Free pregnancy workshops

Free pregnancy workshops

Pregnancy is a time of change—physical, social, financial, psychological. These changes can be exciting and joyful, but also challenging and stressful. This time of transition can also be an opportunity for both parents to look at their values, lifestyle, and traditions, while preparing themselves for parenting.

Dr Carrie Barber is a psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Waikato with a special interest in fostering wellbeing and healthy coping during pregnancy. Dr Barber and fellow psychologist Bridgette Masters-Awatere have developed a workshop to help pregnant women and their partners or support people. The workshop is intended to offer ideas about how to manage the psychological challenges and changes of pregnancy. Parents-to-be can use this time to reflect on strengths, supports, stresses, and strategies for the future, asking themselves “what works for me, us as a couple, our growing family, to thrive and cope with whatever life brings?”.

The workshops run for four weeks on Saturday mornings from 10am-11.30am, at River Ridge East Birth Centre in Hamilton. The first workshop will start in August, and the series will be repeated several times over the next few months. Each session will include information, self-assessment activities, and discussion. Because these workshops are part of the development of resources for parents, those who attend will be asked to participate in an evaluation of the programme. There is no cost to the workshop.

Pregnant women and partners/support person can attend the workshop at any time during their pregnancy, or even in the planning stages before pregnancy.

Anyone interested in participating or for more information, contact Carrie Barber on 837 9921 or ccbarber@waikato.ac.nz or Bridgette Masters-Awatere, 07 837 9228 or bmasters@waikato.ac.nz

This weekend the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is having their Conference for General Practice in Hamilton. Dr Barber will be giving a workshop Saturday entitled “Change, choice, and control: a model for helping parents to manage stress in the transition to parenthood”. This is about the multitude of physical, social, and psychological changes that occur during pregnancy, how experiences, beliefs, and personal style affect how women (and their partners) respond to the challenges of this transition time, and how GPs can support families by tailoring their own advice-giving to the characteristics and needs of the patient. This is part of the three-pronged approach to supporting pregnant parents that we are developing: a self-help app, the positively pregnant group, and workshops and resources for health and maternity care professionals.

ENDS

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