Knowledge Is Power: Understanding Your Options Before Birth

Antenatal classes provide vital information about pregnancy, birth and beyond. Understanding what to expect, what your options and rights are and what maternity services look like in your area, can help you to make informed decisions about your care during pregnancy and birth. This can help you to labour and birth with confidence. Check out our other blog post, ‘Am I allowed...?’.

Preparing for Birth and Beyond

You and your birth partner(s) can learn specific techniques to support your labour – think: breathing techniques, positions to adopt during labour and massage to name a few. Birth can be an amazing, transformative experience – it helps to be prepared and have a few supportive tricks up your sleeve before the big day. Many antenatal classes also encompass newborn care including nappy changing, feeding and bathing.

How Antenatal Classes Support Your Birth Partner

Your birth partners can provide invaluable support during labour and birth – whether that’s supporting your physical needs by encouraging you to keep hydrated, or providing nutritious, energy-rich snacks or supporting your emotional needs, by helping you breathe through your contractions or providing words of encouragement throughout the birth experience. Antenatal classes can demonstrate to birth partners the many ways they can provide vital support and advocacy during the birth experience.

Building Your Support Network Before Baby Arrives

You get to meet other expectant parents who are going through a similar experience, which provides the opportunity to form new social support networks and friendships. Sharing questions and concerns with others can provide reassurance – you’re not alone in this experience. This networking can be invaluable in the early days of parenthood – and who knows, you may make lifelong friends!

Access to Experienced Birth Workers and Local Resources

Classes are often run by midwives, or other birth workers who can provide advice on support services in the area (e.g. breastfeeding support), local maternity units and alternative options. They often have a lot of maternity care experience and can help you navigate your pregnancy journey. They can also signpost you to research evidence and national guidance to help you make decisions about your own individual circumstances.

Where to Find Antenatal Classes in Kent

At the time of writing, our local NHS Trust, East Kent, is not providing antenatal classes to women and birthing people. There are however plenty of other options to explore

• Bump & Baby Club have regular classes in Folkestone, Kent
• Kelly at Birth Positively provides hypnobirthing & antenatal education in groups or 1:1
• Folkey Birth Club run free birth circles, pregnancy social walks & pregnancy nourishment events in Folkestone

There is also a whole heap of free information available on the internet, why not check out:

• Sara Wickham – we would highly recommend supporting Sara’s work & buying her fantastic books too!
• Rachel Reed – for some expert blogs on a range of pregnancy & birth topics
• Birth-ed – Megan Rossiter has courses you can pay for, but also a free podcast & an amazing instagram account full of invaluable information