Ateah - content needs

I’m not saying that prenatal education should only focus on how to take care of the infant. There are studies that show that expectant parents, sometimes when they’re so focused on labour and delivery that maybe they’re not ready to hear anything else. But as I’ve said, in my experience and my research I’ve found that parents want both. They want to know what to expect in labour and delivery; they want to know more about prenatal infant development; fetal development; which aspects of fetal development are the most critical stages; what sorts of things can they do or shouldn’t do that can enhance development and ensure that their child is developing healthy.

And of course they want to know how to look after a baby when it comes home. What are some common things that they might see with the newborn baby? What can they do to encourage healthy development? What shouldn’t they do? They like to hear common things that others do and whether that’s the right thing or wrong thing. And they’re usually interested in things that are in the news so whether it’s, you know, breastfeeding issues, the bed sharing issues, discipline, nutrition – they come with a lot of questions and I think that’s the ideal opportunity, especially first time parents. They don’t have little babies to care for at that moment or young children to run around and distract. They just want to learn so it’s an ideal captive audience that they’re really, really interested.