By Angie Mindus
Two local childbirth educators are teaming up to offer prenatal and childbirth preparation classes to women and their families in the coming weeks.
Beginning this Saturday, Jan. 25 with a prenatal-in-a-day course, Karen Irvine and Jordan Davis are offering the classes through Thompson Rivers University, Williams Lake Campus.
“Education is the key to navigating your childbirth experience in a positive way, and we want families here to have the best possible outcomes,” says Davis, whose training includes childbirth and breastfeeding education.
Irvine, herself a former maternity nurse and prenatal instructor, adds she is looking forward to sharing the most current, research-based information on the healthy, natural process of birth.
“We want families to be excited about the childbirth experience,” says Irvine.
The women are offering one-day, prenatal-in-a-day classes as well as a more in-depth childbirth preparation series, which takes place over four evening sessions.
The one-day sessions are available Jan. 25, March 24 and March 29.
The series is being offered twice; Feb. 12 to March 5 and again April 8 to 29.
Prenatal-in-a-day is a one-day workshop for expectant parents to get a general understanding of the process of healthy pregnancy and birth. The workshop will cover labour and delivery as well as teach breastfeeding basics.
The childbirth preparation series is a four-week evening series that will cover everything discussed in the prenatal-in-a-day course, but with more time for added information and class participation plus a virtual tour of the hospital and a visit from a family physician who will be available for questions.
Davis says prenatal classes not only educate and prepare families for a new baby, but also offer the added bonus of allowing expectant families to meet other families in the same stage of life.
“It’s so important to have that support from peers,” Davis says.
For more information on the courses available at TRU, check out the Live and Learn TRU Community U publication available now.