Having a baby is a big life event, and it can be daunting to think about all the things you need to know to care for a new person.
Antenatal classes can help you feel more prepared for the arrival of your little one.
But with busy schedules, (plus, lockdowns in the past few years and adapting to the ‘new normal’), it can be hard to find the time to attend in-person classes.
Also, free classes such as the ones offered by the NHS, often get booked up quickly.
That’s where online antenatal classes come in! If you’ve read my post on YouTube antenatal classes, you would love this article!
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best antenatal classes online both paid-for and free options.
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of this page.
10 Best Online Antenatal Classes to Take Before Having a Baby
There are several antenatal classes available to help you learn about labour, delivery, and after-birth care for your newborn and you.
We’ve compiled the best antenatal courses online to help you in making the right choice for you and your family.
1. The Baby Academy
The online courses offered by The Baby Academy are comprehensive, as they provide a broad overview of various topics related to child care such as labor and delivery, baby first aid, nursing, and weaning.
The sessions are taught by a large group of experienced midwives, lactation consultants (IBCLC), and paediatric nurses.
As new parents, you will find these sessions to be helpful when you have questions or concerns about your baby.
Many expectant parents say they felt better prepared and confident about having their baby after completing this class.
Like this mama said here –
“I’ve just done the antenatal course with ‘The baby Academy’ and it was excellent! Very, very informative and the lady was so lovely, she opens the online chat up for questions after every section so it still feels quite personal. Would really really recommend, it was £99 I think but so worth it!”
They offer a FREE 2-hour Care Class that’s highly recommended! And other free classes as well.
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Free and Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | £99 per couple |
| Live/Recorded: | Live |
| Support: | 24/7 email support from booking till 6 months postpartum |
| Class Time (How long): | Full day or half-day options |
| Topics Covered: | Labour Birth and potential complications, Birth first aid (choking and CPR), breastfeeding, postpartum depression, |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | 40% discount if parents have private health insurance |
| Refund Policy | Refunds are only provided if cancellations are made 8 weeks before the start of courses. 14 weeks before the commencement of classes will be provided with a 50% refund. 8 to 14 weeks before commencement, a 25% refund will be given. |
2. The Maternity Collective
For expectant mums, The Maternity Collective is an award-winning online suite of courses that cover labour and delivery, Elective C-Section, hypnobirthing as well as postnatal care.
Additionally, they provide a tailored one-on-one private antenatal class, which is pricey but great if you prefer a course that will cater to your unique requirements and preferences.
Their talented team consists of an Obstetrician, a Midwife, a Lactation Counsellor, a Newborn Sleep and Bonding Expert, and a Lactation Consultant.
This is the birthing class to take if you want a premium experience!
Many expectant mothers find their classes incredibly informative. Here’s what an expected mum had to say:
“I recommend The Maternity Collective, it’s run by an NHS Obstetrician and Midwife. They are a series of prerecorded videos rather than the live NCT classes but I found them incredibly informative (my friend was amazed at what I’d learned compared to her NCT classes) and despite my labour turning into an emergency situation I didn’t feel out of control because of what I’d learned. I had a question and messaged them on Instagram and they got back within an hour.”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | £79 |
| Live/Recorded: | Both |
| Support: | Access to 2 private Facebook groups for ongoing support |
| Class Time (How long): | 7 to 8 hours |
| Topics Covered: | Pregnancy, labour, delivery, and newborn care are all covered. |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | 50% discount on a private 1-on-1 consultation with Dr. Ellie, the founder. Discounts with popular brand partners like Ergobaby and Shnuggle. |
3. Blossom Antenatal
Blossom Antenatal offers both free and paid online antenatal classes that can assist parents.
These online prenatal sessions are a great way for mothers to connect with other expectant mothers and exchange experiences and advice.
Their knowledgeable team consists of highly qualified lactation consultants, NCT-trained teachers, hypnobirthing experts, doulas, and midwives.
I like that Blossom Antenatal also offers several other newborn-related workshops, including mini-Tummy Time sessions and a sleep course, all of which are reasonably priced.
They also have a special dads or birth partner class as well as a solo mother class to cater to these unique groups of people.
You’ll find excellent reviews on Trustpilot like this one below.
“Blossom antenatal was really good for my friend. She was thinking ‘what’s the point of going to online antenatal classes’ but she says they were amazing.”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Both |
| Price (If Paid): | Variable prices for each course |
| Venue (e.g. Zoom): | Zoom |
| Live/Recorded: | Live |
| Support: | A WhatsApp group for expecting moms |
| Hours (How long): | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Topics Covered: | Labour & Birthing classes, Infant First Aid, Hypnobirthing, Feeding Your Baby |
| Refund Policy: | As long as cancellations are made before the commencement of the course, a full refund is provided. |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | Get 15% off by using promo code BLOSSOM15 |
4. Let’s Talk Birth and Babies by “The Honest Midwife”
Louise, widely known as “The Honest Midwife” is the founder of Let’s Talk Birth and Babies. She has taught over 45,000 expectant parents over the years.
