Our Classes

We are proud to offer

Pre Natal Classes

In - Person classes will resume in September 2023 for weekend sessions. Virtual classes will continue for evening sessions and weekend morning classes.
For our online group classes, we ask that participants keep their videos on during class.  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 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
  • 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 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 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 online class during COVID-19 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 liked how much this course included the partners I to the discussions and empowered them to be an integral part of my he birth process.

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

The course Bringing Baby Home was suggested to me, I had no idea there would be so many other options - what a great service to the National Capital Region!

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

It was nice to be at home and be able to adjust our computer, seating, etc. at our leisure.

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

Bringing Baby Home was a great class! Brandie's informative, non-judgemental teaching was perfect and set a great tone for us as first-time parents. She did a great job of creating a sense of community in the online class. Thank you!

Bringing Baby Home – with Brandie Lekovic

The virtual prenatal class my husband and I took through the OCEA was an excellent experience! Useful and insightful information was presented in a thoughtful and organised fashion and we were also given additional resources upon completion of the course. There was time to ask questions over the duration of the course and the instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and able to offer examples of the situations she was discussing. I would highly recommend this course to any first time parents.

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

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

Comfort of my own home :)

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

Lilly was fantastic and had a calm, informative and empowering approach to educating our class on prenatal subjects and what we could expect as new parents. She was very thorough and welcomed any questions we had, which created a very open and comfortable atmosphere for learning. Lily took the time to learn about each couple's care and birth plans, and was able to cater information to us in a very thoughtful way. My partner and I looked forward to our lessons and felt we benefited from them immensely, I would highly recommend this course to parents-to-be!

Pre Natal – with Lilly Bianchi

Absolutely ! As first time parents the Prenatal course helped us feel informed about the labour, birth and post-partum stages. My husband and I both feel we're better prepared to know what to expect, what is normal, what isn't and it prompted questions and discussions we wouldn't have otherwise thought to have ahead of labour. We both feel more empowered coming out of this course. As a soon-to-be first time mom I now feel like birth isn't something that has to happen to me but rather something I can take more ownership over. I can't recommend our facilitator, Brandie, enough as well. She is absolutely phenomenal!

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

OCEA’s prenatal course is a wonderful tool to help new parents-to-be feel empowered and prepared for labour and the immediate postpartum period. Michelle is an amazing instructor - she was able to pack so much useful information into 2 days in a way that was digestible and non-judgemental. My partner and I left the class feeling more prepared and ready for this adventure! We highly, highly recommend it!

Pre Natal – with Michelle Morra

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 prenatal course was well worth the cost. I feel confident in my labor options and the role of my support person during labor. From a combination of hands-on exercises to stories and diagrams, I feel like I know what to expect from labor and postpartum. This course eased much of my anxiety!

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic


 
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