Why do an antenatal class?
It's not just about the birth! Preparing for your new life as a parent is fundamentally the most important thing you can do when expecting a baby. The main aim of antenatal classes are to guide you through the latter stages of pregnancy, prepare you for the birth, teach skills to help you cope in the first few days as a new parent and most importantly, to make new parent friends in your area. Attending antenatal classes will give you an opportunity to ask questions you don’t always remember at your regular pregnancy check-ups, you’ll meet other expecting parents, share experiences and create support networks.
Not just for mums! Antenatal classes are just as relevant for Dad. For some, Dad's play a vital role supporting Mums through pregnancy, birth and care with the baby. It can also be a positive bonding experience as a couple, and a bit of a laugh helping to take the fear out of birth.
Second time around! If you've had a difficult first birth experience you may wish to learn new birthing skills to boost your confidence. An antenatal class will empower you with the skills and knowledge to guide through your second labour with more ease and confidence.
Benefits of Antenatal Classes
-
Learn about pregnancy, labour, birth and caring for a newborn baby. You will have access to trained professionals to ask any questions you might have and share any concerns.
-
Boost your confidence, learn new skills and help you make informed decisions during your labour. Antenatal classes are designed to be fun and they can be a source of great support and confidence, especially for first time parents.
-
Meet and chat with other parents. Classes are usually designed to cater for groups of women who are at a similar stage of their pregnancy. Friends made at antenatal classes can often be a great source of support. Being a new parents can sometimes be an isolating experience, especially if their friends don’t have children. Many parents stay in touch and meet up after for that all important first cup of coffee outside of the house!
-
The ultimate aim of antenatal classes is to build up your confidence and prepare you for a positive birth experience. You can't plan or predict your baby's birth. It doesn't matter how many books you read or classes you attend. However, creating support networks as a new parent is probably the single most important thing to do. If an antennal class empowers you with a little bit of knowledge and skills to help you through your birth and brave your new world as a parent, then it can only be a positive thing.
Antenatal Classes Dublin
Cuidiú antenatal courses help parents work out how they would like to approach labour and birth, rather than telling them the ‘right’ way. The ideal time to take a course is between 26 to 38 weeks pregnant. Their courses focus on providing you with the evidence-based information and the skills you need to make decisions about your labour and birth. Classes are interactive and participative with lots of time for questions and for practising skills needed for labour and early babyhood.
✉︎ Via Website
The course covers everything from packing your bags, labour, pain relief, birthing, feeding to Caring for your baby at home. The Antenatal Course is run by mid-wife Siobhan Grehan. Siobhan who trained as a midwife in St James Hospital and has since worked at the Coombe hospital in Dublin and with public health nurses in the community as a nurse and subsequently as an antenatal educator for nearly 20 years.
More Info ⇨
☏ 01 271 5209
✉︎ Via website
Having a Baby.ie
Active Birth Workshops are designed to prepare women for labour and birth and provide top tips and practical advise for birth partners. Workshops, are hosted by Rachel (mum of 3 with 3 drug free Active Births), are ideal for Mums-to-be from 30 weeks onwards. Expect to leave the workshop feeling empowered and excited about the journey ahead.
More Info ⇨
Pregnancy Classes.ie
New Baby.ie is a group of dedicated, experienced midwife managers practising in the clinical, teaching and counselling areas of nursing, midwifery and paediatrics for over 20 years. Their area of expertise is Parent Education providing up to date professional antenatal classes with guidance and advice on pregnancy, breathing techniques, birth, baby care and feeding choices. Aspects of hypnobirthing is included in our class.
More Info ⇨
☏ 01 493 5232
New Baby.ie
My Bump My Birth My Baby We are two qualified and experienced practitioners. We provide Pregnancy Relax Stretch Breathe classes, Antenatal classes, GentleBirth workshops, Doula services, Baby Massage classes & Breastfeeding support.
More Info ⇨
For classes in Raheny, Kilbarrack and Marino:
086 8577140 + dublinantenatal@gmail.com
For classes in Swords, Ballinteer/Rathfarnham:
087 7790293 + mimhananmoran@gmail.com
My Bump My Birth My Baby
IMBA (Irish Multiple Birth Association) provide one day antenatal courses specifically for expectant parents of twins, triplets or more. It is led by two midwives and there are also parents of multiples present to share their experience. Ideally, participants should be more than 20 weeks into their pregnancy.
More Info ⇨
☏ 087 763 5825
✉︎ info@imba.ie
IMBA
Lizzie Reeves is a midwife working on the breastfeeding team in Holles Street, and a mum to Art and Fia. Lizzie is also a qualified lactation consultant (IBCLC, ALCI registered).
There are two different classes on offer. The first is a ‘Preparing to Breastfeed’ class. These classes are suitable for first time mums who want to breastfeed or mums who have had a baby before and maybe their breastfeeding journey didn’t go as well as they hoped.
The second class is ‘Caring for Baby’.
Having spent many years working on the postnatal ward Lizzie has seen how much help and support new parents need when baby arrives. It’s a steep learning curve. She has
also seen how scary it can be for new parents taking home their new baby with no clue what to do! In these classes Lizzie will teach all the skills new parents will need when they bring their baby home.
The Baby Pro
'The Help Me To Parent Antenatal & Newborn Care' course is designed for expectant parents. The course covers the last 3 months of pregnancy, labour and childbirth. It also covers the care of your newborn baby and care of your relationship after the arrival of your baby. The course is designed and delivered by a fully qualified midwife with over 10 years experience. Taking part in an antenatal class will prepare you and ease your fear of the unknown. You may be concerned about pain relief during birth,
breastfeeding, what to do when the baby arrives. Their antenatal classes cover all of these issues in a relaxed and friendly environment.
More Info ⇨
✉︎ Via website
Antenatal Class.ie
Independent Antenatal classes in Dublin City Centre. One-day workshops, evening workshops over 3 weeks, group and private workshops available. Strength Within offer positive birth preparation workshops for couples, and help you to get off to a great start with positive and mindful parenting tools. They teach hypnobirth and brain-training techniques, and equip parents with practical information and tools for success on one of the biggest days of their lives and into the early days of parenting. These GentleBirth courses cover all you need to physically, emotionally and psychologically prepare for your baby's birthday.
More Info ⇨
☏ 086 805 7761
Strength Within
1 Day Antenatal Class is a midwife run Sunday class in North Dublin. Comprehensive, convenient, and reassuring. A warmly inclusive day where you will leave feeling very well informed and reassured on all aspects of your labour, birthing, and infant care.
More Info ⇨
☏ 087 763 5825
✉︎ Via website
1 Day Antenatal Class
HypnoBirthing helps pregnant women and their partners to prepare for a calm positive Birth experience. It teaches couples to let go of misconceptions and negative expectations they have around birth. During the classes, HypnoBirthing mums learn to trust their body's ability to give birth to the baby, and birth partners learn to feel confident about their role in supporting the labouring woman.
More Info ⇨
☏ 083 446 441
Embrace Birth
This course is tailoured to meet the needs of parents who want to learn about the practical elements of pregnancy, child birth, breast feeding and parenting from a supportive, pragmatic and unbiased point of view. The lead up to chldbirth should be an exciting time and an opportunity for expectant parents to learn and share new experiences.
More Info ⇨
☏ 086 286 4640