Pre Natal Classes

We suggest you take your prenatal classes between 20 weeks and 36 weeks. Be sure to register early in your pregnancy in order 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 Stages and Phases of labour All options for pain management Interventions including instrumental deliveries, 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 at all, or for those 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 the postpartum time.

Cost of classes is $175 (CAD) (per couple) for the two day class and $155 (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 could be a spouse, partner, friend or family member)

What materials are provided for class? In order to make the class as interactive and hands-on as possible, we will provide you with 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 make every effort to reduce paper use and keep ours and your photocopying costs down.

What is the difference between the 'regular' prenatal classes and those for Midwifery clients? We strive to have classes for everyone at all times and have as many locations running at any one time. You will notice a mix of clients in most classes. If you are a Midwifery client you are welcome to take any class on the schedule.

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. Request for date changes within 7 days of class will reflect a $75 fee. Please keep this in mind when booking classes and plan to be finished your session by 35 weeks.

Will Covid19 affect my class registration?

People who took our online class during COVID-19 had this to say:

Erin was absolutely amazing, very knowledgeable and kept the class interactive even in the online platform. Very helpful at answering questions and gave a lot of great tips.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen March 21, 2020

The time that she took at the end to have a group chat and ask us all to check in. I would highly recommend that she do this with classes in the future. Ask questions and have the group check in. It was really nice to get the feedback and feelings of others in the class.