Midwives are under increasing pressure when it comes to delivering antenatal classes to help women understand what to expect in pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenthood.
Budget and time pressures are making it difficult to deliver good antenatal education to all parents-to-be. In some areas there is no longer any NHS provision of antenatal classes, leaving mums-to-be to find out for themselves or pay for expensive private antenatal classes (the NCT course costs around £150).
However, thanks to two midwives with a passion for good antenatal education, and a mum who knows the difference it makes to labour, women everywhere can now access quality antenatal classes delivered by qualified midwives at an affordable price.
Antenatal Online (www.antenatalonline.co.uk) has launched this month and features a variety of online videos which feature subjects including labour, birth, pain relief, relaxation, feeding and bathing. These can be watched over and over again and can be supplemented with one-to-one support from a midwife, the chance to chat online with other parents-to-be and a weekly midwife web chat.
Antenatal Online founder Louise Morrison was inspired to launch the service after finding birth a positive experience when she had daughter Evie, three. Louise, and the midwives she is working with, believe birth and those first few weeks with a newborn are easier if parents know what to expect and have expert help and guidance.
Midwife Jo Killingley says: “Many areas don’t run antenatal classes anymore and those which do are limited by funds and time, meaning the availability and quality of antenatal advice and support on offer varies. Antenatal Online provides affordable advice and support and will make a positive difference to the experience of labour, birth and early parenting.”
Louise, who lives in Maidstone, Kent said: “The beauty of Antenatal Online is that parents-to-be can do the workshops at a time to suit them, in the comfort of their own home. They can watch them together, or apart and, crucially, as many times as they want.
“They can get support from midwives online and over the telephone and chat with other parents-to-be, making friends along the way.”
Parents can access all 11 pregnancy and birth classes for just £55.
Louise said: “Becoming a parent should be a special and exciting time. By learning about birth and those early days and weeks of parenting, mums and dads can prepare themselves and make the whole experience less fraught and more enjoyable.”
Louise believes the online antenatal classes could help more women achieve a normal birth, a hope that is borne out by the Antenatal Online midwives who also provide face-to-face antenatal sessions under the banner of Gentle Birth. They believe that good antenatal education may result in fewer caesarean sections and birth interventions.
Experienced midwife Gill Perks from Kent said: “Pregnancy and the birth of a baby is a life-changing experience, one of the most natural events in a woman’s life and one for which she is innately equipped. Despite this, significant fear is propagated around birth. Good birth preparation classes are invaluable to dispel the myths and soothe anxieties.”
She added: “Labour may be incredibly challenging and requires loving support from the partner, however a mother knows instinctively how to give birth and her baby knows how to be born.”
Gill, who trains midwives as antenatal educators, said “Research has consistently shown that enabling a woman to tune in to her body can both significantly affect the birth outcome and contribute positively to those precious early moments of mother and baby bonding.
“Accessing an antenatal class like this should statistically be more likely to lead to a positive birth experience and a normal birth. Caesarean rates for people who attend our classes are certainly lower than the national average.”
Even after the birth, the classes continue to help with advice on nappy changing, feeding and taking care of the baby in the early days.
Jo, an NHS midwife from Bedfordshire, said: “Most midwives just don’t have the time or resources to give this type of advice and yet it’s invaluable. Babies need love and nurturing and it is a very natural process for many new parents. But these classes give parents the confidence to relax and trust their instincts, making feeding and caring for the baby an altogether more positive experience.”
*Gill Perks has won a prestigious Iolanthe Midwifery Trust award for outstanding holistic services . She has been a midwife since 1999 and is currently an NHS midwifery matron in Kent.
Jo Killingley has been an NHS midwife since 1998 and currently practices in Bedfordshire.
Both are registered with and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and are Gentle Birth educators. They work within National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
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