Preparing for Parenthood Courses for All Parents

The day of your baby's birth can be a wonderful, significant, exciting and scary experience.   It  marks the gateway into your newly shaped family life.  The Preparing for Parenthood course includes both prenatal and postnatal topics - after all, birth usually takes less than a day, whereas you will be parenting your child for many years.  One of the course sessions is held after all the babies in the group are born, to give ongoing support and to tackle those baby sleeping, eating, activity questions as they become real.

The Preparing for Parenthood courses are designed to give you the information, resources and time to think and discuss about how to have the sort of birth and early parenting time that is right for you and your family.  It includes time to practice physical skills, such a relaxation, breathing and massage techniques for birth, and baby feeding and care skills as a parent.

Whilst the majority of the course takes place before the babies are born (usually over three sessions, covering a weekend and an evening), plus RSB sessions for the mother, we also include a session after the birth of all the babies in each group, to focus on postnatal and family topics when they are at their most relevant.  Mothers and babies also have a Mother and Baby Yoga session included.

Topics typically covered in the course include:

Normal process of birth, keeping it straightforward and positive for mothers, partners and babies

What to expect in the Swiss (and local French and German) maternity and postnatal systems,  including pain management techniques, different birth routes (eg caesarean)m, postnatal care and support

Informed decision making, understanding and navigating the way through different birth and postnatal pathways and effective communication with health professionals

Skills and resources for a mother and her supporters, including KGHypnobirthing and Spinning Babies techniques

Resources and skills for well supported breastfeeding and other forms of feeding in the family

Postnatal care for all the family, including baby and family needs and development in the early months

Resources and support for life as a new family

All classes are run in English and in association with the Basel Children's Trust

Cost 385CHF per family, 365CHF for members on the BCT.  As we wish good quality prenatal education and preparation to be accessible to everyone please contact me if cost is an issue, and we can discuss.

Some health insurance companies will reimburse some or all of the cost of the course, however as I am not a Swiss midwife (but I am a highly qualified childbirth educator), not all insurance companies will reimburse the course.  However, course participants have frequently commented on what a good and long lasting investment they found the course to be, as it has supported them through many years of parenting and in many cases through multiple births.