If you plan to be together during the birth, I would definitively advice to attend the course together. You can find a section on the website that briefly explains why it is also relevant for birth partners to attend the course. However, this is something that you decide for yourselves. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if this is something you would like to discuss.

Yes. Whatever your situation is, the course is suitable for everyone, including single parents. If you plan to have someone with you during the birth of your baby, I would like to encourage you to bring that person/those persons with you on the course. I find it important to ensure everyone feels included and welcome. And that everyone feels the course is relevant and interesting for them. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want to discuss.

If you have given birth before, but would like to do full preparation for your upcoming birth, you are definitively welcome to follow the group course. If you have had a negative or even a traumatic birth experience in the past, you could also consider to book a one-on-one session (or two-on-one, to include your partner), to make sure there is enough time to discuss your past experience, and how to overcome any (mental) challenges you face. If you have followed NatalWisdom's group course in the past, and would like to have a refresher for your upcoming birth, the refresher course is probably most suitable for you. You can always contact me, to discuss what is best suitable to your situation!

I would advice you to bring the person(s) that you plan to have with you during birth, whoever that may be. If you plan to have your partner and an additional person with you during birth, it might be best to bring them both. Just contact me to discuss, so we can decide what is the best option for your situation.

I would say that somewhere between week 15 and 35 of your pregnancy is the most suitable time to follow the course. But this is not set in stone, and also depends on your own preferences. You would normally want to be finished with the course by week 37.

When discussing birth, often the term 'natural birth' is used. But what is a natural birth? Is this a home-birth with candle light in a birthing pool? A birth without any medical interventions, or without any pain relief? Or does this term make a distinction between vaginal births and caesarian births? This is actually not clear. NatalWisdom's course is suitable for all sorts of births. After all, you do not know in advance how your birth will proceed, and you want to be prepared for all likely scenario's.

Short answer: YES! Also when you will give birth through a planned cesarean, the birth of your baby is a life changing event and it is good to prepare. What to expect? What kind of questions do you want to ask the doctor in advance? What is important for you? How do you (plan to) recover? If you would like to breastfeed, it is good to prepare for that as well. The birth preparation group course is not the most suitable preparation course for a planned cesarean birth as it will include a lot of information that is less relevant to you. But I would be happy to help you prepare for your childbirth in an individual session! Contact me, and we can discuss what would be the best prep for your situation.

The course is provided in English. I am fluent in Dutch (my mother tongue). I speak pretty good French. My Norwegian skills are getting better, but I don't feel super confident in Norwegian yet. If there is a need for it, I can always use any of these languages to shortly explain or discuss something.

It might surprise you, but yes. During pregnancy your body prepares itself for breastfeeding. Your breasts will start to produce milk, even if you do not feed your baby. So for those who do not plan to breastfeed, we will discuss this topic. Also, we will cover informed choice and effective communication with care-takers about your choices. Because whether you breastfeed or not, is your choice, and your choice only!