Our Classes

We are proud to offer

Pre Natal Classes

In - Person classes will resume in September 2023 for weekend sessions in Ottawa, Ontario. Virtual classes will continue for evening sessions for those across Canada.
We ask that participants keep their videos on during class for our online group classes.  Like an in-person class, this creates a sense of community and safety.   If you prefer not to be seen, we recommend a private session with one of our instructors

We suggest you take your prenatal classes between 20 weeks and 36 weeks. Be sure to register early in your pregnancy to ensure a place is reserved for you. Classes are offered in the following formats:
6 Weekday Evenings OR Full Weekend One Day Condensed
  • Your birth support team – The role of the Midwife, family Doctor, OB, Registered Nurse and Doula
  • Stages and Phases of labour
  • Comfort measures including relaxation and massage techniques
  • Breath awareness
  • All options for pain management
  • Making decisions and giving consent
  • Methods of induction
  • Interventions including IV’s, fetal heart monitors, instrumental deliveries, inductions, and cesarean sections
  • Post-birth procedures for babies
  • Post-birth recovery for women
  • Resources in Ottawa
  • Infant feeding
  • Your birth support team – The role of the Midwife, family Doctor, OB, Registered Nurse and Doula
  • Physiology of birth
  • Stages and Phases of labour
  • Comfort measures
  • All options for pain management
  • Interventions including inductions and cesarean sections
  • Infant feeding resources
Topics are presented in a variety of methods including videos, hands-on practice, small group discussion and relaxation exercises. Topics are presented in a lecture-like style to allow for the time required to cover the content in a shorter space of time.

Our one-day condensed classes are excellent for those who may not otherwise have time to take a prenatal class, or for expectant parents who work shift work. We cover the topics shown in the above table, which offers a comparison to our 6-week series and two-day weekend classes.  We focus on labour and birth, leaving you with reading resources for post-birth.

Cost of classes is $200 (CAD) (per couple) for the two-day class and $175 (CAD per couple) for the one-day class and includes telephone and email contact with your instructor free parking and air-conditioned rooms. 
*a couple is defined as a pregnant person and one support person (which can be a spouse, partner, friend or family member)

What materials are provided for class?  To make the class as interactive and hands-on as possible, we will share a series of links and information sheets five days before your class with your reminder email.  The internet has a wonderful amount of resources and we will link you to up-to-date resources on the net.  You do not need to print them off in advance.   We also strive to reduce environmental impacts by offering all resources in e-formats.

Refund Policy: When cancelling a prenatal class after it has been booked there is a $25 (CAD) administration fee. If the cancellation occurs less than 14 days before the class there is a 50% cancellation fee. If it is less than 7 days there is no refund.  Requests for date changes within 7 days of class will reflect a $75 fee.  Please remember this when booking classes and plan to finish your session by 35 weeks.

People who took our class had this to say:


We dearly want to support the health of expectant families.

Thank you so much! We learned a lot and feel much more prepared now for when baby arrives.

Bringing Baby Home – with Brandie Lekovic

We really enjoyed Erin's class! Her style of teaching was really engaging and a nice departure from presentation-heavy classes. We also loved the interactive parts to try on our own baby wearing items, learning to swaddle, and getting to know the carseat. Great class!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Erin and Lily are both very knowledgeable, resourceful, practical and pragmatic in all of their teaching and advice. We appreciated that their courses (Labour and Delivery and Bringing Home Baby) were offered through Zoom. We are thankful for their support before we welcome our baby.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Excellent instructor, could not have asked for better.

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

It was interactive and live so we could ask questions as it went on and get instant feedback.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

Fantastic - very engaging Clearly loves what she is doing and made the class fly by (even in a virtual setting). Felt comfortable asking questions & that we were getting very informed up to date information.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

I’ve taken two courses with OCEA, and both were chock-full of useful and practical information and tips. I like that the instructors were careful about discussing the evidence for various claims, and were very engaging and responsive to questions.

Pre Natal – with Misty Pratt

I enjoyed the fact that we were at home, it made my wife more comfortable to be able to use our own bathroom and have snacks on hand etc. It also allowed us to must ourselves during the discussion and make comments to each other privately when an issues or decision that we wanted to discuss came up.

Pre Natal – with Misty Pratt

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

Erin is incredible! The classes flew by as she kept us all engaged and excited throughout each part and truly made things fun and less overwhelming. She is up to date on all guidelines and laws and quick to answer any questions that arise!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

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

Erin was incredibly personable, knowledgable, responsive and a very fun teacher. She was able to keep our attention throughout the day with her lovely jokes, depth of her knowledge and experience and kind and welcoming personality. We learned a lot from the class and truly enjoyed ourselves.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen


 
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