I’m a busy person. I work as an L&D nurse, I have a family and run a blog. I’m go go go all the time!
It’s hard to find time for prenatal classes but now that I’m pregnant I really need to do one. It’s been a loooooong time since I was pregnant with my first son, but it’s looking like online is the way to go these days.
You can never be too prepared for birth. The more preparation you do, the better equipped you’ll be to cope with labour and birth.
Taking Classes Online
Online classes are great. You can take them on your own time, pausing when you have to. You can come back to the content again and again if you don’t understand something, or if you want it to stick. That way you learn at your own pace, not anyone else’s.
Online course teachers have an online presence, usually in the form of a Facebook group on Instagram or through email. This makes it possible to contact your teacher at your own convenience with any questions you might have.
There are some things that are harder to teach online, like hands-on techniques and things that require a group to complete. If you know of a good in-person birth class and you have the time, I would recommend that as well.
A good online class is great to supplement anything you learn in person as well.
Mandy Irby!
This blog post is a promo for a class I recently took, taught by my online colleague and avid YouTuber, Mandy Irby.
Mandy is an L&D nurse, like me, but she is so much more!
She’s also a Lamaze childbirth educator and Peanut Ball Instructor, as well as one of the more inspirational people I have talked to about birth and labour.
She believes that women are powerful and wants to give them the tools to be able to birth boldly. Amen sister!
She has a YouTube channel she regularly posts videos to, along with running two online birth classes, one longer one and one shorter. You can also find her on all the social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram. Oh, and her website!
I’ve taken her short course and it’s great! Let me tell you all about it.
Birth Boldly Short Course
Three Short Lessons
The short course is split into three lessons, all very clear and easy to understand. I’ll quickly tell you about each of these parts. It took me about an hour total to complete the course. Mandy includes some homework as well, which I haven’t done yet (slacker, I know!). All in all, it should take you an hour or two to complete, at your own leisure.
This course is a video series. It’s great because you have Mandy right there in your living room!
It also means you can pause whenever you have to pee because let’s get real, you’re gonna have to pee.
Lesson One
In this lesson, Mandy covers the importance of rhythm in labour and how to achieve it. She gives you tips and tricks on how to practice long before labour even starts. Mandy explains how rhythm is different for everyone and helps you find ways to achieve your rhythm for your body.
She even includes a list of awesome birth affirmations. These are sentences or words to help you work through difficult contractions and the pain of birth. Part of your rhythm might be to pick an affirmation to say over and over again, so this part of the course will be extremely helpful for that.
This lesson also includes Mandy’s Birth Boldly Labour Map. It’s a printable tool made to help you prepare in the best way possible for your birth.
Lesson Two
This lesson is all about relaxation and the importance of relaxing during your labour and birth. This was the lesson that required homework.
That is because most of us are not used to fully relaxing. We live crazy hectic lives and never really give our bodies a chance to relax into the moment.
That is an extremely important skill for labour. In between contractions, your body is flooded with endorphins when you relax, this will help ease the pain of the next contraction.
Mandy shares a bunch of really helpful tips on how to relax fully, but it is a learning process so do your homework!
Lesson Three
This lesson focuses on the ritual of labour. Mandy explains why having a ritual is important and how you can find your ritual before labour starts to be prepared for the big day. She talks about things to focus on and using coping skills you already have. Additionally, she talks about being safe in labour and how it affects everything about the birthing process.
This lesson also covers how you can involve your partner in the ritual and what kind of things you have to discuss and practice ahead of time.
This Short Online Birth Course is The Bomb!
Mandy’s a great teacher and I really agree with everything she elaborates on in this course. It’s short and sweet and great for busy people who don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands.
Take the course with your birth partner. They will learn so much! Do your homework and practice the steps she covers in the lessons.
As a labour and delivery nurse, I agree with all the things she mentions in the course on how to cope with contractions.
Women who find their rhythm in labour, are able to relax between contractions and have a ritual during contractions are usually the ones that cope the best. If your wish is to have a drug-free birth, this course will help you immensely to reach that goal.
And even if you are thinking about getting an epidural, this course is still for you! There are many instances where you will still need to cope during labour.
Sometimes the epidural doesn’t work very well, or you have to wait until you get the epidural.
Sometimes your labour starts fast and furious at home and you’ll need the tools to cope.
More from Babytalk:Â Interventions During Your Labour and Delivery
Trust me, this is the course for you!
If you are hesitant to spend money right at the get-go, Mandy has a free starter course. Check it out and see why I’m so excited!
Mandy’s covered all the frequently asked questions on her page, but I’ll just leave them here in case you’ve never taken an online course before and don’t understand what it entails.
How much is it? NOT MUCH. You get all this for a mere $39.
What are you waiting for, head on over to Mandy’s course and start TODAY!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
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