Preparing you for birth and beyond.
We prepare for every other major event in our lives, like interviewing for a job, revising for an exam, or getting married: so why should having a baby (arguably, the most life changing event to happen to any of us!) be any different?
The Country Midwife carried out some market research, asking 20 new parents these very questions: how big a deal was having a baby? And secondly, did you feel prepared?
The overall general consensus was "YES!", having a baby was an enormous deal and a completely life changing event. And on the whole in response to feeling prepared: "NO!", we did not feel prepared!
Why is antenatal education so vital?
Antenatal education is fundamentally about preparing expectant parents for the life changing event that is, birth and becoming a new parent. Navigating your way through the endless streams of information on becoming a new parent can be exhausting and honestly, confusing.
From midwife appointments to obstetric consultant appointments, mumsnet.com to the best selling "new baby" authors, I'm sure you have quickly realised by now, everyone has an opinion on how you should parent and give birth.
Ask yourself, how does one "how to" guide or parenting app really offer unbiased information that is relevant and inclusive of my plans to birth and parent? The answer is... it can't. There is no one size fits all birth preparation app, book or program, because we are all unique. Our bodies are all different, our pregnancies are all different and we enter this phase of life with entirely different experiences.
Despite the vast array of technology and knowledge at our fingertips, there's nothing quite like a quality antenatal course, to prepare you for labour, birth and parenthood, especially if this is your first rodeo!
So instead of anticipating the worst or hoping you'll just "wing it", give yourself the best opportunity to embrace labour and birth positively; feeling in control and in the knowledge that you have strategies and techniques in place to make your birth experience as calm and as memorable as possible.
You don't know what you don't know, until you start asking questions.