Get prepared, build community.
You know that birth is big, and you want to be prepared for a great experience — as natural as possible. We've got you! Our natural birth class is fun, interactive and evidence-based.

You know that birth is big and you want to be prepared for a great experience — as natural as possible.
We've got you! Our natural birth classes are fun, interactive and evidence-based.
What do we mean by 'natural birth'?
Throughout time, parents around the world have given birth naturally, without interventions. We believe that birth still works. Our childbirth class focuses on "natural birth," which some people like to call unmedicated birth or physiologic birth. We spend eight weeks exploring the ins and outs of what to expect in labor and how to stack your deck for a great experience.
Modern technology can be very helpful when it's truly needed, even lifesaving. But our system is out of balance. When interventions are used too often, they can actually make birth more difficult and complicated. Our cesarean rate in the United States is 32 percent (really? do a third of us truly need major surgery to give birth?). Many hospitals have epidural rates upward of 80 percent. Inductions are common. If you want a physiologic birth in our system, it takes some work. We'll teach you how birth works and how you can work within the system to meet your goals. Our students often include first-time parents, VBAC families, and even second- or third-time moms who just want learn more and a different experience this time.
Our greatest hope is that you have an informed, centered birth experience that leaves you feeling strong, happy and connected to your baby. Sometimes birth (and life) can throw us some curveballs. We'll prepare you with questions and decision making tools so that if you do need interventions, you will feel good about your choices. We celebrate every birth, even the ones with lots of unexpected twists and turns.

Hear from some birthing parents who've taken our class.
This is what support people (birth partners) have to say.
There are two main types of parents who join our classes:
1
People having their first baby. We love helping you prepare for this new experience. It's a sweet and important time in your life. Your first birth sets the stage for all your future births.
2
Parents who didn't have a great birth experience last time. Maybe it was a cesarean, or medication you had hoped to avoid. We love sharing new tools to help you this time around.
Every family is welcomed and celebrated in our space, including LGBTQIA+ parents. Let us know how we can support you.








Taught by one of Southwest Michigan's most experienced childbirth educators.
Hey, I'm Jessica English. I've been teaching childbirth classes in Kalamazoo for almost 15 years. It's my passion and my life's work — I love sharing evidence-based information in creative ways to help families get ready for centered, empowered births.
I started off teaching Bradley Method classes in Kalamazoo, but a few years in, I found that Bradley wasn't quite the right match for me. I wanted to expand my classes outside the Bradley Method philosophy and soften some of the hard edges of their program. So back in 2008, I transferred my certification to Lamaze International and wrote my own curriculum in keeping with the Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices (which are amazing, by the way, and no funny breathing patterns either).
Here's a little more about me:
- Lamaze-certified childbirth educator
- Lamaze program director and trainer, which means I train nurses and doulas to become childbirth educators too
- Hired by hospitals around the state to train nurses in labor support skills
- One of only 60 DONA International advanced certified birth doulas in the world
- Birth doula trainer for DONA International
- Certified postpartum doula with DONA International
- Frequent speaker at conferences for doulas, childbirth educators and nurses.
There's nowhere else I'd rather be on a Tuesday night than teaching families about birth. I feel invested in every one of my students, and I'm always available to you if you have questions after class ends (more than once over the years, I've even had a student call or text in labor). My class is constantly changing as information evolves, as I attend births and as I learn creative new teaching techniques.
I'd love to help you get ready for your birth.


