Welcome to our group antenatal sessions
Preparing for the arrival of your baby is an exciting journey, and our antenatal programme is designed to support you every step of the way. Across three welcoming and informative sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to build confidence, connect with professionals and other parents-to-be, and learn practical skills to help you feel ready for birth and early parenthood. Sessions are delivered by experienced local teams in community venues across Wirral, with some online options available to make attending as easy as possible.
These sessions are designed to support you through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood by providing clear, evidence-based information in a way that best suits you. We are delighted to offer a range of antenatal options designed to offer relaxed and inclusive environments. We aim to help you feel informed, confident, and supported as you prepare for labour, birth, and caring for your baby.
You can choose the best option for you and it is absolutely fine to make the most of any or all of our options
Group antenatal classes aim to introduce you to:
- Building connections covers topics including connecting to baby in utero, the power of oxytocin in pregnancy and labour in the first 1001 days, baby brain development, skin to skin contact and the fourth trimester, partners and our support network, becoming a parent and support in your community.
- Labour and birth covers topics including place of birth, preparation for birth, practical preparation such as managing latent phase, signs of labour, pain relief options, induction of labour, caesarean section and a brief overview of postnatal and newborn care.
- Caring for your newborn covers topics including responsive parenting and how to respond to your baby, safer sleep, ICON, and feeding topics such as responding to feeding cues, hand expression, skin to skin and breastfeeding, as well as other feeding methods.
In all these expert led sessions there will be opportunities to ask questions, share experiences, and explore choices that are right for you and your family.
Booking is easy. Complete our online form.
About the sessions
Building Connection (Delivered by Koala North West)
This session covers:
- Connecting with your baby during pregnancy
- The role of oxytocin in pregnancy and labour
- The first 1001 days and baby brain development
- Skin-to-skin contact and the fourth trimester
- Partners and support networks
- Adjusting to parenthood
- Community support available to families
Delivered at either St Catherine’s Community Centre, Seacombe Family Hub, Bromborough Family Hub, Rock Ferry Satellite Family Hub or online.
Location details can be found below
Labour and Birth (Delivered by the Maternity team from WUTH)
This session covers:
- Place of birth options
- Preparing for birth
- Managing the latent phase of labour
- Signs of labour
- Pain relief options
- Induction of labour
- Caesarean birth
- An overview of postnatal and newborn care
Delivered at St Catherine’s Community Centre and Rock Ferry Satellite Family Hub.
Location details can be found below.
Caring for your newborn (Delivered by the 0-19+ Health Visiting Team)
This session covers:
- Responsive parenting and responding to your baby’s needs
- Safer sleep guidance and ICON
- Feeding support, including:
- Recognising and responding to feeding cues
- Hand expressing (antenatally and postnatally)
- The importance of skin-to-skin contact
- Breastfeeding your baby – understanding what is normal
Delivered at St Catherine’s Community Centre and Rock Ferry Satellite Family Hub.
Location details can be found below.
Timetables
St Catherine’s Community Centre
Caring for your newborn
Time of all sessions: 5.00pm – 7.00pm
Wednesday 3 June
Wednesday 17 June
Wednesday 1 July
Wednesday 15 July
Wednesday 29 July
Wednesday 12 August
Wednesday 26 August
Wednesday 9 September
Wednesday 23 September
Wednesday 7 October
Wednesday 21 October
Wednesday 4 November
Wednesday 18 November
Wednesday 2 December
Wednesday 16 December
Wednesday 30 December
Labour and birth preparations
Monday 8 June
Monday 22 June
Monday 6 July
Monday 20 July
Monday 3 August
Monday 17 August
Monday 31 August
Monday 14 September
Monday 28 September
Monday 12 October
Monday 26 October
Monday 9 November
Monday 23 November
Monday 7 December
Monday 21 December
Building connections
Tuesday 16 June
Tuesday 11 August
Tuesday 6 October
Tuesday 1 December
Address: St Catherine’s Community Centre, St Catherine’s Health Centre, Derby Road, Birkenhead CH42 0LQ
Onsite parking – free for a maximum of 3 hours.W
Seacombe Family Hub
Building Connections
Time of all sessions: 10.00am – 12noon
Saturday 11 July
Saturday 5 September
Saturday 31 October
Address: Seacombe Family Hub, St Paul’s Road, Wallasey CH44 7AN
Limited parking, but there is plenty of on-street parking available.
Bromborough Family Hub
Building Connections
Time of all sessions: 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Tuesday 2 June
Tuesday 28 July
Tuesday 22 September
Tuesday 17 November
Address: Bromborough Family Hub, Gratrix Road, Bromborough CH62 7BW
Parking available at the side of the venue.
Rock Ferry Satellite Family Hub
Building Connections
Time of all sessions: 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Wednesday 12 August
Wednesday 9 September
Wednesday 14 October
Wednesday 11 November
Wednesday 2 December
Labour and Birth
Wednesday 19 August
Wednesday 16 September
Wednesday 21 October
Wednesday 18 November
Wednesday 9 December
Caring for your baby
Wednesday 26 August
Wednesday 23 September
Wednesday 28 October
Wednesday 25 November
Wednesday 16 December
Address: Rock Ferry Satellite Family Hub, Ionic Street, Rock Ferry, Wirral CH42 2BL
Online sessions available:
Time of all sessions: 12.30pm – 3.30pm
Friday 26 June
Friday 21 August
Friday 16 October
Friday 11 December
Booking a place
Step 1) Please complete the Expression of Interest form.
Step 2) Once complete, your request will be processed by our Health Visiting Team. You will then receive an email from “WCHC NHS” containing a booking link, similar to the example below:
Example email:
Message from the Health Visiting Team (0-19+ Service Wirral)
As requested, please find below the booking link for Session 1 of 3: Building Connection.
You will shortly receive separate booking links for sessions 2 and 3. These sessions can be completed in any order.
To book your place, please click the link below and enter your date of birth when prompted. You can select a suitable future date from the dropdown menu.
Please note: The booking link will expire 7 days after receipt.
www.example.link.co.uk
Thank you, the Health Visiting Team
After selecting the link, you will be asked to confirm your date of birth before being able to view and book onto available sessions. You can also adjust the date range to view upcoming sessions. If a particular session is not visible, this means that the session is currently fully booked. Separate booking links will be sent for each individual session.
If you would prefer support with booking, please contact the team on 0151 514 0219.
Additional antenatal support available
Alongside your routine maternity care, we offer a range of virtual antenatal group sessions and videos to help you feel informed, confident and supported throughout pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. Sessions cover topics including building connections with your baby, preparing for labour and birth, pain relief options, feeding your baby, responsive parenting, safer sleep and newborn care. You can choose the sessions that best suit your needs and attend as many as you like. Visit the virtual antenatal group sessions page for more information.
