NEXT CLASS STARTS SOON. CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES. You will be redirected to a new site for scheduling.

MOST CLASSES are being taught VIRTUALLY and LIVE.

NEW IN JUNE 2023……an IN-PERSON Quick Class!

Joyful Beginnings classes are taught by me, Ali Weatherford. I am a Birthing From Within™ trained mentor, and am also certified by the ICEA.

The classes are for pregnant people and a partner, if available.  They will usually be entering the third trimester of pregnancy.

The classes include:

COMPREHENSIVE BIRTH CLASSES 

This is a 4-week series. We meet on 4 consecutive Mondays.

QUICK CLASSES

I hold these classes on one Sunday or Saturday a month.  If you are nearing your due date and don’t have time for the comprehensive birth class, consider a 4 HOUR quick class. You can take this class virtually OR in-person.

PAIN COPING 

This class is all about coping with labor pain without medication. The content is included in the comprehensive birth class, but is a great supplement to the QUICK CLASS, especially if you are planning an unmedicated birth. These are scheduled for one Thursday evening a month.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER BIRTH?: Recover Heal & Restore

This is a class about postpartum recovery. The content is also covered in the comprehensive birth class, but this is a great supplement to the QUICK CLASS. These are on one Thursday evening per month.

PARTNER PREP CLASSES

One Thursday evening per month. This class is designed for people who are planning to support someone through labor and birth. FOR PARTNERS ONLY PLEASE!    

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT C-SECTION AND VBAC CLASSES

This class happens one Friday evening per month. This class covers what to expect during a cesarean birth, how to prepare and know your options for a planned or unplanned cesarean, and plenty about VBAC including how to prepare to have a successful VBAC.

HOW TO MAKE A BIRTH PLAN 

This an individual service. These are 1 hour private virtual sessions to help you make a birth plan. It’s best to do this AFTER taking a birth class. It includes some online assignments to get started including a Preferences Questionnaire, and one face-to-face virtual meeting. I will use the answers from your questionnaire to know a little more about you and design a rough draft to give us plenty to go over during our meeting time.  

  

I am now teaching exclusively through the Breastfeeding Success Company. To view all the classes offered at this great organization, and to register, use the button below.

What can I expect from a Joyful Beginnings class?

A lot!  I try to cover topics that are important for you, so I love questions. You will learn about anatomy, the stages of labor, pain coping, complications, interventions and decision making, and lots more! The content is important, but not more important than our depth of discussion. It’s not just about what you know, but also about how you feel when you leave.

My goal is to make this class fun, and for you to feel inspired and empowered. You will learn a lot, and possibly discover much about yourself. I want to hear from you, and I want you to find fun, joy, and wonder in the amazing changes you are experiencing. My hope for all future parents is that you enter your journey into parenthood not with a clear and definite plan, but with a clear heart and mind. I hope that you can be open to experiences as they come, because your birth story, whatever that ends up looking like, belongs to you and your children.

Comprehensive birth class topics include:

∗Pain coping practices

Eating in awareness, prenatal and postpartum nutrition

∗The stages of labor and physiology and hormones of birth

∗Birthplace and decision making

∗Psychological and emotional preparation

∗Laborland

∗Cesarean birth

∗Pushing and birthing

∗Welcoming baby and decision-making for baby

∗Postpartum adjustment