Having a baby may not come with an instruction manual, but a new — and free — program hopes to send expectant parents home with something close: a plan.
The Board of Health is sponsoring a series of parenting classes, including a new prenatal program that will be free for Marblehead residents. Expectant parents will leave the course with a personalized Postpartum Preparedness Plan identifying the people, community organizations and medical resources they can turn to once their baby arrives.
The goal is to help families build their support network before they need it.
“We find parents have the most success at the start if they are prepared, educated and they have resources lined up prior to actual birth,” said instructor Diana Aniello, who will lead the class at Marblehead Parenting. “That’s why we feel strongly about helping them prior to the birth.”
Aniello has led new-parent groups for nearly eight years and said the new offerings are designed to support families from pregnancy through the sometimes overwhelming first months of a baby’s life and beyond.
The new prenatal course will run for three weeks, with each class lasting 90 minutes. Rather than duplicate traditional childbirth classes offered by hospitals, Aniello said the program will focus on preparing parents for what happens when they bring their baby home.
Topics will include newborn care, car seat safety, newborn sleep and safe sleep practices, feeding, what to expect during the postpartum period and postpartum mental health.
The course will also address a less tangible part of becoming a parent: how life and identity can change almost overnight.
“What is this identity shift going to look like? What resources do you need to get started?” Aniello said.
The idea, she said, is to establish a support system before families encounter challenges such as a traumatic birth, postpartum mental health struggles or health problems involving a newborn.
“We become a great pillar of support before things that may go wrong,” Aniello said.
The classes can also connect parents with additional resources, including postpartum support, clinical counseling and information about child development.
But sometimes what a new parent needs most isn’t an expert. It’s another parent.
“Just having a safe space to come and talk and vent … there are going to be people in that room who are going through it,” Aniello said.
Those connections frequently continue after classes end. Aniello said groups start a text thread on the first day, and parents often continue meeting and building friendships on their own.
Aniello has seen especially strong connections form among fathers in recent years. Previous attempts at dedicated dads’ groups drew limited participation, but she said the role of fathers during the earliest months of parenthood has changed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Paternity has really changed for the better since COVID,” she said.
More families are staggering maternity and paternity leave, Aniello said, with fathers sometimes taking extended leave after mothers return to work.
The result has been “great groups of dads paired up … meeting outside of class,” she said. “The social village starts with us and carries on.”
That community can become particularly important when a parent is struggling emotionally.
“You may have a mom who might be slipping into depression and a difficult time… Now, she has a way to pull out,” Aniello said.
At a time when parents can find an endless stream of information and advice online, Aniello believes there is still something irreplaceable about being in a room with other people going through the same experience.
“It’s all the more important that we have these tangible, face-to-face groups,” she said.
Ultimately, Aniello hopes parents walk away with resources, relationships and greater trust in themselves.
“Lean in to your intuition,” she said. “You’ll walk away a little more confident.”
To learn more and register, visit marbleheadparenting.com/events-and-workshops/. The class begins Oct. 1.
The Board of Health is funding these parenting classes with a state maternal health grant.
