Upcoming courses
Live Online Antenatal Course Summary
Our courses cover pregnancy, preparing for labour & birth and the postnatal period.
During the course you will explore what happens in your pregnancy, how to prepare for labour, what to expect in the birth process and adapting to life as a new parent.
Each session is fully interactive with discussion points and your questions covered. Every session will be recorded and sent to you, along with additional resources the following morning. Ensuring you can sit back, engage, and enjoy the class, knowing that you can watch again at your leisure.
Our course has been developed by NowBaby’s team of midwives and based on their many years of experience providing antenatal education and supporting parents and families.
More About The NowBaby Experience
For over two decades, NowBaby has been a pioneer in expert antenatal assistance, initially through our dedicated TV channel in maternity and antenatal clinics nationwide and now through a diverse range of live and pre-recorded courses. Committed to providing effective and accessible antenatal education, we ensure the most positive outcomes and experiences, filling the gap left by the NHS funding crisis that forced many trusts to withdraw.
Book any course in November and get our Hypnobirthing course for only £9.99
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Why use NowBaby?
Online from the comfort of your own home
- No need to travel, hassle free
- You and your partner/family can join together or if necessary from different locations
- Expert midwife support in real time
- Meet other people at the same stage as you & learn together in small groups
Live & Fully Interactive
Antenatal classes led by experienced NHS-trained midwives, you’ll learn everything you need to help you on your journey, from early pregnancy right through to baby care, ensuring you’re well-prepared for your pregnancy and beyond. Join a diverse class community – individuals, couples, and those with friends or family.
All in one course
All your pregnancy and early parenting needs in one course.
You’ll learn everything you need to help you on your journey, from early pregnancy right through to baby care & first aid.
Helps you feel prepared for the journey ahead with knowing what to expect and where to get support.
Exploring in details areas such as infant feeding, safe sleeping and your postnatal recovery as well as preparing for labour & birth
Online Antenatal Classes: What you’ll learn
All our live classes cover the same material – simply pick the dates that best fit your schedule.
Journey to Motherhood is the first class for pregnant women in our 8-session antenatal courses, focusing upon antenatal care and choices and preparing for your pregnancy labour birth. During the antenatal classes we guide you through:
- The role of your midwife and maternity care team
- Your antenatal appointment schedule
- Self-care in pregnancy
- Pregnancy health & complications
- Diet, exercise and things to avoid
- Birth options – where to have your baby
- What to pack in your hospital bags
- Creating a birth plan – where to start
Preparing Mind and Body is based on what labour and birth is from a physiological and emotional perspective. Amina, our midwife and course leader believes “that reframing how we view birth and understanding how your birth hormones can affect your birth is key in having a positive and empowered birth experience – however that may be. We can’t predict or plan birth, but we can prepare positively for it.” This class involves:
- Ideas about pregnancy labour birth
- The physiology of labour birth
- Hormones and what role they play
- The impact of fear and tension on birthing
- Creating your birth zone
- Preparing a toolkit for birthing
- Optimum fetal positioning
- Perineal Massage
Attend our Labour and Birth Process class to find out about what happens in and during childbirth.
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Birth pathway and how that might look
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Different stages of childbirth
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How to tell if you may be in labour
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Latent & active phases
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The second stage and how it may feel
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Transition of childbirth and how impacts you
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Third stage of childbirth and how it can be managed
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Current practices such as delayed cord clamping
This class takes an alternative pathway to birth because we know that birth comes in different forms.
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The induction and augmentation of childbirth
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Pain management / Pain relief – from TENS machines to Epidurals
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What is birth variation and why it may happen
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Addressing the myths and facts about assisted and alternative births
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Assisted birth
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Birth by caesarean operation
This postnatal class is all about your new baby, aiming to help clear up some of the myths and facts and support you in feeling confident in making the right choices for a great life with a new baby
Starting from the first moments where you meet your baby we explore:
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Skin-to-Skin contact and the golden hour
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New-born checks after birth. The umbilical cord and healing
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Vitamin K – what it is and your options
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Ways your baby may behave in the first few days and weeks
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Baby hygiene – from nappy changes to bathing your newborn
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What your baby may look like – from newborn skin to birthmarks
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Jaundice in the early weeks after your baby is born
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Common concerns of parenting a newborn
The New Mum. We know that the changes that occur with your body and emotions after the birth of your baby are often overshadowed and overlooked by the focus on baby. In this class no subject or questions are taboo and in our group we are free to talk about:
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Bleeding after birth and what it means
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Perineal tears and care
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Abdominal and pelvic floor exercises
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Breast care information and changes that occur
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Your emotional and mental health after your baby is due
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Adjusting to life with a baby and how to prepare
This evidence based class aims to help you feel confident about feeding your baby. We know how keen parents are to understand and discuss breastfeeding and there is no time better than the antenatal period to get started. During the antenatal class we explore common issues related to breastfeeding. Find out more about our breastfeeding class here.
