Childbirth and Parenting Sessions

Babies bring much joy, love and wonder, but becoming a parent also means some big life changes and new challenges for couples to navigate.

This session includes:

• Realistic expectations of parenthood.
• Planting seeds that support coping and growing as individuals and as a couple.
• Equipping participants with knowledge and skills that support parents’ and babies’ mental, emotional and relationship wellbeing and whole family bonding.
• Providing awareness for both parents to external support resources.

This session is facilitated by an experienced midwife and/or social worker and is a 2 hour session run across two evenings from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This session is offered either as a face to face or virtually interactive session.

This session is ideally attended by all couples who are expecting a baby.

If this is your first baby this session is best attended from 28 weeks gestation. If you already have children you can attend this session anytime.

The Having Your Baby sessions are comprehensive labour, birth and parenting sessions that are run by a midwife and a physiotherapist and include a tour of the Maternity unit. The Becoming Us sessions complement this session by focusing on the transition into parenthood. Babies bring much joy, love and wonder, but becoming a parent also means some big life changes and new challenges for couples to navigate. This session helps give couples the tools to manage the challenges that come with parenthood.

This session is available as an evening session over seven weeks from 6:30pm to 8:30pm with a mixture of virtual and face to face sessions.

Or, as a weekend session over two Saturdays 9:30am to 3:30pm face to face and two Thursdays 6:30pm to 8:30pm via a virtual platform. 

The Having your Baby sessions include information on:

• Physiotherapy session
• Labour and birth
• Self help measures in labour
• Pain relief in labour 
• Preparations for other journeys in birth 
• Postnatal changes
• Early newborn care
• Breastfeeding
• Sleep and settling 
• Postnatal depression
• Community resources
• Tour of Maternity Unit

The Becoming Us sessions include information on:

• Realistic expectations of parenthood.
• Planting seeds that support coping and growing as individuals and as a couple.
• Equipping participants with knowledge and skills that support parents’ and babies’ mental, emotional and relationship wellbeing and whole family bonding.
• Providing awareness for both parents to external support resources.

Ideally this session should be commenced between 26-30 weeks gestation.

Active birth is a session run to support and help empower women achieve a normal birth using active birth techniques. This is a 3 hour session run by an experienced midwife in the evening from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

This session includes:

• The normal process of labour and birth
• Self help measures to cope with labour and birth
• Ways in which your birthing partner can support you
• Good positions and handy hints for various stages of labour
• Recognising the role of hormones in labour
• Techniques to stay calm and relaxed

Ideally this session should be attended from 28-34 weeks gestation.

The breastfeeding session is held to encourage and support mothers who wish to breastfeed their baby. This session can also be of great use to women who have had previous difficulties breastfeeding. This is a two and a half hour session run by a lactation consultant in the evening from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. This session is offered either as a face to face or virtually interactive session.

This session includes :

• The first breastfeed after birth
• Breast changes during the first few weeks
• The role of rooming in and baby-led feeding assisting in the establishment of breastfeeding
• How partners can support breastfeeding
• How to position you and your baby
• How to tell if your baby is getting enough milk
• How to overcome challenges

Ideally this session should be attended after 28 weeks gestation. 

When you first bring your newborn baby home from hospital, it is both an exciting and daunting time. Being prepared and confident in your ability to provide first aid for your child is an important skill to learn. This first aid information session is for families with newborns to children 8 years of age and is run by an experienced facilitator.

This session includes:

• CPR (hands on practice)
• Choking
• Burns
• Poisons
• Head Injury
• Common childhood illnesses including but not limited to fevers and febrile convulsions
• Breathing illnesses and allergies

This is a one-off 3 hour information session from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

'Just for Dads' is running on a weeknight evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This session is facilitated by an experienced Midwife.

This is your opportunity to ask questions and gain information in a safe environment with other expectant dads.

This session includes:

• What it means to be dad
• Dad's role in labour and birth
• Infant communication, bonding, caring for your baby
• Dad's role in supporting breastfeeding
• Changing relationships and roles

This one day session focuses on meeting your new baby and the first few days with your newborn running on the weekend 9:30am to 3:30pm. This session is facilitated by an experienced Midwife.

This session includes:

• Breastfeeding
• Early days with newborn baby
• Sleep and settling
• Newborn behaviour

This session is ideally attended by those who are doing 'Active Birth'.

Ideally this session is best attended from 28 - 36 weeks gestation.