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Why take this class?

Most people do not grow up learning much about birth and the birth process.  We don’t know much,  and don’t think about it much, until we consider having a child of our own, or until we (or our partner) are already pregnant.  Birth is a natural body process that will happen whether we prepare or not, but learning what to expect from our body, how to work with our body, what is normal and what isn’t normal, and what our choices are, can alleviate much of our fear and stress around the birth process, and can empower couples and help them enter their labor with confidence.  After teaching natural childbirth classes for 17 years, and attending births during much of that time, I have been able to gather a lot of real information about what will help couples during their birth and I love sharing that information.  This class is about learning useful, evidence-based information, that will help you make choices that are best for you.  You will not be pushed in to having any “type” of birth.  I want you to make choices for you.

Download my brochure for friends, click here.

Topics discussed in Denyse’s classes:

  • Prenatal exercises
  • Nutrition for pregnancy and beyond (guest speaker)
  • Medical Model and Women-Centered model of childbirth
  • The 3 stages of labor
  • Common medical interventions
  • Comfort measures and natural methods of pain management in labor
  • Relaxation methods and practice
  • Massage techniques (guest speaker)
  • Coaching techniques for labor support
  • Pushing positions and techniques
  • Variations and complications in labor including cesarean section
  • Breastfeeding (full class, guest speaker)
  • Labor rehearsals
  • Postpartum care
  • Newborn characteristics and what to expect in the first weeks
  • The emotional journey

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  • About Denyse

    My name is Denyse Ffrench and I have been an AAHCC afiliated Bradley Method instructor since 2000. I have 4 children and have had very different birth experiences with all of them. My son Sebastian was born in 2000, and was a natural water birth. My daughter Violet(2002)was a natural vaginal birth, and her twin sister, Fiona, was an emergency c-section. My last daughter, Gemma(2006) was a beautiful, natural VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). I feel like my collective birth experience has enhanced my teaching greatly. I have had personal experience with a pitocin induced labor, labor that begins naturally, water birth, normal vaginal birth, episiotomy, birth without an episiotomy, singleton pregnancy and birth, twin pregnancy and birth, c-section, VBAC, etc. The common factor is the use of the Bradley Method in all my labors.

    In addition to teaching The Bradley Method, I work as a birth doula and lead a support group for women who are nursing twins. It is very important for me to stay tuned in to the birth community in the Chicago area so that I can better serve my students and provide resources for them. My goal is to provide continuity in care, from birth education, to labor support and postpartum support. This is one reason why my work as a birth doula with my Bradley students is so rewarding.


  • My Philosophy

    My goal as a Bradley teacher is to educate couples about childbirth and let them know that they have choice and options. I would like my students to plan for the birth they want. What many people want for their labor often falls outside of what is typical protocol in many hospitals, so it is important to know about what happens at births, and what options you have.

    Many people who attend my class would like to labor without medications, but are not exactly sure they want, or can have an unmedicated birth. You are about to have an experience that will be completely new to you and it is normal to feel unsure of how you will handle it. My goal is to give you tools and information that can help you to labor without interventions, to know the reasons why interventions are sometimes necessary, to prepare not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, and to honor the experience as a family event.

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