We love Loving Arms. We took the longer birthing classes for our first and the refresher course for our second. Great decision all around and I highly recommend them for prep.

• Diana E.

This was by far the best decision we made while pregnant to prepare for birth and early postpartum. I don't even know where to begin! The instructors were knowledgeable, friendly , and great resources both during the classes and even now, 2 months PP. The content of the course is fantastic - my partner and I were receiving a lot of birth prep resources from various places - our doula, the birth center, Instagram (lol) - and absolutely nothing compared to the information and discussions in our Loving Arms group. Because of this class we were prepared to not only know what to expect with tips and tricks for myself and my partner through labor, but we also were able to prepare for what if birth didn't go as planned - and it didn't - and how to advocate for ourselves and our daughter. …The community is great - we were able to go through this transformational experience with 8 other families who we just had a reunion with last month! It's a big commitment, but it's totally worth it. I highly recommend signing up.

Alice C.

We received invaluable knowledge as first time parents preparing for our labor and delivery, as well as were granted the opportunity to build connections with other couples also going through this life changing experience together.

• Patrick G.

We signed up for the Loving Arms birth class at the suggestion of our doula. It was such an amazing class that prepared us wonderfully for birth! Taught by fantastic teachers, they have a wealth of knowledge that makes you feel so reassured and confident going into the birth process. AND we got to meet 7 other families that we are still in contact with. I highly recommend taking this birth class, it was truly invaluable.

Elise F.

We enrolled in a childbirth preparation class for the birth of our first son the teacher was wonderful, extremely knowledgeable, personable, and open to questions and discussion. While more intensive than a one- or two-day course at a hospital, it was so wonderful to have a time every week when I could focus only on my pregnancy and upcoming labor, and get on the same page as my partner in terms of our preferences and questions. Another Yelp reviewer said it perfectly: "Loving Arms manages to honor what's mystical and thoroughly debunk the rest - keeping the tone light, fun, and incredibly informative." We also loved meeting other first-time parents in our class, and we still get together almost monthly as a group!

Josie D.

My husband and I took the 6 week birth prep class at Loving Arms this spring and loved it. It was facilitated by an incredible doula who is a wonderful and warm teacher and cheerleader. The class provided a thorough overview of the labor process and anatomy/baby positioning, challenges and interventions that can arise, and comfort measures, with optional readings/videos after class and lots of discussion prompts and practice opportunities for each couple. I appreciated that the philosophy of the class is more about knowledge as empowerment and is not specific to one type of comfort measure/labor approach (e.g. hypnobirthing or Lamaze), and the information presented is evidence-based but also open to and supportive of a wide range of cultural practices around labor and delivery. We took the class in lieu of working with a birth doula and felt like we left with a solid foundation that really helped us ask questions and advocate for ourselves at the hospital (especially with an unexpected induction!). Finally, the longer class structure also helped us get to know the other couples in the class and now that we’ve all welcomed our babies we have a fairly active WhatsApp chat going. Our registration also included a free lactation/breastfeeding class (which thanks to that unexpected induction I had to miss). In short I highly recommend Loving Arms!

I highly recommend these classes for new parents. The classes did so much to relieve my anxiety around birth and labor. Nothing can fully prepare you for the experience, but my husband and I both went into the delivery room armed with everything we needed to know.

Emily P.

Our childbirth education class at Loving Arms was the absolute best thing we did to help us prepare for the birth of our son. The class helped us feel extremely well-informed about every stage of labor and delivery as well as what to expect from breastfeeding and the first weeks of life with a newborn. The class was so informative without being dogmatic in any way--it really felt like the message was that there were lots of ways to have a joyful birth, which I so appreciated. When the time came and I went into labor, my husband and I found the we used SO many of the tools that we learned in our Loving Arms class and I really credit that knowledge for helping me to have an extremely smooth birth. The other factor that made the class so wonderful is the community we now have with the seven other families. We have a chat with the moms going that has been such a great place to get advice and support as I navigate the newborn period and we all can't wait for our reunion. If you are expecting a baby, I cannot stress enough how valuable this class will be for you!

Tali B.

Our class was amazing - everything I could have wanted (and many things I didn't know I wanted) in a childbirth class. I work in the medical field and signed up thinking the experience would be very beneficial for my husband to "get him up to speed" and was shocked at how much I learned just in the first class alone. The Series was the perfect amount of time to go into the details of labor and delivery, a variety of labor coping techniques, information about the immediate postpartum period with baby, and the best one time class on breastfeeding you could get. Our class became the highlight of my week, even if I had a long stressful day at work and was feeling every extra pound of discomfort from being in my third trimester, I really looked forward to seeing our classmates and addressing the week's topic. Our birth itself went beautifully and we felt prepared - even for it NOT to go beautifully, but honestly I think the real benefit of the course was mentally preparing us for the biggest transition in our lives- becoming a parent.

Melissa J.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Loving Arms Childbirth Services' birthing class! Our instructor was excellent! Taking this class was the best decision I made for preparing for the birth of our baby girl (even with the countless books I read and classes taken from Kaiser). My birth did NOT go at all as expected, but thanks to these classes I was super well prepared about all the possibilities that could occur during labor & delivery and helped my partner and I be on the same page (and have my partner know how he could best support me). Thus when things started to go different than what we prepared for in our birthing plan, we were really able to navigate the various options skillfully and have educated conversations with our care team. Even though I didn't have the birth I pictured for myself, I felt I had a wonderful birth story thanks to the classes from Loving Arms and our care support team. The class is very comfortable, super educational, and a good place to meet other couples about to have babies too. The instructors here really care about helping new families, and have years of experience and maturity. Again, best decision to take this class here @ Loving Arms. So glad I chose them!

Lani P.

I can personally recommend Loving Arms Childbirth Center--my husband and I took their class when I was pregnant with our first and it was the best thing we could possibly have done to prepare.

My husband and I took the childbirth ed class at Loving Arms and it was, hands down, the best thing we did to prepare for the birth of our son. We came away from the class feeling prepared and confident and we carried those feelings with us into the birth experience and the early postpartum period. The best testament to the impact of the class is that there were 8 couples and we all had really different birth experiences (planned and unplanned C-sections, medicated and unmedicated births) and we all felt good about those experiences (we were able to share about them in a reunion get together when our babies were around 2 months). Everyone said that they felt like they knew what to expect and could advocate for what they wanted. That was for sure thanks to the class. Lastly, what I didn't expect when signing up for the class but was a huge bonus, was that I would also be connected with this really sweet group of other parents in the exact same stage as me. We had a WhatsApp group with all the moms and in those early days, it was such a huge help knowing I could send a message at 3 am and someone else would also be up nursing and would reply! One couple has become very close friends and our boys are only 1 week apart, which is so special. Clearly, I have a lot to say about this class because I know how much it helped us and helped others who took it!

I highly recommend the class at Loving Arms! We took the full length class to prepare for the birth of my first and the refresher to prepare for #2. The teachers are fantastic and the class is super thorough. You also get connected to a group of other parents who are in the exact same stage as you which is an invaluable resource.

Highly recommend! Our instructor is a great communicator and we have enjoyed working through the teaching material and exercises in weekly sessions. The subject matter has been very practical and thoughtfully presented, and both of us are learning a lot - about what to anticipate, pain management strategies/exercises, possible interventions and how to advocate. The course comes with plenty of resources and teaching material, but I have probably gotten the most out of mediated conversations with my partner during and after classes. It has also been lovely to meet other expectant couples - we really look forward to our sessions and to following everyone's progress!