Getting ready for your baby means being prepared and educated for the decisions that will come your way, as well as being prepared for the challenges and emotions of parenting. Ahava Doula Services offers several highly customizable classes to prepare for birth and early parenting. These classes are designed to deep dive into specific topics to help you feel ready for what lies ahead. They are set up for you to explore your preferences and vision, while keeping the focus on the evidence based information you want for your birth and baby. These classes are customized to your individual needs and will help to prepare you for your unique parenting experience.
Childbirth Education
Our Childbirth Education class is designed to replace fear with confidence. This class will answer your questions about all things birth and what to expect. We will talk through the process, common variations, interventions and leave you feeling confident and ready for the birth of your baby or babies.
We will cover:
•Childbirth education
•Common variations of labor
•Medical and non medical interventions
•Comfort and relaxation techniques
•Hands on support and demonstrations for partners
•Preparing for cesarean
•Preparing for a VBAC
Birth Planning and Preparation
Our Birth Planning and Preparation class is designed to help you to create your birth preferences. This class pairs well with the childbirth education class and will help to explore your options for your birth. This class can be customized to meet your needs and will leave you feeling prepared.
We will cover:
•Support with creating a birth plan
•Making decisions in labor
•Options in labor
•Comfort and relaxation techniques
•Hands on support and demonstrations for partners
Newborn Care and Postpartum Planning
In our Newborn Care and Postpartum Planning class, we will talk about things like feeding and caring for your baby, newborn cues and communication,managing sleep and how to keep the pieces of your life moving while simultaneously slowing down to heal and get to know your baby. Together we will talk through what it will be like to bring your baby home and we can create plans for adjusting to life with a newborn. We will explore all of your options in an unbiased atmosphere so you can make the decisions that feel right for you and your family. We will also discuss postpartum planning to make sure your needs will be met during your postpartum period.
This class covers:
•Caring for your newborn
•Infant feeding methods
•Understanding your baby’s cues
•Soothing a crying baby
•Infant development and how to nurture their development
•What to expect in the first moments, days and weeks.
•Planning for your postpartum recovery
•Managing sleep for the entire family
Infant Feeding
In the Infant Feeding class, we will explore all of your feeding options and customize the class to your wants and needs. Whether you are planning to breastfeed, chest feed, pump, formula feed, or any combination of those, this class will answer all of your questions and help you to feel confident in your feeding choices before your baby is born. This class can touch on starting solids as well.
We will cover:
•Feeding options
•Initiating Breastfeeding
•Feeding positions
•Getting a good latch and what to look for
•Troubleshooting common obstacles
•Milk storage and handling
•How to know that your baby is getting enough to eat
•How to tell when they’re hungry
•Paced bottle feeding and picking bottles
•Going back to work and managing pumping in the work environment
