little seeds antenatal courses
From small beginnings, amazing things grow
As an experienced midwife, I am very conscious that each person starts Little Seeds with their own unique needs, questions, expectations and fears, as well as having a personal journey to that very moment in their pregnancy.
My antenatal courses provide a safe space, free of judgement, where together we can create confidence and calm, and the best possible experience of pregnancy, birth and those early life-changing days beyond into parenthood.
Antenatal classes cover Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Stamford, Rutland and surrounding areas.
MORE THAN JUST AN ANTENATAL CLASS
This four-week, midwife-led antenatal course is designed to take you from feeling overwhelmed, anxious or unprepared for the journey ahead to feeling calm, confident, informed and well equipped for birth and early parenthood. Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to build friendships with other expectant parents who are sharing this special chapter with you.
Group contact details are shared if consent is given to do so. This provides the opportunity for connections beyond the group if desired. From experience leading antenatal classes as a Community Midwife for over four years, and from running Little Seeds since March 2017, it is evident that amazing friendships develop through these courses, that the mutual support and encouragement is priceless, and that years on many parents and their little ones are still meeting up.
Little Seeds 4-week Antenatal Course
£220 per couple
This fee includes:
Cost for an additional 5th baby & child first aid evening: £30/adult (this is a reduced fee for Little Seeds expectant parents, normally £35/adult).
antenatal course near peterborough
What’s covered?
A comprehensive Little Seeds Information Pack is provided which covers all the need-to-know information relating to late pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenthood.
Tailored to you
My aim is to carefully and meaningfully give you all the information I feel that you and your partner need to know to help lessen fear, empower you in your journey and lay the foundation for a life-enhancing experience.
However, each course will be tailored to meet the unique needs of the group. There is time to ask questions and to chat with the other expectant couples.
I like to make each session interactive and practical, so that you and your partner feel physically and emotionally prepared for labour, birth and beyond. Homemade cake is served half way through each session to facilitate time to interact as a group.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to expect each week
Late pregnancy, labour, birth & the ‘Golden Hour’.
Our first antenatal class welcomes everyone to the group, introducing your names, how many weeks pregnant you are, do you know the gender or having a surprise, and where you plan to birth your baby. I am very conscious that each person starts Little Seeds with their own unique needs, questions, expectations and fears, as well as having a personal journey to that very moment in their pregnancy.
As a midwife I am very used to getting to know people quickly and I believe that my warm, kind, open and friendly disposition helps to put people at ease quickly. Over the years I have met women choosing to solo parent for various reasons; pregnancy following baby losses and assisted fertility such as IVF; first babies and those expecting subsequent babies; twin pregnancies; straightforward pregnancies and those who have their pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia, diabetes, a heart condition, spinal issues – to name just a few.
I am sensitive to the fact that many people carry hidden anxieties, and I endeavour to provide a safe space, free of judgement, where together we can create confidence and calm, and the best possible experience of pregnancy, birth and those early key days beyond.
What do you really need to know in the last 12 weeks of your pregnancy?
During Week One I ensure that you know all the important information relating to the last third of your pregnancy. This is not just the giving of information. Every session is interactive: Your thoughts, questions and participation are actively encouraged. Ask me absolutely anything – no question is too simple, too personal or ‘silly’! Little Seeds facilitates an environment for you to feel confident to have a voice, or to simply to sit quietly and soak it all up – whatever your learning style.
I am able to explain the maternity unit options across Peterborough, Huntingdon, Northamptonshire and Cambridge, exploring the different birth settings and the advantages and considerations of each to help you make informed decisions about your care.
This session we will also look at things to consider prior to the birth of your baby, such as the role and support provided by your birth partner(s), when to contact the maternity unit, and what to expect during the various stages of labour. I will provide you with scientific, research-based information and advice to enable you to understand what is happening to your body, alongside what you can do to support your body to work at its best – boosting the ‘good’ hormones, whilst keeping the ‘fight or flight’ hormones at bay. It is not just about how your baby is born – vaginal or c-section – it is about how you and your birth partner feel throughout the whole journey that you will remember for a lifetime.
Week One will give you and your birth partner the confidence and the knowledge to safely and calmly navigate late pregnancy and your early labour at home, as well as to identify when is the right time to contact your maternity unit.
Options for labour & birth, including pain relief, assisted births and c-sections.
This session begins with exploring numerous ways that enable your body to work more comfortably and effectively in labour, and what your birth partner can do to support you, giving them lots of practical ideas. Wherever you labour – at home, in a birth centre, in a high-tech delivery suite, small but important considerations make a huge positive difference to how you experience the birth of your baby. I want to share as many of these ‘tools’ as possible with you, learned from my many years’ experience of being with women and their birth partners, and seeing first hand what helps and what hinders.
Do you know that around a third of births in the UK are by c-section?
It is vital that antenatal preparation is respectful and realistic. I have sadly known women express a sense of guilt, shame and disappointment when they have not had the birth they expected. Birth can absolutely be positive – whether it is a ‘straightforward’ vaginal birth, or a long labour leading to an unplanned c-section or other unexpected turns. It is ultimately about how you and your birth partner feel – did you feel safe, heard and seen; did you have time to ask questions, be given up-to-date, accurate and unbiased information; were you given an appropriate amount of time to consider the information and then make an informed choice that was right for you and your baby? This is what counts and is what you will remember.
