Book your childbirth education classes with Cambridge Parents Centre today!
Our evening Childbirth Education Courses run for 6 weeks.
The venue for the class is the Parents Centre Rooms, which are located at 'Taylor Made Community Space' (former Cambridge Health and Community Centre), 22A Taylor Street, Cambridge. Entry is through the door at the
front of the building, closest to the street. Car parking is available roadside and at the rear of the building.
The duration of a weekday class is 2 hours 15 minutes, starting promptly at 6.45pm and aiming to finish by 9pm. Weekend classes run from 9am-3.30pm.
BOOK NOW FOR 2023 - please click on the link to book
Tuesdays - 17 January-21 February
Weekend (Saturdays) - 18 & 25 March
Wednesdays - 12 April-17 May
Weekend (Saturdays) 10 & 17 June
Weekend (Saturdays) 22 & 29 July
Wednesdays - 23 August-27 September
Weekend (Saturdays) 7 & 14 October
Wednesdays - 8 November-13 December
Class dates for 2024 coming soon
Day of the week may change depending on availability of educators
Classes may be changed to online zoom sessions if no local educator is available.
Courses are run by trained Childbirth Educators and based on the latest research. Content includes information about pregnancy, labour, birth and parenting in those early weeks.
We are really privileged to have funding from Waikato DHB to enable childbirth education classes in Cambridge to be run of no charge to everybody. Those classes are valued at $180.
It is critical that all of our participants be prepared to commit to attendance to all sessions for two reasons:
the first is that non-attendance means no funding received from the DHB to cover our fixed costs, and secondly, we have limited spaces available on each course so registration and then failure to attend means we are unable to offer your place to someone else with such short notice.
If people don’t attend, we will lose this funding and be unable to provide this service to other couples in the future.
If you are not able to attend our face-to-face classes, online classes are offered here
What you will learn at Antenatal Class
Baby’s development
- Developmental stages of the baby and the role of the placenta
- Risks & effects of drugs, alcohol and smoking to development & health of the baby
- Information on available smoking cessation
Prenatal care
- ‘Routine’ pregnancy tests and their role
- ‘Special’ pregnancy tests, why they may be offered & their significance
- Dental care in pregnancy
- Working with your Lead Maternity Carer (LMC)
- Covering all aspects of working with your LMC including chosen place for labour & birth, birth plans, and your rights as consumers
- Informed choice & consent
- Pregnancy complications – signs & symptoms to be aware of
- pregnancy discomforts
- Posture and back care
- Appropriate activities, sports & exercise throughout pregnancy
- Emotional, physical, relationship & lifestyle changes of pregnancy & parenting
Nutrition for pregnancy & breastfeeding
- The importance of good nutrition,
- Your increased nutritional needs
- How to achieve this throughout pregnancy & breastfeeding
Pelvic awareness, the pelvic
floor muscles & ‘optimal foetal positioning’
- Nifty design features of the pelvis & overview of the pelvic organs
- The pelvic floor muscles – what are they, their importance & how to look after them
- The importance of perineal massage & it’s usefulness for labour and birth
- ‘Optimal foetal positioning’ – what is it & how to encourage it?
The purpose of pain in labour & birth
– yes it has a purpose!
- The purpose of pain in labour
- The body’s amazing design features to combat pain
- Common sense strategies & non-medical pain relief options
- Medical pain relief – benefits, risks & options
The process of labour
- The journey of normal, physiological labour
- Signs of impending labour
- The three classic stages of labour
- Birthing patterns, behaviours and responses
- Unexpected outcomes or complications – when a journey detours
- Medical interventions explained – benefits, risks, alternatives
All things breastfeeding including
- Initiating breastfeeding - skin to skin contact following birth
- BFHI & 10 Steps to successful breastfeeding
- Benefits of breastfeeding to mother & baby
- Positioning of Mother & baby, the latch, demand & supply mechanism of breastfeeding
- Potential challenges, conflicting advice, local support & resources
Practical parenting & care of a newborn baby
- Realistic expectations
- Feeding, safe sleeping, crying, settling,
- Newborn communication – cues & signals
- Vaccinations, circumcision
- Newborn testing
- When to call for a doctor
- Equipment & baby paraphernalia
- Bathing, dressing & changing a baby
Postnatal care & support including
- Lochia, third day blues, ‘after pains’, demand feeding, managing interrupted sleep
- Contraception
- Parenting a baby with special needs
- Postnatal distress
- Importance of communication & establishing support networks
- The importance of support for acknowledging & working through unexpected experiences
- The importance of postnatal exercise & links to emotional and psychological wellbeing
Well child care
- Entitlement to & options in Well Child providers
- Hand over from LMC to Well Child provider (eg Plunket)
22a Taylor Street, Cambridge
E. cambridge@parentscentre.org.nz
If you're interested in joining the Cambridge Parents Centre committee, we'd love to have you, we always need more help.