Childbirth Classes

In-person hands-on sessions. Six classes each lasting two hours. Can be done in your home, more than one couple welcome! Sharing the experience and meeting each other is wonderful. Serving Roanoke, VA and surrounding counties.

What topics do our childbirth classes cover?

Class 1 – Nutrition – Exercise – Anatomy and Physiology

– Healthful Eating
– The Uterus
– The Cervix
– Amniotic Sac and Fluid
– Placenta
– Umbilical Cord
– Round and Broad Ligaments
– Pelvis

Class 2 – Preterm Labor – Early Labor

– Signs and Prevention
– Prodromal Labor

Class 3 – Active Labor – Transition

– Fear / Tension / Pain
– Non-Pharmacologic Pain Relief
– Breathing
– Labor Process and Birth Helpers
– Hospital Procedures
– Unexpected Outcomes

Class 4 – Pushing – Labor Drill – Stations – Positions

– Perineal Relaxation
– Cardinal Movements
– Birth of Placenta

Class 5 – Postpartum – Skin-to-skin – Lochia – Pelvic Floor Healing – Postpartum Blues

– Skin-to-Skin
– Cutting the Cord
– The Six Week Rule and Why
– Pelvic Floor Healing
– Postpartum Blues

Class 6 – Your Newborn – Breastfeeding – The tender first weeks after birth.

– Normal Newborn Growth Day-by-Day
– Feeding Baby through Six Weeks and Beyond
– Pediatric Advice / Vaccines and Sleeping

Many hand-outs provided during each session and a beautiful binder to contain all the information. Partners involved in hands-on loving, effective techniques to help both of you  through this amazing journey

Course taught by Susan Oshel, CPM, LM of 49 years. She brings a wealth of experience helping over a thousand babies enter the world gently and with ease as a midwife. She is open to hearing your desires and help you achieve them through education and hands-on practice. She is a Charis Certified Childbirth Educator and Lactation Counselor.

Contact Susan for Scheduling and Consultation

Testimonials

Susan Oshel’s childbirth education course was an invaluable experience for us—not just for the extensive knowledge she offers, but for the profound wisdom she embodies after a lifetime of service as a midwife. Susan is a gifted oral storyteller; because she has such a depth of experience to draw upon, she makes birthing concepts memorable by sharing her stories. Neither of us have a medical background, but Susan delivered every lesson in an accessible and engaging way. We felt well prepared to welcome our first baby. The addition of a lactation lesson is also tremendously helpful, as this often is missing in childbirth education.  If we were having another child, we would take the course again with her just for the experience of getting to sit with Susan to listen and talk with her and ask questions. We truly feel she’s a living legend when it comes to childbirth, and we’re beyond grateful to have learned directly from her.

Cassidy & Matthew Munson