Birth Preparation Classes
“Megan and Marlee were great! We found them a wonderful balance between the two birth class extremes - Western medical model and all-natural approaches that view epidurals or c-section births as failures. They provided great evidence-based information and ways to mitigate the decisions you might need to make during labor.
Highly recommend as a good balance of philosophies, and they are gracious, kind and informative to boot!”
Private online classes:
Prepare for birth on your schedule, from the comfort of your home!
Are you...
feeling overwhelmed by all the information (and conflicting advice) about birth out there?
wondering how you'll cope with labor?
interested in ways to bring your self into the birth process?
planning to have an epidural and can’t find a birth preparation class that feels welcoming to you?
Take a class with us!
We offer a different approach to childbirth education. Our classes involve:
information about labor, birth, lactation, and preparing for the postpartum period (the things you'd normally expect out of a childbirth class)
a focus on fostering connection with your partner and your baby
practical tools for coping with pain, intensity, and unexpected or challenging events during labor
“We attended 3 of Marlee and Megan’s birthing classes. It was great to be educated beforehand. They prepared not only me, but my husband as far as what to expect during labor.”
Our goal is to not only give you information, but to help you discover and cultivate internal resources already within you that will help you meet the challenges birth and parenthood can bring.
No matter what type of birth you're planning - or if you don't have a plan at all - our classes are a time for you to ask questions, explore your feelings around birth and parenting, and prepare to meet your little one.
“Megan and Marlee were warm and welcoming, fostered a great discussion experience, responded well to questions, and served as excellent guides and facilitators.”
Rates for Private Online Birthing Classes
Rather than a pre-set curriculum of classes, we offer the opportunity to build your own class series according to your needs. Simply choose the topics you want and the dates that work with your schedule!
Classes are 2-3 hours each and are held live via Zoom.
Class topics (more info about each class below):
Birth Basics
Comfort Measures & Labor Positions
Decision-Making for Labor
Bringing Baby Home
Rates:
1 class: $175
2 classes: $325
3 classes: $450
4 classes: $550
Get our stress-free guide to packing the perfect hospital bag!
“My wife and I opted to take all four of the classes Marlee and Megan offer and we are so glad we did! Each class was the perfect mix of reflection, information, and time for questions. Marlee and Megan stay up to date with new researchers in various fields and had tons of invaluable information and insight. This was our first pregnancy and birth, so we had tons of questions. It was so nice to talk out our hopes and fears with them, I definitely felt more at ease after the classes. ”
Class Descriptions
Birth Basics
If you’ve found yourself wondering what exactly happens during labor, this class is for you! You’ll leave this 3 hour workshop with a thorough (but not graphic) understanding of the physical process of birth. Most of our clients find that de-mystifying this process helps them feel so much more ready to welcome their baby!
We’ll cover:
How to know when labor is starting
When to go to the hospital or contact your care provider
What does labor feel like?
Tips for pushing
What to expect in the hours immediately following birth
Your rights during labor
A helpful paradigm for approaching the unpredictable journey of birth
“Wow! Now I FINALLY understand so much about birth that I couldn’t really get just from reading books. You are both so good at explaining these really complicated concepts. I feel so much more prepared now!”
Decision-Making Skills for Labor
One couple told us they felt this 2-hour workshop should be required for all parents before their baby arrives! Learn more about why we feel this is such an important skill to develop.
This is a class focused solely on making decisions during labor. Many parents find themselves unprepared for the intensity of birth and all the decisions that come along the way. In this class, we'll give you some of our favorite tools to help you make the best decisions you can, helping you to find balance and focus to think things through even in the intensity of labor. (These tools will also come in handy once baby is born!)
We’ll also cover the practical side of communicating your decisions with your care providers, including conversations about informed consent and informed refusal.
“I think this class should be required for anyone who is expecting a baby! We both feel so much more equipped to make some of these difficult decisions. I especially appreciated this class because I know some of these decisions will fall to me while my partner is laboring.”
Comfort Measures & Labor Positions
In this 3-hour workshop we focus on honing your existing coping skills that can serve you well in labor, and learning some new ones. You’ll leave with a toolbox full of ideas for getting through the sensations of labor with as much ease as possible. If you have a partner or support person who will be present with you during birth, we’ll also spend time focusing on how they can play a positive role in helping you through labor.
This class may be especially helpful for those planning to birth without medication in a hospital, birth center, or at home, but many of our clients who plan to get epidurals appreciate this workshop as well!
