Birth Preparation Course

Our aim at the Childbirth Education Association is to ensure that, after completing our Birth Preparation Course, you feel confident, informed, and equipped to navigate the many choices and challenges of pregnancy, labour, birth, and early parenting. This comprehensive childbirth education program helps you understand your options so you can make informed decisions when communicating with your midwife or care provider during antenatal appointments, throughout labour, at birth, and in the postpartum period. You’ll also learn where to find trusted information and support whenever you need it.

Across the course, you’ll build a personalised toolkit of practical techniques—such as breathing, positioning, relaxation, massage, and supported holds—to help you manage the sensations of labour and support a calm, gentle birth. Our early parenting session provides a realistic picture of normal newborn behaviour and offers evidence-based strategies to meet your baby’s needs while still caring for your own wellbeing.

All CEA birth educators and midwives are dedicated to helping you achieve a positive and empowering birth experience. We respect all birth choices and value each woman’s unique journey into motherhood. The course also gives couples time to connect as a team and helps fathers and birth partners gain confidence in their vital support role.

We recommend enrolling from around 20 weeks of pregnancy, as starting earlier gives you more time to practise techniques, explore birth preferences, and research models of care that align with your values.

Each couple receives a copy of Preparing for Birth by Andrea Robertson—a clear, concise guide covering pregnancy, labour, birth, and postnatal care. You’ll also receive additional articles, resources, and links to evidence-based websites. For further learning, we offer an extensive library of pregnancy, birth, and parenting books and DVDs available for borrowing.

This course is particularly suited to families planning a physiological (natural/vaginal) birth. If you have medical complications, limited birth options, or are planning an elective Caesarean, you may benefit more from our Private Birth Preparation sessions, which allow us to tailor the content to your specific circumstances. The early parenting session is also available as a stand-alone class.

For parents with busy schedules, we can arrange private antenatal education at times that suit you, ensuring personalised, flexible support during your pregnancy journey.

Australian research has shown that independent birth education reduces epidural use by nearly 50%, reduces the use of hormones to speed up labour by 30% and reduces the Caesarean rate by 15%. Ref: Levett KM, Smith CA, Bensoussan A, et alComplementary therapies for labour and birth study: a randomised controlled trial of antenatal integrative medicine for pain management in labourBMJ Open 2016;6:e010691. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010691