We provide group Childbirth Education Classes for first-time parents who are booked to give birth at the Women's.
Classes are held either onsite (in Parkville) or online. A mix of weekends, weekdays and evenings is available.
We have specific classes for families expecting twins (or more!), and for families requiring an interpreter.
We encourage all participants to:
- attend the classes between 28 - 34 weeks of pregnancy, and
- to bring a support person along to every session.
Bookings are made online, via Eventbrite. To go straight to available dates and booking: How to book and reschedule.
Benefits of Childbirth Education
- feel more confident about your pregnancy, labour, birth, breastfeeding and the early weeks of parenting
- make more informed choices about your care
- opportunity to involve your partner or support person in the parenting journey.
All group classes are designed to provide participants (and their support persons) with the knowledge to navigate late pregnancy, labour, birth, breastfeeding and parenthood.
An experienced midwife will cover a range of topics such as:
- signs of labour, including when to come to hospital
- progress of labour and birth
- support in labour
- practical coping methods during labour
- medical options for pain management
- medical assistance for birth
- understanding breastfeeding
- safe sleeping and settling
- communicating with your baby
- community supports for the family.
To be eligible to attend you need to be:
- pregnant with your first baby, and
- booked to have your baby at the Women’s.
Note: To be eligible for free classes, you must hold a Medicare Card. If you do not have a Medicare Card, you will need to pay when you book.
To view dates and make bookings: visit Eventbrite
Booking tips
- aim to attend classes at around 28-34 weeks of your pregnancy.
- places are limited so book your spot as soon as possible
- new classes are added at the start of each month.
- check the Eventbrite site regularly as spots become available if people cancel
- use the name of the pregnant person when you book.
- you must provide your hospital Medical Record Number
- a confirmation email will be sent by Eventbrite after booking.
Payments and refunds
- One ticket includes the pregnant person and their support person.
- If the pregnant person has a Medicare card, classes are free (no payment required)
- If the pregnant person does not have a Medicare card, a fee is payable at checkout. This fee covers the entire course (most courses include two or three classes). The fee is refundable if you cancel at least one week prior to the first class.
- Some private health funds may provide a rebate for the program. However, it is up to the participant to check with their own health fund.
Need to cancel or reschedule?
- If you need to reschedule, please cancel your booking on the Eventbrite website, and then rebook into another course. Please remember to cancel, to allow somebody else to take your spot.
- If you can’t make it to one of your booked classes, we are unable to offer a “make-up” class for the one you missed. Written summaries are provided prior to the program starting.
Related information
Date reviewed: 21 August 2024
Date reviewed: 21 August 2024