Welcome to our classes and support resources for pregnancy and beyond! We offer classes, videos, and in-person services for families during pregnancy and in preparation for birth.
Click the links below to find out more about:
- Birth Doula Program
- Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic
- Outpatient Obstetrical Clinic
- Delayed bathing (VIDEO: Bathing a newborn)
Community services available to you:
Other prenatal classes available to you:
Learn more about our Early Discharge Program by visiting our Postpartum Village.
If you are pregnant and have had a previous caesarean birth please watch the following videos about the risks and benefits of both having a trial of labour or a repeat caesarean section. These videos are meant to help support you and your partner in making an informed decision about delivery options.
A patient video about trial of labour after caesarean section:
A patient education video about repeat elective caesarean section:
Visit our Postpartum Village to watch these videos.
Oak Valley Health is pleased to partner with Markham Prenatal, a leader in prenatal education, to deliver a series of in-person prenatal classes to support expectant parents and their support person.
Get ready for one of the most beautiful times of your life. Register for in-person prenatal classes – with registered nurses, provided by Canada’s largest prenatal education program. Attended by over 20,000 expectant parents every year! Limited spots are available!
So many excellent reasons to take the class:
- A fun and dynamic experience
- You will learn from an obstetrical nurse familiar with practices at Markham Stouffville Hospital
- Supports the best learning
- Safe environment
- Limited number people
- Providing accurate, current, and unbiased information
- Interactive and fun group environment
- Many activities and hands-on practise
- A special gift bag with exclusive discounts, coupons, and promo codes from top baby brands
Labour and Delivery Class (day 1)
- Having your baby at Markham Stouffville Hospital/Oak Valley Health
- Signs and stages of labour
- Positions for labour
- Birth plans
- Cord blood/tissue banking education
- Medical interventions
- Pain relief options
- Cesarean sections
Postpartum Class (day 2)
- Physical and emotional changes
- Newborn’s world (appearances, behaviours, routines)
- Safe sleep and awareness of SIDS
- How to tell if your baby is sick and when to call the doctor
- Breastfeeding
Oak Valley Health is pleased to partner with Markham Prenatal, a leader in prenatal education, to deliver a series of prenatal classes to support expectant parents and their support person. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all prenatal classes will be offered in a virtual format, at no cost to registrants. Our prenatal classes are developed with the goal of providing accurate, current, and unbiased information that will provide parents and families an opportunity to learn and prepare for birth and the care of their newborn. Select classes are available in Mandarin too! All classes are live and interactive and facilitated by registered nurses experienced in maternal and newborn care.
- Labour and Delivery #1
- Signs and stages of labour
- Positions for labour and comfort techniques
- Packing your hospital bag
- Labour and Delivery #2
- Virtual tour information
- Birth and postpartum preferences plan
- Cord blood/tissue banking education
- Medical interventions, pain relief options
- Cesarean sections
- Postpartum #1
- Physical and emotional changes
- Newborn’s world (appearances, behaviours, routines)
- Postpartum #2
- Safe sleep and awareness of SIDS
- How to tell if your baby is sick and when to call the doctor
- Breastfeeding
- Breast Feeding
Led by a Certified Lactation Consultant, over the course of two hours you will learn:- Breastfeeding basics
- Skin-to-skin
- Positioning and holds
- Latch techniques
- How to know your baby is doing well
- First Aid Coaching
This two-hour interactive webinar will provide you with information on:- The principles of first aid
- Breathing emergencies
- Infant and child CPR
- Infant and child choking
- Wound care
We are delighted to have partnered with The Baby Academy, to offer our patients a host of free live online classes, all delivered by expert health professionals.
Free Antenatal Class
The Baby Academy’s Free Antenatal Class is designed for those in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. The Baby Academy’s expert midwife will provide you with the most evidence-based information on topics that will support both you and baby, such as:
- How to care for baby’s cord
- How to bath your baby safely
- How to prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
- Plus much more
To sign up for this extremely informative class, book your free place here.
Free Breastfeeding Class
We understand that when your baby arrives you want to be able to support your baby’s overall health and wellbeing as best you can. In advance of the big arrival, The Baby Academy’s Free Breastfeeding Class is designed to get you ready to breastfeed! The Baby Academy’s expert lactation consultant will give you specialist guidance on topics such as:
- How to tell if your baby is hungry
- Mastering your baby’s latch
- Positions for optimal feeding
- Understanding skin-to-skin
- Antenatal hand expressing of milk
- Plus much more!
For those of you who are considering to breastfeed, this free class will equip you with the skills to breastfeed successfully. Book your free place here.
Free Baby Safety Class
Feedback from new parents is that their number one fear is not knowing what to do in the case of an emergency. At The Baby Academy’s Free Baby Safety workshop, you will learn about common baby safety issues. The Baby Academy’s expert paediatric nurse will equip you with up-to-date skills, confidence, and peace of mind, on topics such as:
- How to deal with allergic reactions in babies
- What to do if baby breaks out with a rash
- Teething
- How to react to baby ear infections
- How to administer medicine correctly to your baby
- Plus much more!
Feel more confident in responding to an emergency if it arises by booking your free place here.
“I wish I had known all of this information before I had my first baby!”
“Why doesn’t anyone readily talk about these topics when you are pregnant?”
“I wish someone had told me this could happen when you have a baby!”
This is not a traditional pre-natal class. This free workshop has been offered in partnership with Markham Pelvic Health since 2018 with the sole purpose of educating and informing birthing parents and their partners about some of the hidden, less discussed, and often taboo topics of pregnancy and childbirth.
This free class covers:
- Physical changes with pregnancy
- Common areas of aches and pains during pregnancy
- The easiest and most effective strategies to relieve pain during pregnancy
- How posture can play a huge role in your aches and pains
- Kegel exercises: how to do them and why they may actually make your pain worse
- How to prepare for labour and to optimize postpartum healing
Taught live, by a pelvic health physiotherapist, we delve into some of the unpleasant aspects of childbirth that can include urine leakage, tailbone pain, and pain with sex. And we discuss some of the many things you can do to prevent and treat it.
Location: Online, via Zoom
Dates: First Tuesday of each month
Time: 7:30-8:30 PM
Cost: Free
This hands-on, small-group, live class runs over 3 weeks and will give you the tools, skills, and the opportunity to practice for the best birth possible. Delivered in a small group format, there is opportunity for questions, interaction, and live feedback on the skills learned. This ensures that you are doing the exercises and leaning the skills correctly, right from the start.
Week 1: Pelvic Floor Foundations and Relieving Pain in Pregnancy
- Connecting to your pelvic floor
- How to move more efficiently, with less pain!
- Top exercises to combat pain
Week 2: Physical Preparation for Labour, Training your Brain, and Preparing to Push
- Training your brain for the big day
- Perineal massage to reduce vaginal tearing
- Upright positioning for labour
- Pushing strategies
Week 3: Core Strengthening and Post-Partum Considerations
- Diastasis Recti and abdominal separation
- Belly bands 101
- Strengthening for motherhood
- Early post-partum healing
- Healing that occurs 6 weeks and beyond
Location: Online, via Zoom
Dates: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tuesday of every month
Time: 7:30-8:30 PM
Cost: $180 for the 3 session series