We will cover:
Creative and effective coping tools and techniques
How breathing can help you cope in labor
Developing a coping mindset for labor, and how partners and support people can help
Positions to encourage labor progress (including positions that can work well with an epidural)
Positions to relieve discomfort in labor
Touch and massage techniques partners and support people can use in labor
Exclusive videos for our clients: positioning exercises that can be helpful before and during birth
“This childbirth class was so relaxed, informative and enjoyable, and the tools and techniques you shared really came into play during my 24 hour all natural labor! Thank you for your openness and support.”
Bringing Baby Home: Postpartum Healing, Sleep, Soothing Your Baby, and More
This 3-hour workshop helps set the tone for your post-birth experience. For parents who haven’t cared for a newborn before, or if it’s been a while since you’ve had a newborn in your life, you’ll leave this class with so many of your questions answered, and a great blueprint for getting off to a cozy, confident start with your little one!
We’ll cover:
A day in the life of a newborn
What to expect in the early weeks
Sleep!
Learning to read your baby’s cues
Tried and true baby soothing techniques
Caring for your body after birth (including our favorite postpartum healing tips)
Caring for your soul after birth
Family bonding tips
Infant feeding is not included in this course. See The Practical Parent’s Plan for Nursing a Newborn if you’re looking for a lactation course.
“I can’t tell you how helpful this class was! A few weeks into parenthood, we have already implemented so many of the ideas and strategies that Marlee shared with us. Thank you so much for helping to minimize the overwhelm of this crazy time!”
Looking for a breastfeeding / chestfeeding class?
Join our online course, The Practical Parent’s Plan for Nursing a Newborn!
“I really appreciated the coping exercises. They helped refine what I think will work for me in labor and what won’t work so well. I feel much more comfortable and ready to go!”
Looking for more newborn classes?
Marlee offers more extensive preparation for life with a newborn on her other website, WelcomeBabyOC.com.
Preparing for a cesarean birth?
We offer a private class for parents who know ahead of time that they’ll be birthing by cesarean for any reason. This compassionate and detailed 1-2 hour class taught live via Zoom includes:
What to expect before, during, and after your cesarean both for you and for your baby
Family-centered cesarean options
Your partner's role in a cesarean birth
Communicating with your care providers
Tools and tips for relaxation and calming anxiety
Lactation after a cesarean
Tips for making your home recovery-friendly
Our favorite postpartum healing tips for cesarean recovery
Rate: $175
Another option: Private Q&A Session
If our classes aren’t quite right for you, consider an informal Q&A session with your friendly neighborhood birth professionals!
This option might be perfect for you if:
You've already taken a childbirth class at the hospital or elsewhere and have more questions
You are having a subsequent baby (not a first-time parent) and want to brush up in preparation for this birth (if you want help processing a difficult or traumatic birth experience, consider a Birth Story Medicine session)
You have been reading and researching on your own and want to talk to someone in person about your questions, concerns, or unique needs
Rate: $175 for a private 1-2 hour session via Zoom
What our clients say
"I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to find Marlee & Megan. Our private Comfort Measures childbirth class was so relaxed, informative and enjoyable! The tools and techniques they shared really came into play during my 24 hour all natural labor! Thank you for your openness and support. Dan and I were blessed to find you along this journey!"
- Ashley, San Clemente
"Megan and Marlee were excellent discussion facilitators! I remember several times thinking that the follow-up questions they asked were so insightful and revealing. It was a great time to spend together with my husband. We had not spent that kind of kid-free time together for months. I feel more united and focused on this great endeavor, and also more understanding of his feelings. I also appreciated the coping exercises. They helped refine what I think will work for me in labor and what won't work so well. I feel much more comfortable and ready to go!"
- Lindsay, Costa Mesa
"Megan and Marlee were warm and welcoming, fostered a great discussion experience, responded well to questions, and served as excellent guides and facilitators without being heavyhanded or too prescriptive. Truly, I was impressed. I appreciated their warm, encouraging approach. We were already on board with the Birthing From Within perspective, but this served as a very good refresher. My wife remains confident and optimistic about the process, and I remain somewhat trepidatious, but I know that this class and further personal preparation are key components for being as prepared and capable as I can be. Being able to participate together helps us to feel like a team, and to know that no one ever has to go through this stuff alone."
- Neal, Costa Mesa
“We loved the classes and they really made an impact on us. There was so much information and the way you guys delivered everything was perfect. Not judgmental or pushy, but you gave us the info and let us come to our own conclusions instead of pushing us one way or another. It is very refreshing especially in this arena where we’re always hearing ‘you need to do this or that.’ You guys are amazing and doing great things for so many couples!”
- Chelsea, Long Beach
For Partners
We're here for you! We understand that you probably have questions and concerns, and we want to help you prepare for the birth of your baby.
We encourage partners to participate in child birth classes whenever possible so both of you have a chance to practice together, ask questions, and take another step with one another on the way to meeting your little one.
