Lamaze International is very pleased to announce the release of their fourth and newest online Lamaze childbirth education course for expectant families. This newest offering, 'Labor Pain Management: Techniques for Comfort and Coping' provides families with coping skills for all the stages and phases of labor, from early labor right through pushing and birth. All of the Lamaze International online courses are interactive, filled with great photographs and graphics, and based on the most current evidence. You can read more about the previous courses that were released in this post from November, 2014. Our first online course: Safe and Healthy Birth: Six Simple Steps was released in early 2014 when Lamaze unveiled the Online Parent Learning Center.

Lamaze International expanding into online childbirth education

The Lamaze International Strategic Framework 2014-2017 that resulted from in-depth strategic planning meetings held in 2014 with the Board of Directors and Lamaze management resulted in many forward thinking, comprehensive and courageous goals, including plans to 'innovate education and expand to the childbearing years' by:

• reaching more women earlier and more frequently throughout childbearing years,
• expanding delivery methods for online education (e.g., virtual classes, Facetime consults, and mobile apps), and
• developing a strategy to broaden outreach at the electronic level and cultivate moms 'up' the ladder for more personalized services and training.

Labor Pain Management: Techniques for Comfort and Coping

The course description lets families know that 'labor and birth require a lot of physical and mental preparation. As you get ready for your upcoming birth, you will want to have a variety of comfort measures and coping techniques in your labor toolbox so that you and your support team can be as prepared as possible. Learning helpful labor positions and strategies to promote labor progress will allow your body to work with your baby toward a safe and healthy birth. Lamaze International has created this class to provide you with the information and skills you will need to minimize discomfort and labor confidently.'

The voice over sections with the birth story were particularly helpful in making me feel like others have gone through this ' so I can too.' ' online course participant.

The class objectives

After completing this class learners will be able to:

• Use learned relaxation skills suitable for early labor
• Practice a variety of comfort techniques that minimize active labor discomfort
• Understand back labor and how to cope with back pain while encouraging baby to turn
• Plan for transition with effective labor strategies
• Learn the top positions for pushing that open the pelvis and shorten the pushing time

Practice makes perfect

Interactive activities invite parents to practice coping activities, breathing skills and different positions alone and with a partner to see what might work for them in labor. They can also follow along with a birth story from start to finish, woven throughout the course, to see how a new family applied the skills covered in the course at their own birth. Families are encouraged to stop and practice newly learned techniques and note what they think will work well for them in labor. The sections of the course detail what is happening physiologically during each phase and offers suggestions for emotional and physical coping and comfort techniques that might be helpful. Families are introduced to positions and activities to practice as they near the end of their pregnancies, so they are familiar with them prior to labor beginning. The course builds confidence in the pregnant person that they will have many helpful techniques to try, and demonstrates the important role of the birth partner and other support people who will be in attendance. There is also information about how to continue to promote labor progress should a woman choose to have an epidural.

I loved how easy the online format was, and I completed the entire class with my husband, who learned a lot about his role in birth supporting me. ' online course participant.

This self-paced class is accessible on both desktop and mobile devices, and discussion forums built into the course encourage community building and online engagement with other families.

Class participants are able to repeat the course material as often as they wish and fun quizzes spaced throughout reinforce their learning. At the end of the course, families are provided with the benefits of taking an in-person online class, and directed to the 'Find a Lamaze Class' section of the parent website to locate a class in their area.

Online courses still to come in 2015 include Parenting Together: Starting Off Strong and Prepared for Pregnancy: Start Off Right, which are still in development. Existing classes that are available now are:

• Labor Pain Management: Techniques for Comfort and Coping
• VBAC: Informed and Ready
• Breastfeeding Basics: From Birth to Back to Work
• Safe and Healthy Birth: Six Simple Steps

To learn more about this newest addition to the Lamaze International online course catalogue, preview the courses and persuse all the offerings, please visit the online course catalog.

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