Courses and support before and after birth
Our parent education courses have been created by our midwives, doctors and physiotherapists to give you and your birth partner the information to support your pregnancy, delivery, recovery and journey as a new parent.
Courses are available to people booked to have their babies at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. We encourage birth partners to join where possible. If you book onto a course but you are not registered to have your baby with our services, we reserve the right to cancel your ticket.
Our courses are offered for free. However, donations to Poppy’s Fund, Imperial Health Charity’s fund for our maternity services, are most welcome. Donations to Poppy’s Fund help us purchase specialist equipment, improve the hospital environment, offer additional support for families, and more. Donate to Poppy’s Fund.
Antenatal courses are considered part of your care and you are entitled to time off to attend these sessions. Find out more about pregnant employees' rights.
PRISM: Three-week online antenatal course
PRISM reflects the different perspectives that women, men, their families, and their caregivers may have, which come together to facilitate a new parent’s journey. The course is only for people registered with Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust. Attendance is recommended from 28 weeks. Birth partners are welcome to join. If your birth partner would like to join the course, it is recommended to book one ticket per couple.
The course consists of 3 sessions covered over 3 weeks, running from 9am to 1.30pm.
Week 1: The antenatal period and stages of labour
Week 2: Types of deliveries and the postnatal period
Week 3: Neonatal care and Community Support
The webinars are held on Microsoft Teams, which is free to use, and you will be able to ask questions at each event. You will be emailed the link to our resource website which includes videos and further information about each topic covered throughout the course.
How to book
Book your place here. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email with a link that you click on for your first session.
Infant feeding classes
'Feeding your baby' is an online session that is led by the infant feeding team, who are experts in providing breastfeeding support.
The two-hour workshop is made up of a range of topics including:
- Benefits of breastfeeding
- How to breastfeed
- Challenges with breastfeeding and how to troubleshoot
- Colostrum harvesting
- How to express
- How to choose appropriate formula milk if you’re wishing to formula feed
How to book
Find out more and book your place here. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email with the link to access the session.
Who can attend?
The feeding workshop is for people who are at least 28 weeks pregnant and are registered to have their baby with us.
Refresher infant feeding workshop
This workshop is aimed at parents who already have children and want a refresh on all things infant feeding including:
- Responsive feeding
- Refresh of how to breastfeed
- Feeding in the early days and common challenges
- Colostrum harvesting and expressing
- Breastfeeding during pregnancy and tandem breastfeeding
How to book
Find out more and book your place here. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email with the link to access the workshop.
Information session on screening in pregnancy
Our specialist genetic counsellor, Dr Dagmar Tapon, is available to answer your questions about screening during pregnancy.
The hour-long online workshop will cover:
- Why we offer ultrasound scans and when you will have them
- What a combined screening is, and why we check for chromosome conditions
- What invasive testing involves, and which conditions invasive tests during pregnancy can be used to find
- The new non-invasive blood test (NIPT) that you may receive
Who can attend?
Please register for the antenatal screening session if you have just found out you're pregnant and are registered with our services.
How to book
Find out more and book your place here. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email with a link to access the session.
An introduction to our birth centres
Join us online to learn about our birth centres, the benefits of a natural birth and how to approach labour in a positive way.
Who can attend?
This session is for anyone who would like to know more about our birth centres and is interested in giving birth with minimal interventions.
How to book
Book 'An introduction to our birth centres' online now.
Pelvic health antenatal classes
Our dedicated pelvic health team offer classes for people to learn more about the ways to keep your body healthy during and after pregnancy.
Healthy pregnancy class
Our online presentation recommends exercises to try during pregnancy and ways you can make small changes to your lifestyle when pregnant, for the best health benefits.
Who can attend?
This session is for parents who are registered to our maternity services.
How to book
Email imperial.pelvic.physiotherapy@nhs.net to find out more about the classes and how to join.
Physiotherapy care after an elective caesarean
This online session covers how to look after your wound and recover after having a caesarean section (C-section).
Who can attend?
This session is for parents who are having a planned caesarean section (C-section)
How to book
Email imperial.pelvic.physiotherapy@nhs.net to find out more about the classes and how to join.
Other support services we offer, in the form of antenatal clinics, include:
- Smoking cessation: To support pregnant women and birthing people who would like to stop smoking.
- Vaginal birth after a caesarean clinic: An opportunity to speak with a member of staff about your questions regarding having a vaginal birth after a caesarean.
- Listening clinic: A service designed to review your pregnancy experience with a member of staff.
- Birth options clinic: A clinic dedicated to talking through the choices you're making with regards to your birth plan.
- Obstetrics anaesthetic clinic: for pregnant people with a medical challenge that requires specific input from an anaesthetist.
- Bereavement clinic: To support pregnant people that have experienced a miscarriage or still birth.
For more information on how you can access these services, please ask your midwife in your next antenatal appointment, or make a note to ask for more information in your virtual antenatal PRISM sessions.
Further support
Pregnancy Loss Support
The Early Pregnancy Unit at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital has a support group for people and their partners who may wish to talk and connect with others who have had similar experiences. For more information and to register your place contact juanita@miscarriageassociation.org.uk
Maternity Voices Partnership
The Maternity Voices Partnership is a community of people who are either going to give birth or have given birth with our services. We sometimes hold workshops where people can share their experiences with the clinicians, meet others and let our team know how we can improve the quality of our services.
Email the Maternity Voices Partnership team at imperialmaternityvoices@gmail.com to join the next online session.
Join our Instagram community
Follow @imperialmaternity on Instagram for regular insights and key updates.
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