The team consists of experienced midwives, lactation experts, yoga teachers, and more.
They have a whole suite of birthing classes which you can take individually or in bundles. These classes are extremely comprehensive and cover everything from labour and birth to Infant feeding.
Additionally, they offer a Barkers and Babies class to help you introduce your new arrival to your fur baby.
Their Instagram account is very engaging and educational. You can look into it to see whether they’ll be a good fit for you.
This mum-to-be had this to say about their free class:
“Not an advert in anyway but I randomly came across this on Friday evening and joined the class Saturday morning. 2hrs of helpful advice regarding all things labour! Incredibly insightful for a first time mum like me!”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Both |
| Price (If Paid): | £25 |
| Venue (e.g. Zoom, Instagram Stories): | Zoom |
| Live/Recorded: | Live |
| How long: | 2 hours each |
| Private (One-on-One): | No |
| Topics Covered: | Labour and Birth; Hypnobirthing; Infant Feeding; Practical Parenting |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | £60 discount on Bluebell Baby Monitors |
5. Solihull Approach Parenting
The incredible team at Solihull Approach Parenting are strong advocates of mental and physical health.
They offer a free Antenatal Introductory Course in several languages.
In addition to their prenatal class, they also offer parenting and postnatal courses, with costs for their advanced courses starting at £19 each. These come in more than a hundred different languages.
Being directed to a different website called In Our Place to access the courses makes the website feel a little muddled.
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Both |
| Price (If Paid): | Free Introductory Course. Variable pricing for advanced courses |
| Venue (e.g Zoom, Instagram Stories): | Website |
| Live/Recorded: | Recorded |
| Size of each Class: | Variable |
| Private (One-on-One): | No |
| Topics Covered: | Pregnancy, Birthing Process, Labour |
| Refund Policy: | Refunds are provided if valid reasoning is mentioned within 6 months of the course date |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | 10% discount on orders of 10 courses and above. |
6. The Birth Collective
The Birth Collective team consists of lactation consultants, doctors, and midwives, currently working in NHS hospitals.
They have over 25 years of combined working experience and strive to provide the care that expecting parents truly deserve.
In addition to hypnobirthing and postnatal classes, they provide an antenatal refresher course that is extremely informative for second-time parents.
Plus, another to address daibetes in pregnancy – all at a reasonable cost.
With a 4.7 rating on Trustpilot, it’s no wonder many expectant mums love this birth preparation course.
Read what this mama had to say about The Birth Collective:
“The birth collective full workshop is amazing! The girls are so friendly and supportive. I loved the fact I could watch the videos in my own time and rewatch them as often as I needed to. The advice was so informative and made me feel empowered and confident to give birth. I was very lucky to have a positive, vaginal birth, but felt like I was ready and was able to have a successful c section or induction after listening to the course.”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | Complete Course Bundle – £95 |
| Venue (e.g Zoom): | Teachable Course Platform |
| Live/Recorded: | Recorded |
| Support: | On-going access to the course for 12 months after purchase |
| Private (One-on-One): | Yes |
| Topics Covered: | Prenatal Yoga, Hypnobirthing, Labour and Birth, Postnatal and Feeding |
| Refund Policy: | Full refund within 7 days if not satisfied |
| Perks/Extras: e.g. discounts, coupon codes | Discount codes worth over £100 from leading parenting brands such as Evie, My Expert Midwife, and Ergobaby. |
7. The Bump To Baby Chapter
Antenatal courses provider – The Bump and Baby Chapter – believes that a positive birth shouldn’t break the bank!
As a result, their prenatal classes are reasonably priced.
The courses have been given appropriate and easy-to-remember titles:
- The Bump Chapter – is all about pregnancy;
- The Birth Chapter – is all about labour and
- The Baby Chapter – covers all things postpartum.
The team is led by Beth, an NHS midwife of almost 10 years!
They have outstanding reviews. This is but one of the countless examples that can be found online:
“This course was possibly my best purchase during pregnancy. I went from worried to excited after completing. I can honestly say that this helped me have the most positive birthing experience. I had a very long early labour and through all I learnt on the course I was able to stay calm and just ride through it and yet still get excited once I realised I was in established labour. Knowledge is absolute power and Beth delivers the information in a really easily digested way. I would 100% recommend The Bump to Baby Chapter for all mums to be!”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | £39 |
| Venue (e.g. Zoom): | Teachable Course Platform |
| Live/Recorded: | Recorded |
| Support: | Private Facebook group for moms and Lifetime access |
| Private (One-on-One): | None but group sessions are available in Cheltenham & Gloucester |
| Topics Covered: | Hypnobirthing, Birth, Postpartum (up to 6 months); Breastfeeding |
| Perks/Extras: e.g discounts, coupon codes | Relaxation Audios |
| Refund Policy: | A full refund can be issued within 30 days |
8. The Positive Birth Company
The Positive Birth Company is on the mission of making the journey of parenthood easier and more exciting for you.
