Meet Your Class Facilitators

​Amy Moy (she/her) is a certified Cornerstone birthworker and childbirth educator who has proudly served families in the greater Sacramento Area for over 5 years. She is a fierce advocate for growing families of all varieties. Amy is an anti-racist queer and fluffy femme and mom to a spunky school-aged daughter and ten fur- and feathered-babies. She is a lover of books and all things succulent.
Jennifer Kelley (she/her) is a DONA trained birthworker and trained Cornerstone childbirth educator who proudly served the greater Sacramento Area and beyond for over 5 years. Her passion is introducing growing families to their many options in birth. She is an anti-racist and mom to one son and two fur-babies. She is an avid reader and traveler. 

​Our role as your course facilitators:
  • To provide modern, evidence based, culturally competent, and thorough instruction
  • Deepen your understanding of your options with unbiased information to aide in making informed decisions
  • Demystify pregnancy and birth with easy to understand descriptions of anatomy and physiology
  • Share no-pressure nutrition and and safe movement options for individuals of all sizes and health goals
  • Engage participants by using hands-on group practice and discussion to enhance learning and community building
  • Prepare you for varied birth scenarios in all settings 
  • Enhance your understanding of the prenatal and post-birth parent/baby connection and provide tools for deepening the bonding process.​
"If I don't know my options, I don't have any." 
-Diana Korte, VBAC Facts

About the Method

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Choosing the right childbirth class can make a real difference in how confident and prepared you and your partner(s), if applicable, feel on your baby’s birth day. Our classes are engaging, thorough, and allow for plenty of time to practice labor coping skills – with extra emphasis placed on strengthening your relaxation "muscle" on your own or with a partner(s) or other support person.
 
The Cornerstone Method of Childbirth Education represents a paradigm shift in childbirth preparation, was developed by a midwife/doula team, and draws upon over 20 years of combined direct service experience.
 
Our classes center all individuals and families regardless of ethnicity, structure, sexuality, identity, body size, ability, socio-economic level, birthing location, or birth goals. In our 20-hour course (with two convenient options: eight consecutive Mondays from 6:00 - 8:30 PM or four consecutive Saturdays from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM), you will become engaged with the birth process, get informed about your birth options, and leave confident and empowered to create your unique birth vision!

 Cornerstone offers an integrated method that engages your body and mind through 8 special birth senses:  

  1. Body Awareness: Understand the process of birth and all of the amazing changes that you will be encountering during pregnancy. Gain easy to use tools to care for yourself and your baby throughout the childbearing year.
  2. Sight: Create your birth vision and map the route to its destination.
  3. Sound: What you hear during pregnancy and birth affects the outcome. 
  4. Breath: Learn to use the breath for nourishment, relaxation, and coping. 
  5. Touch: Partners or other support people learn how to use touch to relieve discomfort and induce relaxation. 
  6. Smell: Discover simple ways to use scents and aromatherapy to aide in easing nausea, exhaustion, and discomfort. 
  7. Voice: Speak up for your needs! Learn about how to ask questions of your care providers to get the information you need in order to make informed decisions. 
  8. Joy: Find freedom and joy in your body, pregnancy, and birth experience. 

Your Childbirth Class at a Glance

Our class flow:
  • Check-In/Ice-Breaker/Review “Quiz” (community building, keep material fresh!)
  • Lecture (practical, easy to understand information)
  • Video (with a judgement-free option to "opt out" of watching these)
  • Bio Break (stretch, snack, pee - we know you need to!)
  • Sense-Focused Material (coping w/labor toolkit-building activities)
  • Guided Relaxation Exercise (because you've earned it!)
 
Course Outline
  • Week One:  Pregnancy - Discomforts, No-Pressure Nutrition and Movement options, Health at Every Size, Optimal Fetal Positioning; Aromatherapy
  •  Week Two: Anatomy & Physiology of Pregnancy and Labor, Effacement, Dilation, Station, Pelvic Floor; Breathing  
  • Week Three: First Stage Labor – Pre-Labor, Rounds of Contractions; Early, Active, and Transition, Partner Support and Coping Strategies for Each Phase; Timing Contractions
  • Week Four: Second (Pushing) and Third Stage (Placental Birth) Labor - Immediate Postpartum Sequence (“The Golden Hour”), Hormones, Choosing Your Birth Team; Massage Techniques for Comfort and Relaxation 
  • Week Five: Myth Busting, Fear-Based Sources of Information, and Releasing Fears, Using Water in Labor, Navigating Interventions - part one 
  • Week Six: Navigating Interventions - part two, Informed Decision Making; Vocalization
  • Week Seven: Creating a Birth Vision Document (formerly known as a "birth plan"), Food for Labor, Packing for Birth, Birth Affirmations; Labor Positions, Birth Balls, and Hands-On Coping Measures - Demos & Practice
  • Week Eight: "Putting it All Together" Review; Postpartum Period and Mobilizing a Supportive Community, Incorporating Movement and Music
*Our 4-Week classes combine two sections of the above topics per class session.

We encourage you and your partner(s), if applicable, to participate in group discussions, activities, and practice according to your own comfort level(s). Participation is not mandatory. You will receive links to our coping measures demonstration videos so you can watch and practice as much as you'd like in the privacy of your own home​. 

Classes are currently being offered in a LIVE! online format in compliance with CA state and local shelter in place orders, social distancing recommendations, and establishment of herd immunity to COVID-19  (captions are available, on request, for the hearing impaired) - reserve your spot today!

We recommend that you plan to complete your class before the last month of your pregnancy.

NEW SLIDING FEE SCALE!

We strive to increase access to our high-quality 20-hour childbirth education course for all families - regardless of whether or not you are able to pay our full fee.

PAY WHAT YOU CAN - $100 - $500. No questions asked.

Payment plans available (your balance must be paid
​in full before your class begins).
REFUNDS - You must cancel your registration at least two weeks before your session begins in order to receive a full refund.  You will receive a refund minus a $50 administrative fee if you cancel your registration less than two weeks before your session begins. No refunds shall be issued for missed classes.

2021 Class Offerings

Mondays (8-week series): 6:00 - 8:30 PM:
  • January 4 - February 22 - ​closed
  • March 1 - April 19 - closed
  • May 3 - June 28  - projected to be online*
            (skip 5/31 for Memorial Day)
  • July 5 - August 23 - projected to be online*
  • August 30 - October 25 (skip 9/6 for Labor Day)
  • November 1 - December 20

Saturdays (4-week series): 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM:​​​​​
  • February (2/6 - 2/27) - closed
  • April (4/3 - 4/24) - projected to be online*
  • June (6/5 - 6/26) ​- projected to be online*
  • August (8/7 - 8/28) - projected to be online*
  • October (10/2 - 10/23)

*Offered in a LIVE! online format in compliance with CA state and local social distancing recommendations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

​Our cozy home classroom does not accommodate enough space to ensure 6 feet of social distancing between families. Therefore, we will be monitoring social distancing recommendations and adjusting class location (in-person vs. online) based on conditions one month before class is scheduled to start.
If you don't see a class offering that lines up with your estimated due date, let us know! We can often open up an additional series with enough notice.

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