Upcoming Classes
Saturday, November 8, 2025 10am-1pm
*LAST Mini Class for the year!
Mini Birth Prep
Mindfully Prepared Birth
September 10-October 15, 2025 6:00-8:30pm (Wednesdays)
*NO CLASS on September 17
Classes will resume in 2026
Mindfully Prepared Birth
Birth is a transformative journey—one that is deeply personal, powerful, and unique. Mindfully Prepared Birth is designed to help you step into this experience with confidence, knowledge, and a sense of calm.
This course, created by Kelly Colvin, a mother of eight, is rooted in the belief that informed decisions lead to empowered births. Together, we will explore the power of the mind, meditation, and practical tools to support any birth experience—whether unmedicated, medicated, or cesarean, hospital or home birth.
Through education, hands-on techniques, and meaningful discussions, you and your partner will gain the confidence to navigate labor and birth with clarity and peace.
Our Mini Birth Prep Class is the perfect starting point for busy parents who want a gentle, practical foundation for birth. In this 3-hour session, you’ll learn essential tools for understanding the stages of labor, practicing mindful breathing and relaxation, and building confidence for your unique birth journey. Whether you’re nearing your due date or simply want a refresher, this class offers calm, clear guidance to help you feel supported and ready.
Mini Birth Prep
Mindfully Prepared Birth
Our Mindfully Prepared Birth Course is a 5-week comprehensive, nurturing series designed to help you and your birth partner approach labor and birth with calm, clarity, and trust. Each week, we dive deeper into the stages of birth, comfort measures, partner support, breath-work, mindfulness practices, and informed decision-making. You’ll gain practical skills, evidence-based information, and the inner confidence to embrace your birth experience mindfully — no matter how it unfolds. This course creates a supportive space to prepare, ask questions, and connect with other families walking this sacred path alongside you.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness, at its heart, is the practice of being fully present in the moment, with gentle curiosity and without judgment. It means becoming aware of your thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and the environment around you — and instead of reacting automatically, choosing to respond with calm attention and care.
When it comes to birth, mindfulness becomes a truly powerful companion. Let’s explore how:
1. Staying Present During Labor
Birth unfolds moment by moment. Mindfulness helps a birthing person stay anchored in the present, rather than getting swept away by fear of what’s to come or regrets about what has passed. With mindfulness, they can focus on this breath, this contraction, this moment — making the experience more manageable, even empowering.
2. Creating Space for Choice
Mindfulness slows down the mind just enough to create space between sensation and reaction. This pause can be crucial in birth. It allows the birthing person to respond thoughtfully rather than react out of fear or panic. They might think, What do I need right now? How can I best support my body in this moment?
3. Easing Fear and Anxiety
Fear often tightens the body, increasing pain and tension. Mindfulness invites softness. By observing fear or discomfort without judgment, the birthing person can work with their body rather than against it, reducing the fear-tension-pain cycle.
4. Enhancing Connection
Mindfulness deepens the connection — to oneself, to the baby, to the support team. It reminds the birthing person that they are not alone, and it helps partners and doulas, like yourself, remain grounded and fully present in their support.
5. Postpartum Benefits
Mindfulness doesn’t end at birth. It carries beautifully into the postpartum period, helping navigate the emotional shifts of new parenthood, promoting healing, and supporting bonding with the baby.
Why Meditation?
Meditation is a powerful tool for expectant mothers to calm the mind, connect deeply with their changing body, and prepare emotionally for birth. During pregnancy, regular meditation can ease stress, promote better sleep, and support a sense of grounded confidence. In labor and birth, mindful breathing and meditation techniques help reduce fear and tension, allowing the body’s natural rhythms to flow more freely and comfortably. By practicing presence and gentle awareness, mothers often find they can cope with intensity, trust their intuition, and create a more positive, empowering birth experience.
Insights from Research
Reduced Stress & Anxiety
Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation during pregnancy can significantly lower stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
One meta-analysis found that mindfulness interventions reduced pregnancy anxiety by around 20–30% on average. (Duncan et al., 2017)
Shorter Labor Duration
While results vary, some research indicates that women who practice relaxation and meditation techniques may have shorter labors on average — by 1–2 hours, especially in first-time births. (Yilmaz et al., 2013)
Lower Perception of Pain
Women who practiced mindfulness meditation or relaxation techniques during pregnancy and labor often report lower pain intensity and greater coping ability.
A 2016 randomized trial found that women using mindfulness training reported 33% lower use of pain medication during labor compared to the control group. (Zhang et al., 2016)
Improved Birth Experience
Meditation and mindfulness have been linked to higher satisfaction with the birth experience, feeling more in control, and reduced fear.
A systematic review found that mindfulness-based childbirth programs improved birth satisfaction and reduced perceived fear of labor. (Hall et al., 2016)