Leigh Kader Childbirth Education

We were so very lucky to have found Leigh and her childbirth education series. I feel strongly that Leigh’s positive attitude towards birth and the knowledge she laid out for us was instrumental in the great birth experience that I had when my son was born in August. (Full disclosure: Leigh was also our amazing and invaluable doula, and so we are pretty enthusiastic. We hired her and her co-​doula after meeting her through this class.) I was referred to Leigh by a very experienced and respected childbirth educator in Brooklyn who was dialing back her own work, and I could not imagine a more useful and enjoyable experience.
Leigh has a ton of knowledge, but she also has an infectious joyful attitude towards birth that helped both my husband and I to feel excited about the whole experience rather than fearful or overwhelmed. I wanted to have a labor with minimal interventions, and while I felt that Leigh’s class gave me those tools (and I was lucky that things worked out that way) the emphasis was really on celebrating the birth of your baby and on feeling empowered to make the decisions you have to make in labor. Rather than focusing on one «method» specifically, Leigh encouraged us to approach birth with a healthy attitude and a sense of empowerment. She also loves to nerd out on all of the amazing particulars, and so there is no shortage of information covered — both about birth itself and about the settings and interventions you might encounter. My husband wasn’t really read up before we started, and he was really able to take away so much each week and felt very confident about his role. I also benefited a lot from the session on newborn care — how on earth would I have known how to breastfeed otherwise?!? It was also intimate (four couples) and enjoyable — Leigh has a great sense of humor, and we brought snacks and mingled each week. Now a few months later, I still get together with one of the families in our class. Overall such a great experience. Leigh is the best.

My husband and I just completed Leigh’s class and were so happy we signed on. I will admit that we were a bit hesitant and picked the class based on a recommendation from a friend, length (5 weeks, not 8), topics covered (not all address newborn care, this does), and … location. We were both secretly dreading class a bit despite knowing it was was a good thing for us. We learned so much and really enjoyed our time with Leigh and our fellow classmates (just 3 other couples). Leigh is intelligent and thoughtful but also fun. We laughed a lot… and my husband and I were both happy that she presented different approaches but focused (in our minds) on evidence-​supported practices. Leigh demystified the birthing process (as much as one can) and we both feel so much calmer and better prepared to face the birth of our first baby. We had considered a Bradley class (at the 14^th St Y) and a weekend intensive, and honestly, couldn’t have been happier with our decision.
We also really enjoyed the small group setting and getting to know the other parents, some of whom are (soon!) delivering at the same hospital as us.
Our only regret was not also hiring her as our doula. Next time…

My husband and I took Leigh’s childbirth class in April, and it couldn’t have been better. With each class it felt like the anxiety levels in the room lowered palpably, and that was thanks to Leigh’s combination of knowledge, experience and sense of humor. We loved that it was just a handful of couples — who happened to all be cool, so that helped too — and that we kept coming back over the course of the month. We covered end of pregnancy, all of the stages of labor and delivery and the early days of having a newborn. The whole concept of the class seemed to revolve around the idea that people have been having babies forever, and it’s a completely normal, natural process. I highly recommend her class!