5 Things Every Therapist Should Know About Running Mom & Baby Classes
Are you an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Speech Therapist or other early childhood professional that has a passion for helping new parents and babies get off to the best start possible? If so, read on to find out how your skillset could be put to use by running mom and baby classes in your community.
Where there once was a ‘village’ to support new mamas, now there is nothing but empty loneliness, with perhaps some long distance or intermittent support from extended family.
As a result mothers (and parents) are facing this raising of their children in isolation, with the feeling of having the ‘weight of the world’ on their shoulders, and this is leading to an increase in post-partum mood disorders.
“Our alarmingly high rate of postpartum blues in this country (50-85%) occurs, in part, from the mode of thinking that says - do it yourself and learn instantly, without experience, with little training, and with little or no guidance, perhaps the most essential role you will ever perform.” (Heller, S. (1997). The vital touch: How intimate contact with your baby leads to happier, healthier development. New York, NY: Holt Paperbacks.)
I truly believe that we can reduce the overwhelm that can come in the early stages of motherhood. We reduce overwhelm by providing access to credible information and an understanding of what is actually normal for babies (and mamas) at various stages.
And then inviting mamas to tune into and listen to their mothering instincts.
My mission with Kaili Ets Family Wellness is to pass on this confidence and attunement to mamas all over the world. But, I can’t do this alone, there’s a lot of deserving mamas in the world!
So I also help other pediatric therapists and post-natal professionals support mamas in their communities as well.
One of the ways I do this is by running mom & baby classes that are focused on infant development, bonding & attachment, while bringing mamas together and supporting them to find (and lean on) their ‘village’.
And I developed a special on-line course to teach my pediatric therapy colleagues, and really anyone who wants to run mom & baby classes how to do this too!
How My Journey in Mom and Baby Classes Began
Since having my first child just five years ago, I developed a strong passion for prenatal and postnatal women’s health. Especially focused on facilitating the bonding/attachment between mothers and babies, and helping mothers support their children’s development from the beginning of life.
Since then, I have designed a mom and baby group program, called Babies @ Play, that focuses on infant development.
It’s the culmination of knowledge I gained from various courses and professional collaborations. My work is influenced by a range of experts including: occupational therapists, dance/movement therapists, yoga instructors, and infant mental health therapists.
For many, the new role of mothering brings with it many new, and at times challenging, activities such as feeding, dressing, playing, comforting, and responding to the constant needs of a newborn and infant.
My Babies @ Play classes help support these new activities, thus positively impacting the health and well-being of both mothers and babies. The 6-week class series combines the benefits of group support while also receiving individualized expert advice as needed.
What’s Holding You Back From Running Mom & Baby Classes?
Over the past few years I have heard more and more pediatric therapists, whether they are occupational therapists, physical therapists or speech language therapists as well as midwives and doulas indicate that they too have a desire to run mom & baby classes.
And all too often they are stuck in in-action….. Why? Because of lack of confidence, and not knowing where to start with such an endeavour.
The truth is, those blocks are all in your head, and they can be easily overcome with the right mindset and attitude.
5 Things Every Therapist Should Know About Running Mom & Baby Classes:
1. It is about the connection (not about how much YOU know and teach)
Don’t get me wrong, the mamas (and babies) in your community need your expertise in all sorts of different areas as it pertains to their baby’s development, but the reason they are really coming to your class is to connect!
To get out of the house and connect with other mamas, to get to know them, to make some new mama friends who ‘get it’, and really to find their village!
They are looking for support and connection!
2. Less is More
How many times have you found that when you give your clients 1-2 things to do for ‘homework’ it is more likely to get done than when you give 3-5 things. Right?!?
You are likely not already running your mom & baby classes because it is overwhelming for you to think about all the things you want to cover and teach.
Hey, I hear you…. You know a lot! You’ve learned a lot from school and all the professional development courses you have taken. I am right there with you!
The thing is though, mamas are already overwhelmed with caring for their babies, and they are exhausted from the sleepless nights.
Their brains are filled with breastfeeding worries and how many wet and dirty diapers their baby has had that day. They don’t have a lot of ‘brain power’ left to take in all the information you want to share with them.
Which brings me to my third tip….
3. You don’t need a lot of ‘equipment’ or your big therapy bag of toys
Yup, you read that right! I know as a therapist you are used to planning all the activities, bringing all the supplies and you have likely accumulated a small (or maybe large) closet full of these ‘therapy supplies’. Yeah, I know…. Me too
When I first started running my Babies @ Play classes I had all sorts of ideas of what toys to bring and fun things to do with the mamas and their babies, but when I really sat down to think about it, and realized the classes were about the connection and that less is more concept, I decided that I didn’t need a lot of things.
So I have actually distilled down what I bring to these classes into a few things that are easy to find and cheap to purchase (so mamas could buy them if they wanted). And they all fit into a purse, so bonus!
4. Repetition is Key
Repetition helps to improve speed, increases confidence, and strengthens the connections in the brain that help us learn!
And as therapists, we know that repetition and consistency is necessary to make lasting changes!
And really, if you’ve ever attending mom & baby classes yourself, or any type of group class be it yoga class, daycare or preschool classes, they all have a routine in place with a lot of repetition.
Heck, just look at children’s songs...they essentially repeat the same few sentences over and over. Why? Because that repetition makes them easy to learn and remember!
5. Let go, Have fun, And yes, learn to laugh at yourself…. You are still AMAZING!
Repeat after me…. ‘I don’t have to get it perfect or even right. I am allowed to make mistakes!’
Yeah, this is a tough one to swallow as many of us therapists are healers and also type A personalities.
The truth is, the mamas will not care! Remember, they are there for the connection and to play with their babies. They won’t care if you fumble something, or forget to mention that one thing you thought was important.
And it is also okay to realize that you are human, and mistakes are part of being human!
So let go of the perfection and the need to have it all figured out. Embrace any mistakes you might make and make the decision that you will learn from them.
But most of all, remember to have fun! Find your inner child...I know it is there - you use it with your pediatric clients daily….. Now bring it into class with your mamas and their babies!
My journey with Babies @ Play has been amazing! And it’s not close to over!
Though it has not always been easy, I am incredibly grateful that my passion for supporting mamas in the postnatal period kept me going when initially developing my classes with mamas.
That same passion helped me to develop my online course to educate other leaders, and also helped me pivot my in-person classes into an online format when the pandemic hit.
I just love supporting mamas and babies, and I know you do too! We’re in this together and together we can reach mamas all over the world!
Thank you to our guest blogger, Kaili Ets, HonBSc., MSc.OT for sharing her insights and expertise in working with moms and babies. Kaili has a wealth of information that she shares on her website in addition to her Babies @ Play program that teaches professionals how to run mom and baby classes. Check out Kaili’s work here!
Want to learn more from Kaili and join a supportive group of like-minded OT practitioners?
Join The Therapy Village online membership for EI and preschool Occupational Therapists where Kaili will be joining us this month to run a live demo of her mom and baby class to show us exactly how to feel confident helping the parents and babies in our own communities.
By joining The Therapy Village you’ll have on-demand access to a variety of content lessons, parent handouts, tons of teletherapy and in-person activity ideas, access to a supportive community to answer all your questions all while earning NBCOT renewal credits each month.
What are you waiting for? Click here to join the waitlist and be the first to know when the doors are open!
