Welcome
The Ottawa Childbirth Education Association provides prenatal Labour and Delivery classes and our unique Bringing Baby Home class.
OCEA recognizes birth as a normal and natural event in a woman’s life.
It is our goal to present options to expectant women and their partners to help them feel empowered to make choices that lead to a positive childbirth experience.
Our classes welcome women who have chosen midwifery care, obstetrical care or family practitioners and are planning to deliver their babies at any Ottawa or surrounding hospital or at home. Our clients are predominately first time parents, but we also provide education for second pregnancies, especially when planning a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC), or after great age gaps and with second partners.
The OCEA was established as a grassroots, home based organization in 1974. We are a registered not for profit organization. Over the last 35 years we have evolved into the largest independent organization providing prenatal classes in Ottawa. For more information on our prenatal classes click here. In 2005 we introduced our Bringing Baby Home class which covers normal newborn behaviour, babywearing, CPR and car seat information. For our times of class click here.
Our philosophy is consistent with the International childbirth Education Association “Freedom of choice Based on a Knowledge of Alternatives”.
In addition, OCEA follows the The six Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices here
For a listing of our locations click here. We offer classes in Riverside South, downtown, in Ottawa East and our newest addition, at the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Center.
Ottawa CEA strives to provide the best prenatal classes in Ottawa, and as such, our priority is our time with you in the class. We will endeavour answer all your calls personally, but should you get our answering machine we will return calls within a 24 hour period. For immediate reply, please email us as we often are in the office very early in the morning and very late at night. You may be surprised to have a call answered at 6am or 10pm!