KOPA® PREPARED Essentials Online Birth Course

+ You’d like to have a low-intervention, natural birth (no pain medication) in a hospital setting. 

At Kopa Birth®, we specialize in preparing couples for natural childbirth in a hospital.  We know that birth centers and home births also provide an environment for safe, satisfying natural births.  Yet, over 98% of American women give birth in a hospital. Some natural childbirth classes, even popular ones, are notorious for breeding distrust of the hospital system. Our online birthing classes are developed, taught, and reviewed by healthcare providers who understand both the benefits AND challenges of natural hospital birth, and know how to navigate them. This includes certified childbirth educators, nurses, and midwives who all share a common goal of helping couples achieve their goals for natural hospital births.

+ You’re committed to invest time to practice and prepare.

You’re about to embark on 12+ hours of watching birthing class videos.  We get it…it’s a lot.  But believe it or not, watching the classes alone will likely not be enough to ensure you can cope well with contractions.  It takes time to train your mind and body to use the labor coping tools and to override your natural way of coping with pain (aka. clenching up your muscles). It takes time to build muscle memory.  So, plan to spend 20 minutes daily, each day that you can, to practice the tools that you’ll learn in the course. If you only have a few weeks to practice, just do your best. If you have a few months, all the better.  Just start where you are and begin today!

+ You want to learn a wide variety of coping tools to help you stay calm and in control during labor.

One goal of this course is to expose couples to a wide variety of coping tools to help mom manage the experience of contractions with calm and confidence.  Some natural childbirth classes focus their instruction on one primary coping tool, like hypno-style relaxation or breathing techniques alone. Not Kopa Birth®! We’re bringing you the best coping tools from the most popular natural childbirth theories, including deep relaxation, partner participation, breathing, and movement. 

+ You want your partner to be well-prepared to support you during a natural birth.

When you have an epidural, partners often provide emotional support but may not need to offer much physical support.  Not so during a natural childbirth, where it’s all hands on deck! The KOPA® PREPARED online birthing course offers focused instruction in each class to guide your partner to help during (and in between) contractions. This includes massage, movement, pressure, hot & cold, emotional support, and many other techniques. Kopa Birth® classes are just as much about preparing partners as they are about preparing mom for the experience of childbirth.

+ You want to know what to expect in an unfamiliar hospital setting.

Moms sometimes fear that their chances for a low-intervention, natural birth are slim to none if they give birth in a hospital. This simply is not true! Yes, hospitals do offer IVs, epidurals, inductions, and other interventions. But we’ll show you what to expect from the moment you walk into the hospital until the moment baby is born. We’ll also discuss specific interventions and the scenarios when interventions are and are not necessary.  And we’ll guide you on how to talk to your nurses and doctor/midwife with confidence to help convey your preferences.

+ You want to do all you can to prepare for a natural birth, but you’re not opposed to intervention if it’s necessary.

Preparing for a low-intervention, natural hospital birth requires deliberate practice and planning. Yet, birth can be unpredictable. Even the best preparation can’t help moms avoid every unexpected scenario.  Kopa Birth® will teach you how to practice and prepare for the birth outcome that you want, and will also encourage you to be flexible and to give yourself grace.  No judgment or shaming here!

– You dislike video instruction and would prefer reading or a PowerPoint presentation.

Kopa Birth® classes offer over 12 hours of high-quality video presentation. While we do have some written materials (like our 100+ page, full-color, downloadable course manual), couples should expect to be fully-engaged and participating throughout the course. You and your partner will be practicing breathing, positioning, and movement…as well as sitting back and taking in some fun, lecture-style instruction.  But if voice-over PowerPoints are your thing, this is not the course for you.

– You distrust doctors/midwives and would never give birth in a hospital.

We understand — some people just don’t feel safe in a hospital. Maybe you’ve had negative experiences with doctors in the past, or you want to be more assured that interventions won’t even be offered to you.  While one main goal of Kopa Birth® online childbirth classes are to prepare couples with coping tools for natural birth, you would likely not find the instruction on hospital birth to be worth the time we spend on it. 

