Making antenatal classes more financially accessible…

Why I reckon everyone who is pregnant in south Gloucestershire deserves access to awesome antenatal education...🎊  And how Thornbury and District League of Friends and I are making this shiz that happen 😉

If you aren't aware of this? Where have you been? I am proper buzzing to share that I have been awarded a grant from the TADLOF 🎉

If you haven't heard of them, they're a beaut, local charity with deep roots in our community. They were originally the Thornbury Hospital League of Friends and they've had a rebrand since the hospital's closure at the end of 2018 into a grant-giving body supporting health and wellbeing projects across Thornbury and the surrounding villages✨️

Their mission is "to assist the people of Thornbury and surrounding parishes with additional help and support for their healthcare and wellbeing, wherever that need can't otherwise be fulfilled" ☺️

I was genuinely blown away to be one of the organisations they've chosen to support 😉

This grant means I can subsidise places on my antenatal classes for families in the local area who might not otherwise be able to access them 💕

So, lets be honest about what families are dealing with financially at the moment. The cost of living crisis is a reality for so many and we are bombarded constantly with aesthetic nursery set ups on social media, gadgets and things, all the things. Many parents find that this cost rises significantly once you factor in an income drop from maternity or paternity leave 😒

So for families in South Gloucestershire who are already stretched, something like an independent antenatal course quickly falls into the "luxury" column, even though it absolutely shouldn't and for some locally the only pregnancy/birth education they get is online through a QR code - I mean come on 🙅🏾‍♀️

If you aren't aware of what is happening in maternity services, what rock are you living under?? Services are stretched, trauma rates are rising, access to services are reduced, homebirths and midwife led units are closing, labour starting naturally is reducing, vaginal births are slowing becoming the minority of birth mode outcomes and caesarean and instrumental births are rising, this is worrying 🤔

I know I'm a super nerd, but the evidence consistently shows that antenatal classes can reduce the fear and anxiety associated with childbirth helping people feel greater control and capacity to manage pain, which can lead to more positive birth experiences ✨️

A 2025 study of over 1,000 pregnant people found that antenatal education was linked to higher vaginal birth rates and lower caesarean section rates among participants. Other research shows it can reduce maternal stress and decrease the use of epidural anaesthesia.  Now that said, I am not anti-caesarean or anti-epidural, but when the feedback from national reports indicates that during labour people felt pressured to accept care that did not suit their needs and felt that they were not given adequate choices about their pregnancy and birth 📚 

I do know that how you remember your pregnancy, labour, birth and early postpartum matters, it will shape your mental health, early parenting experience, your relationship with your body and often your decision on whether to have more children 💫

I love to geek out over pregnancy, birth and beyond, I want to work with you to figure out what is important to you in this experience, full transparency - if I don't know the answer I'll hold my hands up and we can find it out together😉

In my workshops we will go through everything from common late pregnancy road bumps, evidence, human rights, embracing early labour all the way through to 6 weeks postpartum 💕

Here in the South West, those of you who are pregnant can access care through the Bristol NHS Group which brings together Southmead (NBT) / St Michael's/UHBW as of 1st July 2026, with our community midwifery teams covering Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. NBT and UHBW formally launched Bristol NHS Group in April 2025, with a stated focus on seamless, equitable care for people across the region. Gloucester Royal also serves families in the north of our county.  These are the systems and Trusts your families are navigating and the better prepared you are going in, the more boss agency you have within them 🔥

The research is clear but grim AF, people who can afford to pay for private antenatal classes continue to do so, while those who can't are at risk of poorer experiences and outcomes. That is a gap that should not fecking exist and thanks to the Thornbury and District League of Friends, we can do something about it when we work together 💫

IMO nobody should have to choose between paying bills and getting access to the information that could change their birth experience and life trajectory. Nobody should walk into birth not knowing their options, their rights, or their body because the only classes available to them cost more than they can afford right now or are the free, basic NHS ones 🥴

I am super proud to offer genuinely evidence-informed, consent-centred antenatal education, not a box-ticking exercise, not a list of what to pack in your hospital bag, but real prep for one of the most significant experiences of your life 💙

Check out my upcoming Masterclasses or the Deluxe series and take advantage of this wonderful offering from myself and Thornbury & District League of Friends

Sam x