It was founded by hypnobirthing expert Siobhan Miller in 2016.
She appeared on Dragon’s Den in 2020 and successfully raised funds for The Positive Birth Company.
This company also created the well-known pregnancy app, Freya App.
Aside from hypnobirthing classes, they also provide a variety of other courses ranging from TTC (trying-to-conceive) and pregnancy classes to postpartum and early years classes.
There are loads of positive birth stories on their site to boost your confidence about birth.
They have so many stellar customer reviews like this one:
“This course has completely changed my view of birth, it’s made me almost excited about it! I can honestly say I was completely clueless about birth before starting this course. It was recommended by a friend and I have recommended it already to others that are pregnant. Thank you very much!”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | £39 |
| Venue (e.g. Zoom, Instagram Stories): | Zoom (for private 1-on-1 classes) |
| Live/Recorded: | Pre-Recorded |
| Support: | Expectant parents forum |
| Private (One-on-One): | Yes |
| Topics Covered: | Pregnancy, hypnobirthing, postpartum |
| Perks/Extras: e.g discounts, coupon codes | Free positive affirmation MP3 when you sign up for their newspaper. |
| Refund Policy: | 2-week money-back guarantee for postpartum and hypnobirthing digital packs |
9. NCT Antenatal Classes
Established in 1956, the NCT – National Childbirth Trust – is one of the oldest antenatal care providers (charities) in the UK.
The NCT team consists of licensed professionals, trained in partnership with the University of Worcester.
Joining an NCT class has several perks, one of which is that it helps you make friends by introducing you to local expectant parents, many of whom go on to be life-long friends.
So, if you value having mom friends, this course might be right for you.
Their courses cover breastfeeding support, solid food workshops, baby first aid, mother and baby yoga, and much more.
A major drawback is that it’s one of the more pricey options on this list but they do offer income-based discounts.
However, each NCT Antenatal course has a different fee depending on where it is located, and those rates are displayed when you conduct a search on the NCT website.
You can also read superb customer testimonials such as this one:
“Yes, we did an online class last year and it was pretty good – they do lots of breakout rooms so you get a chance to chat to other couples. The mums and babies from our group have met up quite a few times now so definitely feels like it was worthwhile for us!”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Paid |
| Price (If Paid): | Varies but generally from £159 upwards |
| Venue (e.g Zoom, Instagram Stories): | In-person and Zoom |
| Live/Recorded: | Live |
| Size of each Class: | Variable |
| Private (One-on-One): | Yes (For Some Courses) |
| Topics Covered: | Labour, Birth & Hypnobirthing, Infant feeding |
| Refund Policy: | Refunds are provided if valid reasoning is mentioned within 6 months of the course date |
| Perks/Extras: e.g discounts, coupon codes | A range of Income-related discounts (20%-80%) if household income is less than £30,000 |
10. NHS Antenatal Classes
As stated earlier, the NHS offers Free NHS Antenatal classes.
They do get booked out very quickly so try to book your sessions in early third trimester say between 30 -34 weeks.
These sessions can be a huge help in getting you ready for the birth of your baby and boosting your confidence.
The classes mainly cover the stages of labour, pain relief during labour, and a few bits on breastfeeding. They are usually taught by NHS midwives.
Majorly, the goal of these live classes is to keep you well informed on what to expect during labour and delivery.
They used to be strictly in-person classes but since the pandemic, they’ve gone online as well.
It’s important to keep in mind that the free prenatal sessions offered by the NHS aren’t always as in-depth as some of the other sessions described above.
Speak to your midwife or GP to find out about the birthing classes available near you or search the NHS website antenatal page.
Several pregnant women get great value from the free NHS classes. See what this lady thought:
“I did the NHS ones and thought they were really good and informative. Went into a lot of detail about different kinds of birth and what happens to your body during labour. Definitely worth it in my opinion.”
QUICK FACTS
| Free/Paid: | Free |
| Venue (e.g Zoom, Instagram Stories): | In-Person and Zoom |
| Live/Recorded: | Live |
| Size of each Class: | Variable |
| Private (One-on-One): | No |
| Topics Covered: | Labour and delivery, Birth interventions and Complications, Postpartum care, breastfeeding basics. |
| Refund Policy: | Not Applicable |
Final Thoughts on Online Antenatal Classes
There are a lot of antenatal classes available online, both free and paid. It can be tough to decide which one to choose.
There are a few things to consider when choosing antenatal classes.
Free classes are typically shorter and may not cover as much material as paid classes. However, they can be a good option if you’re on a budget.
Paid classes are usually longer and more comprehensive, but they can be expensive.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which class is best for you. If you are on a budget, there are plenty of free options available.
If you want more personalized attention, you may want to consider a paid class.
At the end of the day, the best option is the one that fits your needs and budget.