Prepare for Birth, Prepare for the Arrival – Regular course

 Structured as 9 sessions of 2h each, on Friday afternoons.

• 1st Session: We care for the pregnancy  The placenta — how to care for it so it cares for the pregnancy? What pregnancy monitoring is like, what tests are done, what the hospital protocols are, what a birth plan is. 
• 2nd Session: The birth canal and the importance of movement. We discover what our pelvis is like and its importance in birth. What the pelvic floor is and what it’s like, and how to care for it for the moment of birth. We discover which positions help the baby to be born.
• 3rd Session: Hormones, the engine of birth – The birth process-. How do I know I’m in labour? What is a contraction and how can I help it do its work? In this session we’ll talk about hormones, the engine of birth. About the stages of labour, what we can do in each of them and how your partner can help.
• 4th Session: Pain, tools to cope with it. Have you ever wondered why giving birth hurts? Can pain be our ally at the moment of birth? In this session we’ll talk about the purpose of pain, the importance of our attitude towards it, and how to accept and face it. We’ll talk about different resources and tools: positions, using water, massage, using the birth ball, breathing, the support of your partner or birth companion. We’ll also talk about the epidural.
• 5th Session: we visualise a birth. We will observe what happens during a birth. Movements, sounds, smells, what the woman does, what the birth companion does, what the midwife does
• 6th Session: expectations of birth, postpartum. They explore expectations around birth, postpartum and the baby’s first days of life. What fears there are and how we can face them, whether things turn out as expected or not.
• 7th Session: The first hour of life – immediate and later postpartum – Accompanying the baby at their birth. Preparing the environment for a loving birth. The importance of skin-to-skin contact. Establishing the bond. Care of mother and baby up to six weeks, emotional support, the father in the postpartum period.
• 8th Session: How to get breastfeeding off to a good start. The physiology of breastfeeding. Hormones involved in breastfeeding. How to encourage breastfeeding from the start of the baby’s life. The importance of support from those around us, from partner and family, for successful breastfeeding. Myths about breastfeeding and how to address them. Breastfeeding problems and how to face them. Breastfeeding support groups.
• 9th session: Birth Experiences. A session where families who have been through Mudra share their personal experiences of birth and postpartum. A space to share with other families who are waiting to go through this experience. A moving, deeply experiential session.