Questions about our Instructors:

Who sponsors the classes?

Great Starts is a program of Parent Trust for Washington Children, a statewide non-profit agency. Great Starts has served the Seattle area for more than 50 years. Some of our classes are community-based classes, taught at a wide variety of facilities. Some of our classes are offered via a contract with a hospital (Stevens or Group Health), but are open to everyone, regardless of where they are birthing.

All of our classes are consumer oriented, with a focus on providing the best in unbiased research-based information, and on informing the consumer about a wide range of options, encouraging them to seek out providers and birth places who will respect their values and priorities.

What is the instructor’s background?

We have 24 childbirth educators, 4 CPR instructors, 5 lactation educators, and 5 specialty instructors.

Our professional backgrounds vary. Many are nurses, several are physical therapists, others include doulas, mental health professionals, lactation consultants, occupational therapists, midwives, and naturopathic physicians. All of us have received additional specialized training in our field of expertise (e.g. childbirth education, lactation education, or CPR instruction.) We also require continuing education for all of our instructors, to keep up-to-date on current trends.

All of our birth instructors and breastfeeding instructors are female. We have one male CPR instructor. Our Conscious Fathering™ instructors are male.

We pride ourselves on the fact that most of our breastfeeding instructors are registered nurses, with extensive additional training and experience in breastfeeding support. 4 of our lactation educators are IBCLC certified lactation consultants, which is the gold standard in the field. Most other breastfeeding classes in Seattle are taught by educators without this degree of training and experience.

What is the instructor’s experience with birth and parenting?

Almost all of our instructors are parents themselves, and have personal experience with birth and parenting. Some instructors are also grandparents.

The majority of our instructors have worked with women in labor, either as a nurse or as a doula. Some of our instructors are relatively new to the field, while others have taught for 25 years or more.

What is the philosophy and approach of the instructor? Does she or he cover normal childbirth and variations from the normal?

During all Great Starts childbirth preparation classes, we first cover normal labor to give our students a solid grounding in what to expect during a normal labor, teach what they can do to enhance their labor process and help things go as smoothly as possible, and increase their confidence in their ability to birth their babies. In later classes, we cover the range of normal variations that may arise and what parents can do to handle these. We also cover possible complications, and medical procedures for treating these complications.

Does the instructor describe all the choices available? Does she emphasize parents’ right and responsibility to be informed and make decisions? Does she cover risks, benefits, and alternatives to procedures and medications
In all of our classes, we do cover the wide range of choices available to families, with an emphasis on informed choice: encouraging parents to ask the questions they need to ask to help determine the best option for them, based on their unique health situation, values, and priorities for their birth experience.

As independent educators, we are able to teach you everything that research tells us is best practices for maternity care, rather than being limited (as many hospital-based classes are) to covering only the options available at one institution.

Every two years, we publish the results of a survey >> on practices and procedures at local birth places, including hospitals, birth centers, and home birth services. We also bring a copy of it to each of our classes so that students are able to look up information about their planned birth place.

Although our instructors, like all individuals, have their own opinions about the birth process, maternity care, and parenting, we endeavor to teach in an unbiased manner, providing research-based information to our students so that they can draw their own conclusions.

What is the ratio of students to teachers?
It ranges from class to class. The minimum number for a class is 4 pairs (mom and support person). The maximum number is 13 pairs. A typical Saturday class is 10 – 12 pairs, a typical weeknight class is 8-10 pairs. (Note, Penny Simkin's birth series may have up to 16 pairs.)

Is the instructor available to students by phone or by email for questions outside of class, and after the course?
We let our instructors make the choice themselves about how available they are to students outside of class. Some have so many additional commitments that they are not available outside of class time. But most give out their email addresses and home phone numbers to their students.

Do you offer private classes?
Great Starts also offers private classes, ideal for families who have schedule challenges that make classes hard to fit in, for mothers who are on bedrest or have other physical limitations that make it difficult for them to attend class, and for expectant parents who worry that class discussions will bring up emotional issues that they do not want to manage within a class setting.

Private classes are $50 per hour. Because the class is offered one-on-one and is customized to your specific needs, the class typically takes much less time than a group class. For example, an instructor might be able to cover the necessary content of a labor and birth class in 3 hours, or a breastfeeding class in one hour.

To arrange for a private class, contact our registrar at (206)789-0883 or email to greatstarts@parenttrust.org and explain your needs. She or he will then check with our instructors who are most suited to your needs to see who is available. The instructor will contact you; you’ll find a mutually agreeable time, and a mutually agreeable location (typically in your home). The instructor will also discuss with you what information you would like her to cover during the session, so she can ensure that your needs are met.

Do you offer parent consulting or parent coaching?
Yes, we offer the opportunity for one-on-one consults to discuss challenging early parenting issues. You can discuss options for your birth with Penny Simkin, challenges with your baby with Ann Keppler and Barb Orcutt, or adoptive parenting with Dolly Smith.  learn more >>