Don't be shy during our time together! Let us know what's on your mind and ask questions when you have them. You have just as much to prepare for in birth and parenthood - just from a different angle than the person who will be giving birth. Our classes don’t minimize the role of a partner, nor do we expect partners to be a full-blown “coach” (unless they want to be). Partners have a unique journey all their own, and our classes include ways to support your loved one as well as going through your own experience.
Your support of your expecting partner is more important than you know, and we can't wait to work with both of you as you prepare to meet your little one together!
“My wife remains confident and optimistic about the process, and I remain somewhat trepidatious, but I know that this class and further personal preparation are key components for being as prepared and capable as I can be.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I take classes even if I'm going to have a doula?
Great question! So great, in fact, that we wrote a blog post about it.
Are these classes only for people who want a natural birth?
Our classes are not "natural birth" classes per se, although about half of our clients on average plan to labor without pain medication.
Rather than encouraging a specific birth outcome as some classes or birthing methods do, we instead focus on creating realistic expectations for labor, birth, and life with a new baby.
Parents who have the chance to do this kind of preparation often find that they are less likely to attach their self-worth to any particular birth outcome. Realistic expectations contribute to lower risks of trauma, so we feel this approach to preparing for birth is really important!
We will explore the physiologic process of birth, as well as when the medical options and tools available to parents may be helpful. We have a strong focus on helping our clients strategize to take advantage of the body’s process of birth while also using medical options if and when they are needed or desired.
Our clients tell us time and time again how helpful it was to feel informed about all their options before birth, no matter whether they were planning to birth with or without medical assistance (and especially if they weren’t sure ahead of time).
Who will teach these birth preparation classes?
We (Marlee and Megan) teach these classes together, unless one of us supporting a client’s birth or ill. We’ve been supporting parents since 2014 and have worked with hundreds of growing families!
Our birth preparation classes are designed for real people
Sometimes private classes involve cuddling on the couch! We love working with clients in such an intimate setting.
Our private classes allow us to personalize each class to your needs.
While we will have a plan for our class sessions, we are always willing to take a detour to make sure that you have the information, tools, and support you need!
We know you probably have a hundred questions about birth and life with a newborn... we're here to help you find answers.
If you have any special circumstances or concerns, we can help you sort out your options. We are passionate about meeting parents where they are in preparation to welcome a new baby. In some cases, we may recommend choosing an additional class to help address your concerns.
No two families are alike, so no two classes are either!
Our Approach
We find that there are very few places in our culture for expecting parents to delve into self-discovery. Our classes provide a place to ask questions and learn about the physical process of birth. But perhaps more importantly, parents will explore the emotional journey of birth and early parenting. We encourage self-compassion and listening to your intuitive inner voice, and teach methods of coping with intensity of all kinds.
The coping techniques we practice in class are not just useful during labor and birth. Many parents put them to use if they are having feeding challenges, if they find it difficult to endure their baby's cries (especially in the nighttime hours!), and in so many other experiences that parenthood can bring.
Our goal is for you to be able to apply techniques from class to other areas of your life. This is more than birth preparation: it is life preparation!
Since we are Advanced Birthing From Within Mentors, our primary philosophy around working with parents is based in that organization's guiding principles (which you can read more about here).
Here are a few of those principles which have really helped shape our practice:
Childbirth is a profound rite of passage, not a medical event (even when medical care is part of the birth).
The essence of childbirth preparation is self-discovery, not assimilating obstetric information. The teacher (mentor) is "midwife" to the parents' discovery process, not the expert from whom wisdom flows.
Pregnancy and birth outcome are influenced by a variety of factors, but can't be controlled by planning.
Parents deserve support for any birth option which might be right for them (whether it be drugs, cesarean, home birth, or bottle-feeding).
Pain is an inevitable part of childbirth, yet much can be done to ease suffering.
Partners help best as birth guardians or loving partners, not as coaches; they also need support.
For parents, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum is a time of continuous learning and adjustment; holistic support and education should be available throughout that period.
Birthing From Within has evolved as a teaching method to include a focus on coping with the intensity of birth and early parenthood. We find that parents who prepare for birth with a Birthing From Within birth class tend to feel more ready to meet challenges as they come.
To learn more about why we love this philosophy, check out our blog: Why Birthing From Within?
What if I can’t afford your services?
Preparing for birth is so important, and we feel strongly that high-quality classes outside of a hospital should be available to everyone who wants them.
We offer scholarships for free and reduced cost classes on a limited basis. If you qualify for Medi-Cal, SNAP benefits, TANF, or WIC and want to work with us, reach out so we can discuss details.