What is Childbirth Education ?

Childbirth Education is a series of classes provided for groups of pregnant women and their partners or support people. The goals of these classes are :

* Provide participants with the information and skills they need to improve pregnancy and birth
    outcomes;
* Facilitate participants in having a positive birthing experience.

Outcomes anticipated through childbirth education :

* Improved maternal health and reducing maternal risks.
* Increased ability of the mother and her partner to cope with labour.
* Increased parental knowledge so they can make informed decisions.
* Increased ability of the parents to care for their infants.

What parents who have undergone childbirth education feel ?

Studies conclude that parents find the following strategies beneficial:

* Programs that help to set realistic expectations of the birth and offer ways to increase
    personal control during the birth event.
* Programs that prepare parents for unexpected outcomes.
* Programs that offer information at the relevant stage of the pregnancy.
* Program that aim to increase the parents' confidence in decision-making.
* Programs that involve fathers.

Acc. to a study conducted in 2004 in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, US