Every pregnant woman and her family want the best for their growing baby. What you do now can affect your baby’s lifetime health. Learn how to give your baby a great start to a healthy life.
Early Pregnancy
This free, interactive class will get you thinking about the changes pregnancy brings to your body, relationships, and lifestyle. Learn how to make sense of all the information you get from the internet, books, friends, family, and the nice lady on the bus. Come early in your pregnancy to give your baby the best start.
Free Class
Healthy Eating for Pregnancy
Looking for nutrition information? Wanting to know how your nutrition needs change during pregnancy? What foods are safe to eat while you are pregnant? Join a Registered Dietitian and learn more about nutrition during pregnancy, including tips to help you eat well and stay healthy. Pregnant women at any stage of their pregnancy can attend. Your spouse, partner or a support person is also welcome to attend with you
Free Class
Relax for Pregnancy and Labour
This session will explore a variety of relaxation and coping techniques that will give you practical ways to get in touch with your body, release tension, and handle changes in positive ways. This session will also give you more skills and confidence for labour.
$40
Pregnancy Massage for Couples
This interactive workshop teaches both partners massage techniques for pregnancy, labour, and general relaxation.
$40
Baby Healthy & Safety
In these interactive hands on classes you will learn about common illness and keeping your baby healthy, explore ways of preventing home injuries, car seat use and be introduced to basic first aid and infant CPR. Take before or after having your baby (babies are welcome in class). Open to extended family members or caregivers. This is not a certification class.
$75
The most comprehensive prenatal and postnatal experience. Classes run for 10 consecutive weeks, beginning about 6 to 7 weeks before your due date and continuing beyond birth. A “birth-day” celebration is held on the last class.
Prenatal Topics: Week 1 to 5:
- Preparing for labour and birth, signs of labour, labour stages, breathing, and relaxation, positioning, decision-making, medical procedures and breastfeeding.
Postpartum Topics: Week 6 to 10:
- Baby care, illness and safety, adjusting to parenthood, and comforting your baby.
Choose your Birth and Babies class according to your due date.
Ideally, your baby is born between weeks five and seven of the class, then you and baby come back to class. If you select a class that begins too early, or too late, you will not get the full benefit from the classes and full participation.
Your first step is to create a log-in /account with your due date. By doing so, you will be offered the best Birth and Babies class to match your due date. If there is more than one class available at that time, select the most convenient location.
$225
For more information and descriptions on the various classes available click on the class brochure at the top of this page.
A variety of interactive labour preparation classes held one evening a week for six weeks or on four Saturdays.
Topics include signs and stages of labour, when to go to the hospital, breathing and relaxation, decision-making, medical procedures, breastfeeding, baby care, and more!
Six week series $145
Four week series $145
Register Now for Six Week Series (Weeknight)
Register Now for Four Week Series (Saturdays)
Register Now for Classes Outside of Calgary
Airdrie, Banff, Canmore, Chestermere, Cochrane, High River, Okotoks, Strathmore
Additional Childbirth Essentials Classes
- Spanish and Mandarin classes available, please call 403-955-1450 for more information
For more information and descriptions on the various classes available click on the class brochure at the top of this page.
What’s New for Baby Number Two
This Saturday one-session refresher class, is for parents expecting their second (or third) baby. In this class you will build on your knowledge, skills and experience. Topics include reflection on your previous experience, labour and birth comfort and coping strategies, medications and interventions and local information and resources.
$75
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
This class is for parents expecting the second (or third) baby who had their last baby by cesarean. The topics covered build on your knowledge, skills, experience, and needs. It includes:
- Examining risks and benefits of a vaginal birth after cesarean
- Understanding common interventions used for VBAC deliveries, including pain management options
- Viewing a low intervention vaginal birth to better understand the labour process
- Discussing options and advocacy for subsequent Cesarean birth if deemed necessary for medical reasons
- Exploring how to work with your health care team to achieve your goals around labour and birth
- Discussing strategies for a successful trial of labour
$75
