Antenatal courses prepare you for labour, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The NHS recommends starting these when you're 30-32 weeks pregnant for single pregnancies or 24 weeks if you are expecting twins or other multiples. Unii’s antenatal classes, led by nine experts and coming soon to unii.com, can be enjoyed at any stage of your pregnancy journey. Here are just some of the benefits you can expect from antenatal classes.

You become a better-informed parent.

Knowledge is power and the most important reason to take antenatal classes. Gaining a greater understanding of labour and childbirth while you still have the time to process the information will prepare you for what lies ahead. You’ll also learn practical skills that will help you as a new parent. These classes offer a safe, supportive space to ask questions specific to your situation during a period quite close to the birth. We’re all familiar with going to a search engine for reassurance, only to grow more anxious and confused by what we learn. Even if you’ve taken a course before a previous pregnancy and feel quite confident, it’s helpful to remember that no parent can know everything. The calm that comes from having been there and done that may even allow you to absorb more information this time around.

You become empowered and more confident in your choices.

For new parents-to-be, it’s quite likely that you don’t know what you don’t know about labour and delivery, breastfeeding, and coping with a newborn. Family anecdotes and bestsellers like What to Expect When You’re Expecting are great sources, and there is certainly a lot to be learnt independently, but the expertise of a midwife or other qualified antenatal teacher is bolstered by years of hands-on interactions with pregnant women.

You’ll find answers to questions you’d never think to ask, have some myths dispelled, and get every question of your own addressed. Antenatal courses like our Unii antenatal classes Journey cater to plans for every kind of birth, from mums booking elective Caesareans to those who feel adamant about home births.

Rest assured that Unii’s course embraces a broad spectrum of birth choices, and yours will be respected. We will also assist you in making a birth plan if you don’t already have one. The optimal outcome for any healthcare professional is a healthy mum and baby. The National Childbirth Trust, which offered the first British antenatal classes in the 1950s, was begun by a birth trauma survivor called Prudence Briance and inspired by obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read, who advocated drug- and intervention-free childbirth. Contemporary courses like ours also cover a range of medications and surgical delivery, as well as instrumental birth in all its forms.

If you really are keen on swotting solo until the first labour pains interrupt you, your antenatal course lead will also be able to suggest the most useful reading materials. You can access a library of relevant articles for free at unii.com. In short, you are far more likely to come across a mother who begins sentences with “I wish I’d known this earlier...” than anyone who expresses regret about taking a class.

You learn practical babycare skills before your baby arrives.

Further to that “knowing earlier” point, we must mention that fortune favours the well-prepared, even if they’re just well-practiced in the basics. Any new parent will tell you that learning to swaddle, change nappies, etc. after the baby’s arrival can contribute to feelings of fatigue and waste time that could be spent on the greater adjustments you need to make to your new family. Knowing these skills in advance will also prepare you for subsequent births.

You may have a smoother labour and birth experience.

We’d also like to point out that having you and your partner work as a team at every stage—including during antenatal classes—can only benefit the foundation (or expansion) of your family. It’s less important that everything either of you attempts be perfect than it is that you are nice to each other and learn to complement one another as parents.

For the non-birthing parent, whose body is not preparing them for parenthood physically, antenatal classes can help the whole thing feel a bit more real. They give a couple the opportunity to cooperate on tasks you’ll be performing under time pressure and sometimes, in the mother’s case, great physical stress. They may test your relationship, and it makes sense to do all you can to strengthen and protect your bond in advance.

You have already accomplished something wonderful just by conceiving a child, and when it’s born, research shows that the only voices it will recognise are those of the mother and whoever around was most often (usually the non-birthing partner) during gestation.

You can make new friends at a similar life stage.

Some find it especially helpful to be connected with other couples going through the same thing, whether you’re learning online or in person. A woman may feel isolated in a work situation where nobody else is pregnant or just feel better sharing her anxiety and physical changes with fellow mums-to-be. Research shows that pregnant women want to be around one another at antenatal courses simply to normalise their own anxieties.

And it’s not just helpful for mom; the non-birthing parent’s comfort level may also increase. In Hilary Clinton’s book It Takes A Village, for example, the former First Lady recalls how men attending an antenatal Lamaze class she took with her husband were reluctant to speak at all before the teacher asked who was frightened of being responsible for a new baby. Male hands went up around the room and, hence bonded, the fathers-to-be felt far more comfortable speaking up. If you’re second- or third-time parents, it’s also just nice to book this quality time as a couple outside of your daily routine to get excited about your new baby. On antenatal courses, as in life, friends are the gift that keeps on giving, and you may find a WhatsApp or social media group you set up with your classmates useful long after you take your newborn home.

If, on the other hand, you feel that your antenatal and postnatal experiences should be solely for you and your partner, a midwife like Unii Experts Leila Zahedi and Katie Benyohai or a lactation expert like Wendy Lever can provide invaluable “big sisterly” advice through private classes. Many will also provide emotional support before and after birth. As a Unii.com Unii Plus member, you’ll be able to take advantage of courses that support your family's wellbeing education as your newborn grows. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions at unii.com.

For more advice on taking care of yourself in pregnancy, labour, and birth, check out Unii’s Antenatal Classes, with prenatal video episodes taught by senior NHS midwives, an award-winning obstetrician and gynaecologist, and six other leading healthcare experts. Exclusive to unii.com.

What happens at antenatal classes?