Childbirth Class

Instructors:  Britt Sando, CD, ICBLC, Rebecca Stein, LCCE & Donna Scales

About the Childbirth Class

Our Childbirth Classes at the Midwives of New Jersey provide a solid foundation for expectant women and their partners by focusing on normal birth and concrete, holistic strategies for managing discomfort, pain, and stress. Collaborative care, birth planning, common interventions and when they are appropriate, and newborn procedures will all be discussed, but the emphasis of our class is on the normal, healthy physical, emotional, and hormonal stages of labor and birth. Stories of real women and men and the ways in which they have experienced birth are an important part of our classes, and help couples feel empowered by what is to come.

The six-week series includes four weeks of childbirth education, a week of comprehensive breastfeeding instruction, and a week of newborn care. If you are a patient with the Midwives of New Jersey, our postpartum MotherCare class is included as a continuation of our holistic, mind-body model (available to non-patients for an additional fee.) The comprehensiveness of our classes is unique; an approach which looks at pregnancy, labor, birth, and the first few months as a continuum between mother and baby, one that can be supported by an involved and knowledgeable partner.  Approach your upcoming birth without fear, armed with the information and confidence to make good choices, surrender to labor, and get off on the right foot with breastfeeding and caring for your newborn baby.

Who Should Attend Our Childbirth Class?

If this is your first baby, its been a long time since you’ve had a baby, or this is your first time trying for a natural birth, waterbirth or VBAC, our classes will provide the information, confidence, and tools that you need approach your birth with confidence, excitement, and power. Your partner, too, will feel empowered in the crucial role of labor support- equipped to help the laboring mother calmly, lovingly, and with confidence.

Condensed Childbirth Class

We also offer a condensed childbirth class taught by Rebecca Stein at the Hoboken Business Center. The condensed class meets two Sundays in a row for three hours.

Childbirth Refresher Class

During the three hour childbirth refresher class, you’ll have the opportunity to “get your head in the game” for your upcoming birth and breastfeeding journey. We will discuss pregnancy comfort measures that experienced moms need desperately. Was pregnancy this hard the first time? Often caring for our families overshadows the self-care that we so badly need. This includes quick relaxation techniques that fit easily into everyday life, and simple techniques to ensure that baby is in a good position for birth (and that may help your aching back).

We will discuss ways to manage the intensity of labor and birth, emphasizing simple, intuitive comfort measures and relaxation. We’ll talk about when to go to the hospital, the stages of labor and birth, waterbirth, and VBAC (if applicable). Its also important to think about the postpartum period, when care of mom and baby makes a “fourth trimester” plan crucial to a family’s adjustment. Parents will have the opportunity to talk about past birth and breastfeeding experiences, and to discuss resources and strategies for the future.

If you remember what the inside of your diaper bag looked like, you know that preparation is everything. Each birth and each baby is a once in a lifetime experience, and no two are the same. Get ready for the newest chapter of your family mindfully, with love, and a hefty sprinkle of honest talk and humor.

Contact Information

For more information or to register email [email protected] or call (908) 509-1801