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:

Given the continued need to physically distance, the size of our room rentals and the evolving state of our global pandemic, OCEA will continue to offer all classes online throughout 2022.
We dearly want to support the health of expectant families.

I could not speak more highly of Brandie! She is an absolutely phenomenal instructor - knowledgeable, personable, well-spoken, organized - I could go on! She used props to help illustrate concepts, answered a wide variety of questions, provided resources, and engaged the group (not easy over Zoom). She also stayed online as long as needed after each session to answer any additional questions that arose. Taking this course alleviated my fears about childbirth and increased my confidence. I would highly recommend her to anyone!

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

My partner and I took the Bringing Baby Home course through the Ottawa CEA, taught by Erin Shaheen. Erin is very knowledge and took the time to answer any all questions the class had. All the topics were thoroughly presented and never felt rushed. She even provided lots of links, resources as well as information on local support services. We took this course about three months before the baby's due date, and we are so thankful that we did. After taking this course, we felt more confident about our decision making regarding feeding, sleeping, diapering and what items to purchase We look forward to taking more classes with Ottawa CEA!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Again thanks for all the work you've done to make the class accessible during this time and to update all the resources.

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

We thought Lilly was wonderful!! She kept the course engaging and shared a lot of useful information. She was also funny!! We would highly recommend her course to friends.

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

Great class despite changed format

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

The Prenatal full weekend session was very valuable to us both. We went in a little concerned about labour and birthing, but came out with some many amazing advices and tips, and also full of knowledge that it helped us be more relax about it all. Highly recommend!!

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

This was an excellent course and Erin was wonderful. She answered questions with clarity, had a wealth of knowledge and experience, gave relevant examples, and was non-judgmental and open. I already recommended this class to another expecting family because I do not know how we would have gained this knowledge without it. The science and evidence base at the center of the class was really refreshing and useful because the wealth of information online is generally confusing and contradictory. Erin cleared up so much of that confusion for us. Thank you!!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

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.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Lilly is an amazing educator! I was so anxious before taking this course but looked forward to each class as I learned so much and it answered questions I didn't even know I had. Lilly is so knowledgeable and kind and unbiased and has a nice sense of humour too! It was a pleasure to learn from her each week. Thanks Lilly!

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

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

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.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

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

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 & Toddler 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

CPR classes are Level C certification level. This life skills class is excellent for family and friends who are interested in learning all aspects of infant, child and adult CPR. Class training is approximately 2 1/2 hours and ... CPR Schedule

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OCEA workshops

Join OCEA for workshops on practical topics that include Building a Communication Toolkit, Creating a Family Social Media Strategy and more! Each participant will leave the workshop with a practical checklist of tools that will help their family achieve their workshop goals. Full list of our specialty workshops

Tutoring

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Private Tutoring

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 Tutoring Schedule

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NICU Doula

Pregnancy and birth are almost always joyous times. However, sometimes we get news we might not have prepared for that changes our expectations and plans, and we find ourselves preparing for the arrival of our newborn in a different way than we planned. ... NICU Doula

OCEA Social