Policies

Privacy

Your privacy is important to me. Under no circumstances will I share any of your information with other persons or organizations, with the exception of your classmates. In the classroom only your name and due-dates will be shared by me. You will be invited to share anything else about yourself that you feel comfortable sharing, but that will definitely be up to you.

Occasionally I may wish to quote parts of your written class evaluation or use photos from the classes in my promotional material.  I will not do so without your permission.

Class cancellations

Occasionally a class series may need to be cancelled due to low enrolment. If this becomes necessary, you will be informed within two weeks of the planned start-date. If you are able to move to another series of classes, I will rebook you. If a suitable series is unavailable, I will provide you with a private class, and refund you the difference in registration fee. If you prefer not to rebook, you will receive a full refund of your registration fee.

Refunds

Refund requests must be received at least two weeks prior to the start date of the class. Once classes have begun, refund requests will be honoured only when a medical problem prevents you from attending further classes. A written note from your doctor or midwife must accompany the request. Your refund will be pro-rated based on the number of classes you have attended.

If you give birth to your baby before fifty percent of the classes have been completed, you will be refunded for the remaining class(es).  If you give birth after that point no refund will be issued.

A non-refundable processing fee of $25 applies to all refunds. Please allow two to three weeks for processing and mailing.

Bias and Tolerance

As adults with unique past experiences, we each have biases. As your prenatal facilitator, I will not impose my biases on you. But if I have a strong bias I will reveal it to you, so that you are aware that it may be influencing my presentation. I will also encourage you to reveal your biases, as well as to share your thoughts, feelings and opinions on a particular topic. In my experience we all learn more about childbirth and parenting when we can have open, thought-provoking and respectful discussions.

I expect class members to be respectful of all the points of view expressed in our classes. As class facilitator I will not allow judgmental or prejudiced behaviour. I work to promote a class atmosphere of trust, respect for oneself and for others, and tolerance.

Choice

I believe that it is very important that we each make choices that suit us, as long as our intent is not to do harm to others. This applies to our lives, but especially to giving birth. There is no one ‘right’ way to give birth – it’s all about choice, and to a certain degree, luck (we will talk about that in class). I present material in my classes with that perspective in mind.

It is your responsibility as a new parent to get and assess all the information available to you. You can then use that and your own instincts to choose what is right for you and your baby.

See also Medical issues on the FAQ page.