Created and hosted by Dr Stephanie Boardman, Clinical Psychologist, and Claudette Anderson, local parent, Holding The Baby aims to make you more informed and increase your confidence as a new parent. By applying research findings introduced by Stephanie, to real life examples from Claudette’s personal experience, our classes will give you a unique insight into your new world.
antenatal workshops
for life beyond birth
When you are expecting your first baby it's natural to start thinking about how you would like to parent
Holding The Baby offer an antenatal workshop and a postnatal course which help you understand the psychology of babies and what they need from you.
Unlike other classes, Holding The Baby does not focus on labour and birth. Instead, we focus your thinking on key aspects of your baby’s social and emotional development, based upon current research and psychological theory. This can help you to be better equipped as you start life as a new family, whilst exploring the impact that being a parent can have on you. Our current classes are available in Leytonstone, East London.
Dr Stephanie Boardman
Claudette Anderson
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Whilst being a parent is something that has to be learned through experience, thinking in advance about the changes to come can help you to feel more prepared.
Nowadays, parents are faced with a huge amount of contradictory advice from self-proclaimed ‘parenting experts’, much of which is not based upon scientific theory.
Topics
Your baby's social and emotional world
How you can support your baby's development
Managing your new role
Research tells us that many parents report feeling ill-equipped for the changes and that they want early and realistic information about early parenthood and parenting skills*.
By understanding how your baby’s emotions are developing and how you may react to new and unexpected situations, you can feel assured that you are meeting their needs.
Alongside this we will explore the ways in which becoming a parent can affect your well being and your relationship. We think about how you can take care of yourself and support your partner or co-parent.
Managing your new role
Our classes offer a supportive, non-judgmental, open space with honest reflections on life beyond the birth. Holding The Baby antenatal and postnatal classes also provide a valuable opportunity to extend your support network by meeting local expectant parents.
*Entsieh, A. & Hallström, K. (2016). First-time parents' prenatal needs for early parenthood preparation-A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative literature. Midwifery, 39, 1-11.
What makes Holding The Baby different to other courses?
Nowadays, parents are faced with a huge amount of contradictory advice from self-proclaimed ‘parenting experts’, much of which is not based upon scientific theory or findings. This can undermine parents trusting their own intuition and can result in a lot of confusion.
Our sessions are not about telling you what to do (nobody likes that!) but are designed to leave you feeling more informed and empowered. All of the information in Holding The Baby is supported by current research and our sessions are created to be active and enjoyable.