Prenatal classes

Our prenatal classes provide you with the information you need to give birth confidently and make informed decisions about your care.

All of our prenatal classes include access for both you and your support person. We encourage your support person to attend prenatal classes with you so they know what to expect when you go into labour and how to be involved in the postpartum period.

We offer a variety of small in-person prenatal classes as well as the option to take some classes virtually. Our classes include access to a variety of different prenatal workshop topics, including a workshop designed specifically for pregnant people having a scheduled caesarean birth.

The in-person prenatal series is a three-week series held at St. Paul’s Hospital. Registration includes a tour of the maternity unit and birthing rooms. The content covered in this series includes:

Week 1: Labour and Birth

Week 2: Postpartum and Baby Care

Week 3: Breastfeeding

Our instructors are registered nurses and are familiar with the hospital protocols. Our curriculum and content have been developed and tailored in partnership with our expert clinicians at St. Paul’s Hospital. The content is tailored to expectant parents registered to deliver at St. Paul’s Hospital, however, the classes are open and available to anyone who is pregnant.

For prenatal workshops, we recommend that you register for classes starting around your 28th week of pregnancy and have them completed by your 36th week of pregnancy.

To help us cover our costs, we charge for our classes. If the cost of the course is a barrier for you and you are delivering at St. Paul’s Hospital, please speak to your pregnancy health care provider who may be able to refer you to the prenatal program at no cost.

It’s much easier to do it from home rather than being in a hurry to be on time somewhere, especially when you have a small kid at home and your husband needs to go to work. So it worked perfectly! My daughter was sleeping while I was doing the workshop.

Topics include:
- How to tell when you are in labour
- How to make your labour & delivery more comfortable
- Pain relief options
- What to expect during labour & delivery
- Role of labour support
This workshop is meant for families having a scheduled cesarean birth.

Topics include:
- Reasons for a scheduled caesarean
- Signs of early labour and what to do
- What to expect through the entire caesarean process: from pre-op to birth
- Postpartum care for caesarean birth
- Identify ways to increase the postpartum experience
- Getting off to a positive start with breastfeeding
Topics include:
- Know what to expect during the immediate postpartum period
- Understand routine newborn procedures
- Learn about current recommended safe sleep guidelines
- Recognize the different between baby blues and postpartum depression
- Identify ways to increase postpartum comfort for the new parent
Topics include:
- The anatomy of the human breast and breast/chest changes that occur during pregnancy that are important for breastfeeding
- Understand the benefits of exclusive breast/chest feeding
- Know how to set yourself up for an abundant milk supply, learn the technique of hand expression
- Learn how to collect and freeze colostrum at the end of your pregnancy. The in-person breastfeeding workshop includes access to a colostrum collection kit
- Understand baby’s cues for feeding and learn how to tell if your baby is getting enough milk
- Troubleshoot and identify potential breast/chest feeding concerns
- Know when and where to seek help
* Taught by an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)

Workshop registration

Our prenatal classes are offered in small group sessions. Prices ranges from $80 per virtual workshop to $240 for the complete in-person series.

To register, please visit Eventbrite for available sessions and times.

We also offer private one-on-one virtual sessions that can be booked around your schedule and tailored to your learning needs. Private workshops are $180. To book a private class email prenatalclasses@providencehealth.bc.ca

Virtual and In-Person Prenatal Workshops Flyer

It was less stressful for a pregnant couple rather than going to the hospital during this pandemic situation. Because it was one to one, I got to know the nurse better and ask so many more private questions, which I might not ask if that was a group session. Also, my husband could participate and engage better.

Prenatal classes

All of our prenatal classes include access for both you and your support person. We encourage your support person to attend prenatal classes with you so they know what to expect when you go into labour and how to be involved in the postpartum period.

Available workshops

Workshop registration