Why Are Online Childbirth Classes Worth It? An Intro to Connected Childbirth
I know that people are itching to return to normal and desire an in-person childbirth course. I personally would LOVE to be able to go back and teach in-person as well. But as I logically think that over and understand the responsibility that going back entails. I have actually come to the conclusion that, for right now, our online Childbirth Classes, Connected Childbirth, is an incredible option and, here's why!
ONLINE CHILDBIRTH CLASSES PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE TIME
On-Demand Classes:
We created Connected Childbirth to watch at your own pace, on your own time and schedule. That means less stress in figuring out and accommodating an in-person or Zoom course only offered on one specific night a week. That means that you don't need to worry if your partner will be available that night or if you will got off of work in time. Our course is ready when you are and all at your fingertips.
On-demand means that your childbirth preparation is available at anytime for you. So, if 3pm is the perfect time for you and your partner to review 20 minutes at a time, YOU HAVE THAT OPTION. Or, if you and your partner desire to make it a date night, stay in your PJs, order some food and review 2 hours of content at a time, YOU HAVE THAT OPTION. Or, if your partner is out of town for work and you both decide to FaceTime and watch it together, separately, YOU HAVE THAT OPTION. Taking our online Connected Childbirth offers you more flexibility and availability for receiving the information you need and desire.
Childbirth Classes that are Easy to Digest:
Connected Childbirth was created intentionally to be viewed in small increments. This means that instead of a 2-hour block, offered through Zoom or in-person traditional classes, where you would receive ALL the information, all at once; we have paced our material so that you can digest and absorb it better. Connected Childbirth is comprised of 4 Weekly Modules (just like our in-person course) and each weekly module has 3-4 (20/30 minute) presentations. This of course is for optional retention of material. When the content is broken down in bite size pieces it is just easier to digest and retain. This means less information overload and overwhelm.
In addition, since our major topics are presented in 20-30 minute presentations you can easily review a specific topic if needed. If you feel you need a refresher at any time you simply go to that video and review that content. Easy peasy. Again, Connected Childbirth was created so that you can easily digest all the materials and completely understand everything to prepare for this moment, every step of the way.
No Commute:
One factor many people forget is the time built into attending a class dedicated to travel and commuting. Pre-covid this was just the norm. Jumping into your car after work, grabbing dinner through a drive-thru, fighting traffic and driving 30+ minutes to attend our classes. However, with our online option you get this time back! Commuting to the sofa doesn't count. You gain time by investing in our online option. In addition, because of traffic people often were late and missed 15-20 minutes of a class. Again, with the online option you will never be late! Lastly, couples often missed one meeting which for in-person classes that meant a large part of the material was missed. With our online option this isn’t even a factor as the information is all at your fingertips.
Minimize Risk:
Let’s also address the elephant in the room. If you waited until 30-32 weeks to start your in-person classes and then imagine if you or your spouse became ill (even if it isn’t covid) you would need to quarantine and miss your window for classes all together. This is also a factor for me as a teacher. If I got ill or one of my family members? The whole class could be postponed. As I write this now, my in school children have already been sent home on quarantine once this school year. That means during that time (since infection and testing can take a few days) I would have to cancel classes during that time to ensure everyone's safety. The last thing I want to be responsible for is getting anyone, especially my clients, sick.
Online Childbirth Classes Provide More Content
This is what is so remarkable about the on-line Connected Childbirth option. Since we are no longer held to an in-person or Zoom 2-hour commitment, we were able to offer more content within the online container. That means that our online option actually has more materials to help you meet this moment; pregnancy, birth and postpartum, all at your fingertips.
Specifically, I was able to elaborate on many topics simply because there was more space. When I teach in-person our class sessions are 2 hours, sometimes we would go over as 2-hours is not a lot of time. Over the course of 4 weeks that is only 8 hours of content. I realized the limitations on mental capacity when most of my clients had worked all day, driven to my class, ate dinner on the run and were simply tired attending a night class from 6:30pm - 8:30/9pm. It is hard enough to retain all the information in a 2-hour class when you are fresh in the morning but in the evening, retention is even worse. I was very aware of information overload and hitting mental capacity when I taught in-person.
As a teacher this is one of the major reasons I spent 6 months in 2019, before the pandemic, re-creating Connected Childbirth into an online childbirth classes. Even before the covid, I felt online learning was the way to go and the best way get this value information in the hands of those that need it most. We were just super lucky that when covid hit Connected Childbirth was already available online.
In addition to extra information on the usual topics, I was able to add very specific advanced skills, tricks, mediations, videos and worksheets you can easily download to have right in front of you. Really, the options for adding more resources for my clients became limitless as I added new features that I felt would help new families best. This is all available when you sign up for our course.
More specifically, when you purchase Connected Childbirth online you also receive access to our 2 other classes; Connected Breastfeeding and Connected Baby, our baby care basics course. These two options are not part of our in-person class. You literally get 3 courses for the price of one.
Lastly, because Connected Childbirth is so special to me and those that take the course mean so much. I hired an incredible artist to create some beautiful birth affirmation cards for you. You can download and print them out for your individual use.
Connected Childbirth Provides More Value & Accessibility
Now this point is really important to make. While I know many people believe that in-person offerings appear ideal, our world has changed. Due to the precautions needed to offer in-person classes and ensure they are safe to attend, we would have to largely limit attendance.
Pre-covid we would be able to accommodate 10-12 couples, 20+ people at a time. This was no big deal and easily done. I taught my classes in-person for the last 10 years now (minus covid times…). I offered a new series each month and we booked out. Accommodating couples was no big deal if there was space and chairs available.
Currently, under the guidance and regulations that in-person offerings have to abide by for safety, I would need to reduce attendance drastically. Depending on the space, we might be able to accommodate 3-5 couples, 6-10 people possibly. The space would also need to be large enough for adequate ventilation for all of us to be present for 2+ hours in doors. In addition, the space would have to allow proper distancing for everyone. With all these factors in mind, the cost of in-person classes would rise dramatically, two fold in fact, in order to make this offering sustainable.
It has always been our goal to make our class accessible for those that desire to take it. We also offer scholarships for those that need it. For these reasons, offering an in-person class at this time seems almost selfish considering our clients would receive less class content then the online option, they would need to invest more time and money into an in-person course too. Not to mention, since the being of this pandemic we have always placed our clients health at the fore-front. We know that offering an in-person course would be placing people at risk. Considering that I am also a birth doula I need to ensure my risk is low too for those I support in labor.
For all these reasons, we strongly believe that Connected Childbirth is an amazing course worth your time and investment. Currently, we are going on 2 years with clients that have benefitted from the online option with nothing but amazing things to share about their experience. While I love to teach in-person I also know without a doubt and that with all my heart that Connected Childbirth online option is powerful tool for those that participate in it. I know that it is a great option to add to your tool box for pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
