vous aimeriez rencontrer d'autres familles francos? On offre un groupe parent-bébé les mercredis matins au centre communautaire Richelieu. Ce groupe est GRATUIT grace à une subvention de Health Nexus Premiers Pas d’Ottawa

Private Classes

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Private Classes

OCEA provides private tutoring for individuals and couples unable to commit to an evening series or weekend class. Take a session on your own or with friends and we will meet your scheduling needs ... Private class Schedule

OCEA Social