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The physiology of breastfeeding and the changes that happen
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Benefits of breastfeeding for mum and baby
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Understanding breastmilk – how it changes and why
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The supply and demand cycle of breastmilk
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Information on what a good latch and attachment is
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Different breastfeeding positions
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The feeding cues your baby expresses
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Your baby’s appetite and how it changes over time.
Join the final in our series of antenatal classes, in this course you learn about what to do in an emergency from our professionals. Find out more about our baby first aid class here.
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Support parents in trusting their instincts
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Tips on where to find free help
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Common childhood illnesses
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Recognise early signs of illness and infections
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What to do when your baby is unwell
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Learn how Meningitis affects a child and signs to look out for
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Choking & how to manage cuts & burns
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Essential advice on SIDS and keeping your baby safe
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CPR information and when you may need to use it
Our support continues after the course too – Our midwifes love hearing from you and are always happy to advise and provide support when needed.Amina Hatia RMMidwife Course Leader
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All our classes are designed to be taken in the comfort of your own home, to minimise time needed and expense of travelling.
Anyone is welcome to join in with you, not just limited to your partner.
classes are held in small groups where interaction is encouraged.
The classes are all held over Zoom. You will be sent a link and all the class details upon registration and again a few days before the first class. All participants can interact, but you may keep your cameras and microphones turned off if you prefer. they are interactive sessions so the midwives will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Your birthing partner is encouraged to attend, or family support members whether parent, grandparent or just good friend! pets are often in attendance too!
All our courses cover the same content .. nothing will be missed out on the shorter course formats, just the information is gone through a little quicker. Just choose the format where the timings and date suits you.
You will be sent a recording of each class the morning after, together with notes and links to useful websites for further advice. the recordings will be yours to keep and re watch at your leisure.
If you are unwell or have technical difficulties a refund will be issued.
Alternatively we will endeavour to help you find an alternative course/date that might suit you better.
Additional Antenatal Education
5 Myths About Antenatal Classes
Antenatal Appointment Schedule
Pregnancy Week by Week
Antenatal classes are an ideal opportunity to learn, understand and prepare for your pregnancy, labour and birth, life after birth and with a new baby. Whilst reading books and articles online can be a really helpful starting point, an antenatal class run by experts such as our midwives, help you navigate and understand what to expect of your care in pregnancy, your choices and options during labour and birth of your baby and prepare for life with a new baby such as learning about breastfeeding and new-born care.
Our courses are online, so from the comfort of your own home, live and fully interactive – so you’ll also get to know others on the course who are at a similar stage in pregnancy as you and share experiences with them too.
You can never prepare too early for labour and birth, and you’ve probably been reading up on your pregnancy already. Whilst it is a personal choice and we don’t limit what stage in pregnancy you join our courses, if you like to be prepared well in advance, or you are feeling unsure about your care, experience anxiety or need some one-to-one advice, booking in at around 26 weeks is ideal. This provides plenty of time to prepare and help you feel more positive and ready for life with a new baby.
However, many also book later on in their pregnancy – anytime up to 38 weeks. Our weekend and 2-week courses are ideal for those that wish to have a more intensive class or want to have the information fresh in their mind just before their baby arrives.
Absolutely! – Antenatal classes are for anyone who needs them, and our live online classes have a range of people attend, from couples, to people who prefer to join on their own, with other family members and often pets too. As online classes allow people to join from anywhere, we often have birth partners join in from work and watch the class together. All the live classes are also recorded and sent to you to watch back whenever you need to – offering a great chance to revisit the information whenever you need to.
As our classes are online, there is no limit or restrictions on who you bring to the classes. If you have a birth partner who you know will be with you during labour and birth, then it’s great if they can attend. We hear back from so many people that their partner/birth partner found the class so useful in knowing what to expect, how to offer support and what to prepare for.
Your birth partner can be whoever you choose – for some it’s their partner, for others it may be a close friend, mum, sister or a doula.
All of our classes are run by expert midwives, who have a wealth of experience and love running antenatal classes because they know how important being prepared beforehand can be. Our team of Now Baby midwives all work in NHS hospitals as clinical midwives as well as sharing their knowledge and expertise in our classes too. You will also see the participants of the class who may be on their own, a couple, or with friends and family – however, don’t worry it’s not compulsory to have your camera, only if you choose to.
To ensure that the classes run smoothly, our IT experts will also be in the class making sure that the audio and video quality is perfect and helping to sort out quickly any issues that may arise.