A total of 24 expectant parents have signed up for the University of Calgary – Qatar’s first ever prenatal classes. The idea of offering information and support to expecting parents came from Behi Nikaiin, a nursing instructor.
Nikaiin said: “In the past couple of years that I have been in Qatar, I often noticed that many mothers and their families go through pregnancy, labour, delivery and post-partum without knowing what to expect in these stages. This usually causes them to panic, and not able to make informed choice decisions, feel lost and incapable. This fact was also observed by my students and was brought up as a gap in the healthcare system.
Christine Ou, another UCQ nursing instructor who is assisting with the classes, said: “Childbirth education is an important step in the right direction of optimising prenatal care services.”
Carolana Almont and her husband Andy who are expecting their baby in three weeks will take the class. Almont said: “My husband and I are very Google-oriented. But like the instructor says, there is only so much you can believe on the Internet. So, it is nice to collaborate with others and see if there is something new to learn and getting information from professional healthcare givers, of course.”
UCQ nursing students are involved in the classes in a supportive role.
The class which will be held both in English and Arabic, is free of cost.
