In the current crisis situation, many women encounter problems when looking for childbirth preparation and postnatal classes. Either the courses are cancelled without replacement, or it is simply unclear whether and for how long the chosen course can take place.

At the same time the Birth preparation course online on the advance and the offer increases constantly. There is therefore no shortage of options and alternatives to the classic course at present, so that more and more women and couples are taking advantage of the new opportunities of the digital age.

Which Courses Take Place And How Can I Take My Course Despite Corona?

Many midwives still offer that their courses can be attended. However, depending on the current regulations at your place of residence, the birth preparation must take place online, because the presence course may not be held – or the expectant mothers themselves do not want to do so, in order to keep the risk of infection as low as possible.

If you are already being cared for by a midwife or a birth center and know that courses are also offered there, it is worth asking the relevant contact person for the birth preparation course on site.

Another option is to ask the clinic where you are planning to give birth, because they often have contact addresses and have gained enough experience themselves in recent months to help advise parents-to-be.

Alternative: Find Childbirth Preparation Online

You may have already noticed that there are more and more online courses. These are the advantages of taking a childbirth preparation course online:

• It can take place anytime, anywhere, despite the coronavirus
• No long car rides
• Own time management
• No risk of infection
• No fixed dates and therefore more flexibility
• The contents can be repeated

When choosing, it is important to pay attention to the professional competence of the course instructors and to select an offer that, in the best case, has already been tested. Many of the courses have been on the market for some time and have proven to be of high quality and safe.

It is important to note, however, that just as with any other course, there is no substitute for a medical examination by a doctor or midwife. However, this is also not the claim of the online courses at any time.

These Are The Tasks Of An Online Course

• To explain the birth process to you.
• To take away your fears and to give you confidence in your own strength.
• To accompany your pregnancy.
• To inform you about important topics such as induction, cesarean section and other means of modern obstetrics.
• To teach you the correct breathing for birth.
• Explainbirth positions.
• To explain everything about the pregnancy and the growth of the baby in an understandable way!
• To create self-confidence for the birth.

Is An Online Course Equivalent To An On-site Course?

Yes! The content covered in an on-site course is the same as that discussed online. In some cases, especially with very comprehensive video courses and coaching, the guidance even goes far beyond what you are used to. They provide information about the birth also material for the partner, information about the entire pregnancy and breastfeeding, interesting facts for the postpartum, sports programs and many other contents.

For example, there are now courses that include course content on baby massage, breastfeeding, proper babywearing or hypnobirthing. Other examples of topics that are often covered in particularly comprehensive childbirth preparation courses include nutrition during pregnancy and legal issues relating to pregnancy and maternity protection.

In this respect, depending on the scope and format booked, online courses are not only equivalent, but often even much broader in scope than the classic on-site childbirth preparation course.

Birth Preparation Course Online Health Insurance

For many women, the question arises as to whether the costs of online courses are covered or whether they have to be paid for by the patient. There is no clear answer to this, but since the Corona pandemic, there has been a clear trend toward reimbursement for childbirth and postpartum classes that take place online.

Ultimately, however, this depends on the course itself as well as the individual regulations of the health insurance companies, so that it is worthwhile in individual cases to ask your own insurance company for its agreement!

If, contrary to expectations, the health insurance company refuses to cover the costs of the course, there are some course offers that are so inexpensive that they even fit into the small purse. The latter is also interesting for all those expectant parents who are not insured in Germany. In Austria, for example, birth preparation courses are not part of the regular range of services offered by insurance companies at all.

Is There Also A Postnatal Course Online?

Also back formation courses can be booked on-line, for example over comparison and test portals, which the quality of the Online childbirth preparation course already had on the test bench and thus ensure that young mothers find the right course for them.

Once the right course has been found, the same advantages and disadvantages apply as we have already described for birth preparation. Another advantage is that the time management around the care of the newborn baby can of course be arranged many times easier than if a solution for the care of the baby had to be found for each course date or the child had to be taken along.

In any case, it is worth asking the health insurance company and comparing current offers so that you can find the most suitable course for you.

Conclusion

Online courses are currently booming – not least because of the pandemic. But even before the outbreak of the Corona virus, there were signs that the new technical possibilities of our time would sooner or later bring about a change here.

For example, the first online childbirth preparation and postpartum courses were launched several years ago and have been booked more and more in the past!

It is important to inform yourself and look for accurate information and not to book in a hurry.