This 4-week series meets on Thursdays from 6:00–7:30 PM and is designed to empower pregnant people and their support partners with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to navigate birth with joy and assurance. Through a blend of evidence-based information and practical techniques, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the physical and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum.
Key Objectives:
🌿 Confidence Building: Increase trust in your body's ability to birth, equipping you with the mindset to embrace the process with positivity and strength.
🌿 Body Awareness: Enhance awareness of the physiological changes your body undergoes throughout pregnancy, labor, and beyond, fostering a deeper connection to the natural progression of birth.
🌿 Practical Tools & Techniques: Learn breathing exercises, pain management strategies, and partner support techniques to prepare you for a joyful and empowered birthing experience.
Whether you are a first-time parent or seeking to enrich your previous birth experiences, this class offers a supportive and inclusive environment to prepare for a birth that is not only safe and healthy but also joyful and fulfilling.
Class Schedule & Topics:
📅 Thursdays | 6:00–7:30 PM
🔹 Week 1: Understanding Your Changing Body & The Birth Process
- Increase awareness of the pregnant body and stages of labor
- Special guest: Elizabeth Newton, RDN of Well-Fed Mamas, will discuss how to nourish your body for a smoother pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience
- Topics: Anatomy and key terms, prenatal nutrition, labor stages, building your support team
🔹 Week 2: Navigating Labor, Pain Management & Advocacy
- Deep dive into labor sensations, comfort techniques, and pain management strategies
- Discuss common interventions and how to advocate for your birth experience
- Understand inductions and explore alternatives
- Topics: Comfort techniques, medical interventions, self-advocacy
🔹 Week 3: Spinning Babies® Parent Class with Elizabeth Eldredge, RN, BSN, CCE
- Discuss the levels of the pelvis and how to make space for baby
- Learn labor positions, breathing techniques, and The Belly Mapping® Method
- Learn what happens during a cesarean birth, what to expect in the process, and how to advocate for a supportive and positive experience, whether planned or unplanned
- Topics: Baby positioning, movement and stretches for pregnancy and labor
🔹 Week 4: Newborn Care, Postpartum Planning & Birth Visioning
- Explore key decisions for your baby’s first moments after birth
- Build a clear vision for your birth and postpartum season
- Topics: Newborn care, birth plan integration, postpartum care, sibling & pet introductions, building your village
Join us for Joyful Birthing and step into your birth experience feeling prepared, supported, and empowered! ✨
Also check out other Workshops in Charlottesville.
