The curriculum for all of our Childbirth Preparation classes is based on the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices. The topics below are presented in a variety of ways, including discussion, hands-on practice, video, couple work and group work.
Lamaze Birth Practice #1: Labour Begins On Its Own
• Structure of the course: Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices
• Fears about labour
• Outline of Labour
• Hormones of labour and How Labour Begins / Artificial Induction
• How Long Labour Takes
• How do I know that I am in labour?
• Strategies for Early Labour
Lamaze Birth Practice #2: Freedom of movement throughout labour
• How gravity and movement help with the progress of active labour
• Active Labour
• Breathing techniques for Active Labour
• Positions to use during labour - Labour Lab
• Massage and Acupressure techniques for Active Labour
Lamaze Birth Practice #3: Continuous Labour Support
• Jay’s Review Game
• Who will help in labour and how they can help
• Pain in Labour
• Pain Medications
• Labourland Etiquette
Lamaze Birth Practice #5: Avoid Giving Birth on the Back and Follow the Body’s Urges to Push
• Transition - Strategies and techniques for coping
• Second Stage of Labour - Pushing the baby out - Positions and Breathing
• Third Stage - How the placenta comes out
• Informed Consent - What questions to ask, why and when
• Common Medical Interventions in Labour and Delivery
• Caesarean Birth
Lamaze Birth Practice #4: No routine interventions
• Birth Plan Card Game - How to plan for the birth you want
• PostPartum Question Roundup - Questions about the first days and weeks
• The New Mom - physical and emotional changes
• The Newborn - behaviour, needs
Lamaze Birth Practice #6: Keep mother and baby together after birth with unlimited opportunities for breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding Basics - Milk production, positioning, latching, trouble-shooting
• The New Family - Early parenting together
• Wrap-up, Scheduling of a Reunion, and Evaluations
