Questions about Class Content:

Class descriptions for each class include a basic outline of what topics are covered. Some of the questions students ask about content are covered here.

Are comfort techniques for “natural childbirth” taught in childbirth preparation classes?
During lectures and discussions, we offer several options for coping techniques including patterned breathing and attention focus (as seen in Lamaze), relaxation and visualization techniques (as seen in Bradley and Hypnobirthing), positions and movements for enhancing labor progress (many developed by our own Penny Simkin), massage, emotional support, and other techniques (including some from Birthing from Within). We spend a large portion of class time practicing those skills so expectant parents get a sense of which will most likely be helpful to them during labor.

Most of the exercises, relaxation skills, and comfort techniques we cover are contained in our book Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn. >> For example, we work with the “Three R’s” coping method: Rhythm, Ritual, and Relaxation. If a woman feels safe and supported, she is able to Relax. As she relaxes, she may find her own coping style: her own Rhythm. Support people can work with her to help reinforce her natural coping styles, and develop spontaneous “Rituals” to help guide her as labor intensifies.

Do you teach a particular "method" of childbirth preparation?
For our four-Saturday and seven-weeknight: Our classes are based on our own proprietary curriculum, developed over more than 50 years of teaching, with the input of countless educators, doulas, nurses, midwives, doctors, and parents. Many of our educators have taken additional trainings with other organizations, including those mentioned above, plus ALACE, CAPPA, APPPAH, Prenatal Parenting, Calm Birth, and Happiest Baby on the Block. The most helpful elements of each of those methods have been incorporated into our curriculum. We also remain current with scientific literature on evidence-based practices. All these ideas get incorporated into our classes. Great Starts is a leader in the field of childbirth education, and has trained a majority of the childbirth educators in Western Washington.

We have a standardized curriculum across all of our four-Saturday and seven-weeknight offerings, but each instructor puts her own unique spin on it, using her own unique knowledge and perspectives to offer the best possible class experience. The instructor also adapts depending on the needs of the students in her classes. Each student has his/her own learning style, own belief system, and own way of dealing with challenges, therefore, we work to give each person several possible tools that they can adapt to suit their needs, preferences, and their own unique labor. Then women develop their own unique coping methods during their labors, which roll together the tools that they learned in class with other skills they have developed throughout their lives.

Do you offer Lamaze classes?
Yes!
Many times people call us looking for “Lamaze classes”, when what they really mean is “I would like to take a childbirth class – in all the TV shows, they call that Lamaze classes, so I guess I’m supposed to ask for a Lamaze class.” If what you’re really looking for is a class that will prepare you for birth and parenting, then ANY of our series will suit you just fine: the 4-Saturday, the 7-weeknight, Lamaze, etc. The Lamaze® series has a more specific focus on following the “Six Care Practices to Promote Normal Birth” that were developed by Lamaze International. See our Lamaze class page >> for details.

Do you offer Hypnobirthing classes?
Yes. The Hypnobirthing series focuses on the Hypnobirthing method for coping with labor challenges. Please note that the Hypnobirthing series is not as comprehensive as our other series, as it does not cover pain medications, hospital procedures, and medical interventions. Hypno-birthing Class page >>

Do childbirth preparation classes cover pain medication options?
In one of the later classes in the series, we cover pain medications, teaching about how to maximize the benefits and minimize the potential downsides of pain medication, and guiding students in their decision making process, with an emphasis on informed choice. Within any given group of students, we have some who are passionate about planning an unmedicated birth, some who are equally passionate about getting an epidural, and many students who are somewhere in the middle of the pain medication preference scale.

I'm planning an epidural; should I take a childbirth preparation class?
No matter what their plans and preferences are regarding pain medication, pain coping techniques are helpful to all birthing women, to assist them throughout their early labor, before pain medication may be available to them, and then as labor intensifies, they can continue to use coping techniques for as long as desired, until they decide that the time for medication has come.

We also cover several other topics in a class series which will be relevant to any expectant parent, regardless of their plans for medication, such as: signs that labor is starting, what to expect in labor and birth, possible medical procedures, and more.

Does the instructor cover topics other than childbirth?
In our Great Starts series, we cover healthy pregnancy, breastfeeding, and newborn care. We also offer specialty classes for sibling preparation, infant safety and CPR, preparing to adopt, and more. We offer refresher classes for those who have given birth before. 
How many hours is the class?
A Great Starts series is 14 hours long. Either seven weeknight sessions, or 4 weekend sessions. For all of our birth preparation classes, about 60% is lecture, discussion, and videos. About 40% is hands-on practicing of skills.

Classes other than birth preparation are typically single sessions, ranging from 2-3 hours long.

Why don’t you offer a one-day condensed birth preparation class?
Most hospitals offer a one-day class that packs all the information about labor and birth into a single eight-hour session. Expectant parents often sign up for these classes because it is easiest to fit a single session into their schedule. However, at the end of that session, when evaluating the experience, those students tend to say “it was too much in one day! I am so tired now! It was uncomfortable sitting for so many hours in late pregnancy. I feel like my brain overflowed hours ago, and I didn’t absorb most of what was said.” At Great Starts, our instructors are committed to providing the best possible educational experience: enjoyable classes, information taught in ways that are clear and memorable, and information given out in manageable doses, where the students have a chance to learn new information, then go home for a week and absorb it, practice exercises, read more on the topic, and then come back the next week to ask questions, then have the chance to learn more. We strongly recommend multi-session classes. If you prefer a one-day class, call us at 206-789-0883, and we will be happy to refer you to someone else who does offer this option.

What’s special about a Conscious Fathering class?
Often in pregnancy, and at classes related to pregnancy, the focus is on the expectant mother. We endeavor at all Great Starts classes to include and involve the support people attending class with the expectant mother, and to take about parental balance, and involved support people. However, the Conscious Fathering class stands out as a unique class where the full focus is on fathering, and helping each expectant dad develop his own definition of what kind of father he wants to be, to learn the skills he needs, and to learn how to connect with his child. 
Learn more about Conscious Fathering >>