Free pregnancy classes at Babies ‘R’ us are taught by a Certified Childbirth Educator.
The Birth Lady, Michal Klau-Stevens, teaches free classes at Babies ‘R’ Us in West Hartford. Submitted photo
Submitted
The first weeks of pregnancy can be overwhelming and confusing. New free classes offered by The Birth Lady at several Babies “R” Us locations in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts can help.
With one in three women giving birth by cesarean surgery, pregnant women need to learn how to make the most of a complicated maternity care system that offers high-tech, life-saving care but also has a tendency to over-treat women who are healthy and experiencing a normal pregnancy. Important decisions made early on have a big impact on having a safe, healthy pregnancy and birth.
These classes, taught by a Certified Childbirth Educator and nationally known maternity care advocate, provide future moms and dads with evidence-based information and guidance for making healthcare decisions, so they can feel confident from the moment that line appears on the pregnancy test.
The classes are different from traditional childbirth education because they are designed to be taken early in pregnancy, or even before getting pregnant. They focus on learning how to make informed healthcare decisions and navigating the confusing maternity care system in order to get safe, personalized care for a healthy, empowering birth.
Where to deliver their baby and whom to use as a care provider are the focus of “The First Five Things to Do When You Are Pregnant.” Expectant parents explore all the options available, including hospitals, birth centers, and home birth, and the differences between using an obstetrician and a midwife for care. Participants learn about the maternity care system before making these early pregnancy decisions in order to get care that matches their healthcare philosophy and physical, mental, and emotional needs.
The “10 Steps to Mastering Maternity” class introduces women and their partners to a step-by-step system for making informed healthcare decisions which will help them feel confident in advocating for their needs and the needs of their baby throughout pregnancy, birth, and parenthood.
For people who would like to learn more tools and strategies for having a healthy, safer, more empowering pregnancy and birth, there is also an in-depth Mastering Maternity™ Seminar, which is a fee-based class. It goes deep into using the ten-step system for personal healthcare advocacy.
The classes are taught by Michal Klau-Stevens, known as The Birth Lady. She is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, and a Past President of Birth Network National. She offers pregnancy coaching and classes in person and online. Klau-Stevens has a blog at TheBirthLady.INFO, and is a regular contributor on an NBC-affiliated morning show at WWLP-22 in Springfield, Mass. She has almost two decades of experience as a women’s consumer advocate for healthy maternity care. As the mother of three boys, she is passionate about helping others have great birth experiences.
The classes are available at the West Hartford, Manchester, North Haven, and Holyoke, Massachusetts locations of Babies “R” Us, and are offered on an ongoing basis. For more information look online at www.TheBirthLady.INFO/Classes, and to register visit www.babiesrus.com/classes.
