Join Our Online Birth Class - Australian Birth Stories

The Birth Class
By Australian Birth Stories

Feel calm, prepared and confident for labour and birth.

Your due date is getting closer. You want to feel ready — not just informed, but genuinely prepared. The Birth Class is the trusted, evidence-based program that helps you understand your body, calm your mind and approach birth with confidence.

Birth is one of the most significant experiences of your life. And the women who feel most prepared aren't the ones who got lucky — they're the ones who took the time to understand what their body was doing and why.

As your due date gets closer, you might be feeling:

This is completely normal. Most women aren't looking for more information to wade through. They're looking for calm, trusted guidance that helps them feel genuinely prepared.

That's exactly why I created The Birth Class.

Introducing The Birth Class

10 audio lessons with Australia's leading perinatal health specialists — designed to help you understand your body, trust the process and feel genuinely ready for labour and birth.

Listen from home, on a walk, or wherever you feel most relaxed. No overwhelm. No conflicting advice.
Just calm, evidence-based guidance from experts you can trust.

By the end of The Birth Class, you'll:

Understand exactly what your body is doing during labour — so contractions feel less frightening and more familiar
Know what to expect at every stage, from the first contraction through to birth and beyond
Have practical breathing and movement tools to help you navigate contractions with more calm
Know how to position your body in late pregnancy to encourage your baby into an ideal birth position
Feel informed and prepared if you're hoping for a VBAC
Understand all your pain relief options — and feel confident making the right choice for you
Know the risks and benefits of interventions so you can advocate for yourself in the moment
Feel prepared — not frightened — if your birth takes an unexpected turn
Know what to expect in the hours after birth so nothing catches you off guard
Feel ready to breastfeed, with expert guidance for the fourth trimester

and so much more.

Purchase the Course

Buy now $249

Birth preparation isn't only physical.

One of the biggest misconceptions about labour is that preparation is just about information. But birth is deeply mental too.

Inside The Birth Class you'll also receive guided meditations, breathing exercises and calming visualisations designed to help you:

These aren't extras. They're some of the most powerful tools in the program.

Your Virtual Birth Team

Meet the experts guiding you through every stage of labour and birth.

1 Physiological Childbirth with Doula, Rhea Dempsey

We begin by helping you understand how your body is designed to labour and birth —

2 Optimal Maternal Positioning (OMP) with Midwife, Lauretta Hamilton

Lauretta teaches on all things anatomy, including:

3 Active Birth with Women’s Physiologist, Laura Callea

Together, we discuss:

4 The Power of Breath and Sound in Labour with Yoga Teacher  and Birth Educator, Jodi Wilson

Our prenatal yoga teacher and birth educator, Jodi, walks us through:

5 Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC) with Midwife, Edwina Sharock

You’ll learn:

6 Pain Management and Birth Interventions with Midwife, Beth Ryan

Beth and I explore:

7 Breech Birth with Obstetrician, Dr Andrew Bisits

What you will learn:

8 Caesareans with Midwife, Luka McCabe

You’ll learn:

9 Breastfeeding with Midwife and IBCLC Joelleen Windhuss Paye

A wealth of wisdom on:

10 What to Expect After Birth with Midwife, Beth Ryan

In the final audio, you’ll learn:

Everything you need to feel fully prepared.

The Birth Class

70-page Workbook

We’ve detailed the main points from each audio module (including illustrations of active birth positions and stages of labour) so you can sit back and listen without needing to take notes.

Printable Birth Plan

8 pages

A simple step-by-step template so you can write a thorough and organised birth plan.

Yoga Nidra Meditation

25 minutes audio

A beautiful guided relaxation that reduces stress and encourages deep rest.

Breathing Practice

5 minutes Audio

A simple breathing practice to help you slow down and connect with your body, your breath and your baby.

Your Hospital Bag Checklist

2 pages

An essential list that you can tick as you pack your hospital bag.

Cheat Sheet For Birth Partner

6 pages

This simple outline takes your support person through early and active labour – what to expect, how to support and what to say when challenges arise.

Images Of Birth Positions

12 photo examples

The ideal addition for visual learners.

8 Additional Meditations

Downloadable audios

Meditations to release tension, foster trust and navigate a change of plans.

Antenatal Expressing Guide

8 pages

An illustrated guide to antenatal expressing – everything you need to know about collecting and storing colostrum.

Everything in one place. No overwhelm. No conflicting advice. Just calm, expert guidance — whenever you need it.

Great content, presentation could be improved

I expected an online class to have video footage and found the audio difficult to focus on. Was unable to print the work book due to it being so many pages so had to settle with a PDF copy. Would be helpful for me to have both combined in a video presentation so I could follow along with more ease. Wonderful information though and I look forward to learning more as I continue through the content.

Such a valuable resource

I'm a second time mum, and chose to do the Birth Class as a refresher before labour. It was such a valuable resource, even having been through labour before and having done previous birth preparation. Sophie has compiled fantastic guests and topics that I found invaluable for my preparation and labour. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Can't thank this course enough

Because of this course (as well as the podcast) and the resources/ skills learnt from it, I had the most positive, calm, water birth, with no tearing or blood loss. Because I was informed of my options and what was happening I felt in control and empowered the whole time. I can't recommend the course enough, thank you Sophie.

Facts in a nutshell

I loved the vieth class even though I have already had one child. I was looking to be informed, empowered and strong in my decisions going into my second birth and I feel I have definitely achieved that. Also, now that I understand more about what happened in my first birth I feel I am able to deal with all the emotions related to it.