Special Coronavirus update
Covid-19 has changed so many things, birth included. No matter what, your little one needs to be born, and they'll definitely have a great origin story.
We can offer you the great education you need to prep for for a positive birth experience. To help keep our community safe, we've taken all of our childbirth classes online. The course is live, highly interactive, and still customized to people who are interested in the natural birth process. If you live in SW Michigan, we can tell you exactly what to expect in our local hospitals. And if you're joining from another area, we'll prep you with the exact questions to ask to get the information you need. We'll talk through options and policies, so that you can envision what a healthy, positive birth looks like during the pandemic.
Here's what our student Jess shared about her Zoom class experience:
Jessica's birth class offered a wealth of information. Even on Zoom, everything was well structured with a nice balance of interactive activities, short lectures, discussions, and demonstrations with plenty of time for questions and check-ins. Jessica's warm and personable approach allowed the group to build camaraderie while meeting virtually, and our group is continuing to stay in touch after the class to support each other. It was so empowering to be part of a group that speaks positively about the natural birth process. I not only feel more educated about childbirth but I also have more trust in my own body. I couldn't imagine going through this journey without the tools and support offered through this class.
Zoom is not complicated at all to use, you'll just need to download the app on your computer or phone. We'll be able to see each other face-to-face, with live interaction. This isn't your average Zoom meeting, though, folks. Classes include group brainstorming on a virtual white board, small group breakout activities, card sorts that you and your support person can do together, hands-on comfort measures, practicing positions for labor, enjoying relaxation exercises, watching birth videos, and more. You questions are answered live in real time, and you get to benefit from the questions other families ask too. We're also building community by getting to know each other over our two months together. Community with other new families is even more important than usual right now!
Another recent student, Jenna, had this to say about the virtual classes:
"When my husband and I finished our last class with Jessica, the first thing we did was look at each other and agree that the class had been worth every penny and minute we spent on it. Even in a virtual format due to pandemic restrictions, this class was the best investment we made in preparing for our first child's birth. We found the virtual format to actually be a bonus for us — it saved us drive time, allowed us to have a little more flexibility in our evening, even with a longer class, and we still had plenty of opportunities to learn from Jessica and interact with other families. I found myself really missing the classes in the weeks after we finished. This class covers more than the basics and mechanics of birth — it gave my husband and I time to process and discuss and plan together in a way I had never considered possible or necessary. It is a direct result of this class that it feels like we are truly 'in this together' in a way I didn't even know was needed or possible. He has strategies to support me, I have language to let him know what I need to feel supported, and our child is coming into a partnership that was strengthened because of this class. It also helps that I don't have to explain every detail of pregnancy and birth to him anymore — he now has the knowledge and the language to understand, sympathize, and process what's happening, as well as to support me. Our culture tends to put pregnancy and birth squarely on the shoulders of the birthing parent, but Jessica has done a beautiful job of helping us find ways to share and participate in pregnancy and birth together, as a family. It is a lovely and meaningful way to transition to parenthood. I can't thank Jessica enough for the good work she's doing, and I can't recommend this class any more highly.”
In a time when lots of things are unusual and a little wonky, we'll make the class experience feel normal for you and your support person. Birth still works. You'll benefit from high-quality prep.
We're also offering a free, personalized 20-minute phone or Zoom call to every family who takes an online class. These interactions usually happen before or after an in-person class anyhow, and it's a lovely way to connect and get your personal situation addressed directly.
We'll be holding our live, interactive classes online until at least the spring of 2021. (We'll reassess for the classes that begin May 25, August 24, and October 19, and we'll get creative if needed; a hybrid series with some virtual and some in-person meetings might be possible, for example.) Research shows that pregnant people are four to five times more likely than their peers to be hospitalized and need a ventilator if they contract Covid-19, and we just can't take that risk with your health. Plus, current executive orders in Michigan call for masks and social distancing until we are post-pandemic, and we can't imagine not being able to see your faces. Your Zoom class will be an interesting sidelight of your baby's birth story, and hopefully your class can have a big in-person reunion with your babies when things are more normal.
We're excited to help you prepare for this little one! Check out the details and get registered below.
Ready to get signed up?
Our classes often fill early, so we encourage you to sign up as soon as you can.
2020-21 Classes
An 8-week series
Tuesday nights, 6 - 8:30 p.m.
Each series includes six classes of
childbirth ed, a breastfeeding class
and a final class on the 4th trimester
January 5 - February 23, 2021
VIRTUAL
March 16 - May 4, 2021 (FULL)
please email about private classes or a
wait list for a second spring series to be added
VIRTUAL
May 25 - July 20, 2021
(no class June 22)
MAY BE VIRTUAL or HYBRID
August 24 - October 12, 2021
MAY BE VIRTUAL OR HYBRID
October 19 - December 14, 2021
(no class Nov. 16)
PLANNED AS AN IN-PERSON CLASS
pandemic-pending
Can't make Tuesdays? Finding us too late to fit in a full series?
Check out our private classes
Combined series (birth, breastfeeding + 4th trimester)
Eight-week series
- Our eight-week series includes six weeks of birth class, a week of breastfeeding and one week of fourth trimester/postpartum education. Pay in full or make a $150 deposit when you register.
For low-income families who receive WIC, we can offer a partial scholarship for the eight-week series from our "Fund for All." Please email info@birthkalamazoo.com for all the details.