Expecting parents in Muskoka are getting an option when it comes to prenatal classes. The Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit is offering online classes as well as in-person classes, both of which have no cost for residents.
The online classes started up in February, and although no numbers for how many people have signed up are available, officials says the response has been good.
Public Health Nurse Henrietta Carriere says the online classes came up from a survey done by Ontario’s Best Start Resource Centre, which focuses on newborn and early childhood development.
Carriere says the online courses follow the same outline as the in-person classes, with nine different chapters you can study.
She says the demand for prenatal classes spiked in 2012, with a 109 per cent increase in people wanting to attend classes. Carriere says that’s due to promotion of the class, some hospitals stopped offering the classes, and including labour and delivery content.
She says the goal is to have the same number of people coming to the classes in-person, with another batch of expecting parents signing up online. The Muskoka classes run in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
You can sign up on the health unit website, or by calling 1-877-721-7520.