It wasn't what I expected

I found some of the written resources good to refer to, but I didn't like the podcast format.
I thought it would be more like a lecture education series, perhaps with some slides etc to go with them that would actually teach the techniques, rather than just talk about the theories of the techniques and then on refer to the guest speakers Web page to purchase more information.

You'll Receive

Lifetime Access

There’s no time limit on The Birth Class. Listen as many times as you like in this pregnancy and come back to it in the years to come.

Convenient Audio Format

Listen on your babymoon road trip, when you’re relaxing in the bath or on your morning walk around the neighbourhood. You’re one-touch away from preparing for a positive birth experience.

Affordable Access to Expert Advice from Perinatal Health Specialists

A unique opportunity to listen to a range of pregnancy and birth experts so you can make informed choices that are best for you.

Meet your host

Sophie Walker

Hi there, I’m Sophie — host of the top-rated weekly podcast Australian Birth Stories (15 million downloads and counting), creator of educational programs for pregnancy and motherhood, and mother to 3 boys under 10.

I have a Masters in Public Health, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve been deeply interested in babies and birth; a fascination that only amplified when I became pregnant with my eldest son, Niko.

Despite planning for a drug-free birth centre birth, what unfolded was a lengthy 36 hour labour with a hospital transfer, induction, epidural, episiotomy, forceps, and a postpartum haemorrhage…

Along with my new baby and my aching postpartum body, I carried significant physical and emotional trauma home from the hospital. My second birth was the complete opposite; positive, redemptive, and empowering.
Research claims that a positive birth experience – regardless of where or how a woman is birthing – is dependent on two things:

After interviewing over 300 Australian women I wholeheartedly agree with this research. Women have positive births every day – in the comfort of their home, in surgical theatres, in birth centre bathtubs and on the bed in hospital labour wards. And the foundation of these positive birth experiences? Birth education. The podcast is a beautiful collection of stories that have become a powerful, informative and, often entertaining, resource. It’s endorsed by the Australian College of Midwives and currently has over 8 million downloads. Sitting alongside the podcast is a series of online education courses that feature interviews with leading specialists in perinatal health.

FAQs

When should you start birthing classes?

I feel that it’s never too early to start educating yourself on the process of labour, and birth. Even if you’ve done it all before.

Generally, it’s a good idea to begin some form of education for you and your birth partner by about 20-24 weeks with the aim to have your labour preparation finished by 34 weeks. This gives you time to process what you have learned and think about how you will implement it on the day your baby arrives.

In saying that you have lifetime access to The Birth Class so you can grab it now and listen as many times as you like.

The breathing exercises and meditation are for pregnancy so you can start them as soon as you like.

Ideally, you should start birthing classes towards the end of your second trimester and aim to have them completed by 34 weeks.

What do birthing classes teach you?

Birthing classes teach you about the physiological process of birth which helps you to understand exactly what the body does in labour. With this understanding comes trust in the body’s natural ability to birth. Alongside this education, we teach a range of breathing and sound techniques and mindset tools you can use to navigate labour and birth, skills that are beneficial for birthing women and their support partners. Beyond this foundational knowledge, we discuss the range of pain relief options available for labour (both pharmacological and non-pharmacological), the risks and benefits of inductions and interventions, and what you can expect from a caesarean birth. We also discuss the hours after birth and how they’re affected by the type of birth you had and how you choose to feed your baby.

Are birthing classes necessary?

Research shows that a positive birth experience – regardless of where and how a woman is birthing – is dependent on two things: the birthing woman being able to make informed decisions and those decisions being supported and respected by her care provider.

Birthing classes give you accessible evidence-based information, language to confidently discuss your birth preferences with your care provider and practical skills to navigate labour and birth. If you want a positive birth experience, birthing classes are essential.

What are the benefits of taking a childbirth class?

Childbirth classes encourage you to get prepared for birth. They start the conversation between you and your birth partner about your priorities and intentions for birth, they help you understand the process of birth and give you skills so you can approach labour, birth and postpartum with calm and confidence.

What do I need to know before labour?

It’s a really great idea to understand what happens in your body during labour so you can understand the role of contractions and therefore welcome the pain of labour as good, positive, productive pain. It’s also beneficial to understand your pain relief options so you can make confident and informed decisions in labour. Labour and birth are unpredictable so discussing your preferences for all eventualities is a pro-active step to a positive birth experience.

How much do birthing classes cost?

Our online birth education course, The Birth Class, is $269 and gives you lifetime access to eight audio modules featuring a range of perinatal specialists who discuss everything from the role of hormones in labour, the process of a c-section, breathing and sound skills for labour, achieving a VBAC and what you can expect from the hours after birth.

What are the benefits of online birth education?

You and your partner can listen where you’re most comfortable and when you’ve got the time and energy to absorb the information and consider how you want to plan for your birth. It’s a personal and intimate form of education that doesn’t involve uncomfortable group workshops or the time pressure of weekend classes. Listen in your own time – in the car, in the bath, on a Sunday morning when you’re in bed drinking tea – and listen as many times as you like. Online birth education starts available conversations between you and your birth partner that will ensure you go into labour with trust in the prices, an understanding of your options and practical skills to navigate all possible scenarios.

How is the course delivered?

This audio series will be available for you to listen to conveniently via the web or through the free Kajabi app which is Apple and Android compatible.

What do I do if I haven’t received a confirmation email?

The confirmation email will come to the email account you use to purchase with. Please check your Spam / Promotions folders, and if you can’t locate it, get in touch sophie@australianbirthstories.com so we can help you out!

Is the program refundable?

Due to the nature of an instant access digital product, all sales are final.