There are many aspects of labour and birth within your control. However, there are also things outside of your control. Examples include; the shape of your pelvis (although I will tell you about positions to increase the internal dimensions of your pelvis); the woman who has pre-eclampsia or diabetes and needs to have labour induced before her due date; a baby who adopts the breech position at the end of pregnancy; your waters breaking before labour begins. Even with these examples there are still choices to navigate, and I want to empower you to consider possibilities, ask questions and explore options.
Your labour and the birth of your baby will be as individual as you are. Little Seeds helps you prepare with confidence by exploring pain relief options, while recognising that these may naturally change as labour unfolds. Together, we’ll discuss the full range of pain management choices, considering the benefits and considerations of each. My aim is that you feel informed, supported and able to make the choices that are right for you and your baby throughout your birth journey.
Having worked as a midwife at four of our local maternity units, I can offer an insight into the different environments, policies and facilities. This includes, for example: number of birthing pools; Transitional Care provision for mothers and/or babies who need additional postnatal support; overnight accommodation for birth partners; single, en-suite Amenity Rooms that may be available during your stay; home birth team availability. Understanding practical differences between local maternity units may help you choose the birth setting that feels right for you and your family.
One of the most important short, simple exercises we do together is discovering just how powerful your breathing can be. We’ll compare your natural breathing pattern with a slower rhythm that gently lengthens your out-breath, allowing you to experience the difference for yourself. You’ll learn how this simple technique helps as a ‘balm’ and calms your nervous system, signalling to your body that it is safe to labour and birth. When we feel safe, our bodies are better able to work with the natural physiology of labour. In contrast, stress and fast, shallow breathing can activate our ‘fight or flight’ response. It’s a simple, practical skill that expectant parents find helpful – whether that be in labour, at their baby’s birth by c-section, or beyond into everyday life as parents.
Week Two finishes with a short, simple guided relaxation – something that is a life skill, not just a tool for labour and birth.
Newborn Feeding.
This session covers everything you need to know so that you can make informed choices that are right for you and your baby. Birth partners are key in providing encouragement and support with feeding, so their awareness of this topic is an important part of preparation for parenthood.
This antenatal class covers;
- Why is breastmilk so important for you and your baby? We explore the benefits for women, babies and beyond into childhood and adulthood using factual, evidence based information.
- Practical information, demonstrations and hands-on practice using dolls and knitted breasts, helping you build confidence and get breastfeeding off to the best possible start.
- 3 key reasons why the position and latch of your baby are vital for comfortable, successful breastfeeding
- Mixed feeding (giving your baby some breast and some formula milk) – why some breast milk is better than no breast milk
- How to optomise formula feeding, and how to make up feeds safely
- Explore and understand unique newborn baby behaviours around feeding, to minimise stress and promote baby and parent wellbeing
I believe that having the opportunity to practise with a doll and knitted breast helps to turn information into practical skills that feel more familiar and comfortable when your baby is in your arms a few weeks later. It also gives birth partners the chance to develop a real understanding of how they can offer practical, well-informed support with feeding.
Evidence based, reliable handouts plus links to recommended sources, will be given for extended information.
Life Beyond Birth; caring for your newborn and supporting your own wellbeing.
I think it is very normal for expectant parents to have lots of information regarding what they practically need – car seat, safe place for baby to sleep, bedding, clothing, nappies, etc.
However, preparing for life beyond the birth of your baby is so much more than practical preparation. Having a new baby, especially when you are becoming a parent for the very first time, is one of life’s biggest changes and challenges, whether this be a very much planned pregnancy, or an unexpected situation.
One of my aims at this 4th session is to provide a space where you can consider how your new baby will impact many dimensions of your life – physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, and practically. It is helpful to understand what is very common and normal, alongside my top tips for minimising stress and creating a supportive, kind environment. This class will create time to reflect, prepare and plan to create a firm foundation before your baby arrives.
I have handouts and information relating to our local hospitals in Peterborough, Huntingdon, Kettering and Northampton so that you have time to digest and consider this before your baby’s birth. I believe that receiving pages of postnatal information after the birth isn’t ideal as you will be recovering from the birth, and getting to know and care for your new baby.
As a midwife currently working on the postnatal wards at two different hospitals, I am conscious of many of the diverse needs that new families can encounter, and I have lots of suggestions to make your transition to parenthood gentler.
Our Life Beyond Birth session includes:
- What to expect during your hospital stay
- What to expect once you are home – from Community Midwives and the team, Health Visitors, ongoing hospital support
- Consider realistic expectations for you and your baby
- Safe sleep recommendations using up-to-date research and evidence
- Baby skin care and bathing
- Maternal and paternal mental health. Recognising and managing ‘baby blues’ and postnatal depression
- Other Health Care Professionals to be aware of with specialist skills – such as Lactation Consultants
- Information about local classes and services for new parents, plus recommended national organisations and charities as places for information and support
Book your place
Advanced booking is required. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Alison before booking your place.
EXPERT TUITION
Evidence based classes taught
by a qualified and experienced midwife.
SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
Small class sizes in a warm, relaxed space where you can feel comfortable and heard.
PRACTICAL SKILLS
Gain the knowledge and confidence you need for you and your baby.