– You would consider your birth a failure if you end up choosing or needing an epidural.

For most first-time moms, natural childbirth will be the most challenging physical experience of your life. It’s hard work. And we are going to prepare you with ample tools to help you stay calm and in control during your contractions. But if your birth plan takes an unexpected turn and you need/want an intervention, that’s OK, and it’s your informed choice to make. Really, honestly, truly…your birth is still a success!  Kopa Birth® teaches moms to have grace for themselves and will prepare you with the confidence to make the choices that are best for you. If you’d consider an epidural or pain medication to be a failure, our birth philosophy is probably not the best fit for you.

– You’re hoping for a quick birth overview and don’t want to spend much time preparing.

The KOPA® PREPARED online childbirth classes are comprehensive, to say the least. We’re going to discuss general topics, like the signs of labor and when to go to the hospital. But we’re also going to go deep into subjects like baby’s position in the pelvis and positions you can try to help turn baby during labor.  Each class also gives you homework assignments to do throughout the week, such as practicing deep relaxation for 20 minutes every day that you can. This course is best for couples who want a thorough understanding of natural hospital birth and are determined to practice coping tools regularly.

We guarantee that this course will help you feel more confident and prepared for childbirth.  If for any reason you would like a refund within 30 days of purchasing, simply email us at sup[email protected], and we’ll refund 100% of your payment.

When you enroll in the online birthing course, you’ll receive an invitation to join our members-only private Facebook group.  This is a place to connect with your instructor, ask questions, and receive inspiration and support from a community of like-minded mamas.

Yes! Kopa Birth classes are fully eligible for reimbursement through most HSA, FSA, and HRAs.  Check with your plan administrator beforehand. You can use your HSA card on the website to purchase the course.  Or if you use a different payment method, your purchase receipt includes all the information you will need to send to your plan administrator to receive a reimbursement for your course. 

The online course offers 12+ hours of video content, split up into 8 separate classes. There’s also a bonus 9th class featuring natural hospital birth footage. The content is available 24/7, so you can watch the course as quickly as you need.  But if you have a few months before your due date, here’s our recommended viewing schedule:

Week 1: Watch classes #1 and #2

Week 2: Watch classes #3 and #4

Week 3: Watch classes #5 and #6

Week 4: Watch classes #7 and #8.  

Any additional time you have before your due date will be spent practicing your labor coping tools, practicing, and practicing some more!!  This is also a great time to re-watch any sections of the course that might need a refresher.

After each class, you will receive a series of “homework” assignments to complete.  These include things such as practicing deep relaxation or breathing techniques, having a discussion with your doctor/midwife about a particular subject, and prepping your labor-tools bag for the hospital. We’ll guide your preparation every step of the way!

Practicing the labor coping tools is vital to your success in the course. It will also greatly increase your ability to have a calm, rewarding natural birth.  You’ll learn a wide variety of pain-coping techniques in this course, from patterned breathing techniques to deep relaxation and labor positions. The time that you spend practicing these tools at home in the weeks and months before your due date will help you develop deep “muscle memory.” This will enable you to over-ride your natural, instinctive response to pain and replace it with the more effective tools you learn in the course.

Set aside at least 20 minutes daily to practice. This will change from class to class, but anticipate devoting time each day to prepare for your natural birth.

Yes! This course is aimed to prepare both mom and partners for a natural hospital birth.  Partners are included every step of the way! Partners receive extra focus and attention as we learn about labor positioning and during the 2.5 hours mock labor class.

Kopa Birth® goes way beyond the basics of how to time contractions and when to leave for the hospital! We’ll demonstrate everything partners needs to know to support mom during labor, including:

• How to help mom breathe in labor
• Pressure techniques to ease back pain
• Touch and massage
• Emotional cues
• What to do if mom starts to struggle during labor
• How to recognize when you need to offer new coping techniques
• How to advocate for informed consent

Ultimately, if you view all 8 online birthing classes and do the practice/homework assignments, you’ll enter labor with the freedom to make lots of choices during your birth.  You’ll be able to walk the halls, get in the tub, move on a birth ball, or ultimately decide when you’re ready to start the epidural.