Mindful Birthing
A mindfulness based childbirth education program to prepare you for birth and parenting
Next Series:
Tuesday evenings starting on 11/10, with one Saturday “Day of Mindfulness” on 12/12
Mindful Birthing Childbirth and Parenting is an evidence-based childbirth education program designed to help reduce stress and anxiety during pregnancy, childbirth, and the transition into parenthood.
Join Tonya Salerno for this comprehensive nine-week course and learn practical mindfulness skills that support a calmer, more confident birth experience while providing tools you can use throughout everyday life.
Through guided mindfulness practices, childbirth education, prenatal yoga, and engaging group discussions, you’ll develop strategies to navigate pregnancy, labor, parenting, and life’s many challenges with greater awareness and resilience. Many of the practices will be repeated weekly, reinforcing your skills so they’re familiar tools when your birthing day arrives.
What to Expect Week by Week:
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Week One
Welcome, Beginners Mind, an Introduction to Mindfulness
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Week Two
Deepening our Mindfulness Practice: Introduction to Awareness of Breath and Body Scan
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Week Three
Perceptions and the Physiology of Child Birth
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Week Four
Introduction to Pain Practice with Ice and Mindful Movement Week
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Week Five
Labor Support: Mechanisms of Labor, Positions, Hands-on Support for Pain Practice Week
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Week Six
Exploring the Illusion of Control and the Causes and Conditions of Labor Week
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Week Seven
Day of Mindfulness Mini Retreat
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Week Eight
Postpartum: Your Baby as Your Mindfulness Teacher, Joys and Stresses of Postpartum, and Normal Physiology of Breastfeeding
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Week Nine
Closing Circle
About Your Teacher, Tonya Salerno
From Tonya: For the past 20 years, I’ve had the great honor of supporting pregnant people and new parents through one of life’s most transformative journeys. As a parent myself, I understand how profound—and sometimes overwhelming—the transition into birth and parenthood can be.
Supporting new mothers through pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood is deeply personal to me. I am a certified prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher, certified labor support and postpartum doula and certified childbirth educator, bringing together movement, mindfulness, education, and compassionate support.
This is the heart of Birthing Presence: creating a safe, grounded, and nurturing space where you can feel informed, supported, and connected as you prepare to meet your baby and step into parenthood.
Learn more about Tonya at her website here.
The Details
This class is presented in a 9-week “hybrid” format, meaning some classes are live online and some are in-person at Illuminated Birth & Company in Acton.
Pricing is $450 for the whole series when taken as a couple. We can offer a discount code for anyone not planning to take the class with a partner, but partners are encouraged to attend if possible. Birth classes can often be covered by insurance or paid for by an FSA/HSA fund! We are happy to help provide documentation after the class for reimbursement.
Reach out here with questions.
Class size is limited to ensure time for questions and so that the class can get to know one another. If the class you are interested in is sold out, please reach out to be added to our waitlist.
Due to the limited number of spaces, we cannot offer refunds for classes, but we can in some cases make exchanges for other classes or groups. If there is a waitlist and we can fill your spot, sometimes we can offer a refund.