We recommend that you take this course any time from 25 weeks (and preferably not starting later than 33 weeks if expecting one baby or 29 weeks if expecting multiples). This will ensure you have completed all of the classes before hitting ‘term’ (after which your baby could arrive at any minute)! However... this is just a guide, so please get in touch if you would like help choosing your course. Taking the course in your second or third trimester will also ensure you have time to start connecting with other parents-to-be in who are at a similar stage. While you might not think this is a super important part of attending an Prenatal course, we can assure you that these connections will help you (and your partner) form an invaluable and lasting support network during your early days, weeks and years as a new parent.

Health centre classes may be tempting because they are free! However, 5 things to take into account: 1) They are usually run by midwives who only work in the doctor’s surgery and may not be up-to-date on current hospital practice. All our midwives are up-to-date on current healthcare practices relating to the realities of giving birth in Spain in 2023. 2) Classes will be taught in Spanish which is likely to be a challenge even for fully bilingual parents and may result in missing crucial information due to language complications. All our classes are taught 100% in English (although we do provide translations of medical terms when we think it will be helpful), by either fully bilingual or native midwives. 3) Health centre classes tend to be larger, less personal, and more likely to cover the basics of a conventional birth without going into the detail of a private course or including more modern approaches. Our classes have a maximum of 10 couples to avoid you getting lost in the crowd! 4) These classes may be delivered in a less- than- interactive way that allows you to remember all-important information (even if you fully understand it). Our classes are delivered with a midwife giving an engaging visual presentation, we use props, and we strongly encourage real-life practising of practical skills needed in birth, new baby care, and infant feeding. 5) Lastly, and very importantly, since most of the other attendees will probably be Spanish (and with already formed local support networks) you may struggle to make friendships and form lasting bonds. In our classes you will have an already formed friendship group who speak English and are at the same stage. Your bond will be reinforced in our end of course social event, and you will stay in contact via a WhatsApp group that we will put you in. Baby On Board classes offer up-to-date information, tailored class sizes, ongoing expert support, information delivered 100% in English, classes taught by midwives with local healthcare knowledge, member interaction, and a ready-made social network so you can make lasting friendships to support you in new parenthood (and beyond)! The most common complaints that we, at Baby On Board Spain, hear by mums who did the free healthcare classes are that they had issues with language and comprehension of important information, and they didn't find it an environment conducive to making friends! Which is why we made our classes 100% different!

All our Prenatal course classes can also be attended online. Otherwise we encourage you to read up in the relevant section of the 'BOBS' booklet course guide for the information that will be covered that week and ask any questions to the midwife during the next class.

If your baby is born early (37 weeks for singleton babies or 35 weeks for multiples) and you have not attended ANY classes, we will refund you the full course amount. If you have attended some of the classes, we will work with you to provide any missing course content that may still be helpful retrospectively. If this is not helpful, we will work with you to see if we can offer any postnatal support in lieu of the Prenatal class content. Aside from this, no refunds can be issued for cancellation by a course participant (within one month of the course start date) for babies born at term, although Baby On Board may, in its sole and absolute discretion, offer a pro rata refund (as applicable) in certain exceptional circumstances.

Definitely! We welcome partners - whether it's the father, life partner, birth partner, family member or friend. Support is a very important part of this process and perhaps as foreigners here in Spain your family may be far away so we want to ensure your partner on this crazy ride is as involved and informed as possible. This is so that they feel prepared and confident to help you during birth and care for the new baby (or babies) like a pro! That said, you are also extremely welcome to come alone.

Yes and yes! You are welcome to bring your own snack and bottle of water and eat/drink whenever you need to. We also always have a break halfway through the class where hot and cold refreshments (including caffeine free options) and snacks (biscuits and fruit) are available. If you (or any partner attending) have any severe allergies to anything please make us aware in advance of attending any classes (in the relevant section of the booking form).

There are 2 reasons- 1) to enable you to absorb (and retain) the information better, and 2) to facilitate relationships between you and the other parents so you can form a friendship group more easily and without time pressure. In any good antenatal course, there is a lot of information to absorb! And personal and professional experience has taught us that attending weekly will get you the best results. You will learn gradually, have time to think, digest, and prepare questions between sessions, and not feel overwhelmed with information overload. We run the sessions during the weekday evenings so you (and your partner) can easily attend after work and spend your precious weekends doing fun things before the baby arrives, resting, beng with any other children, or simply getting things in order before life gets more complicated for a while! Finally, we know that you will build confidence to make friends more easily when done gradually, rather than in an intensive format. So that by the time the course ends, you will have time to have formed an excellent support group to go forward into new parenthood with! This last point is something we are extremely passionate about because we know, from experience, that otherwise being an ex-pat parent in Spain can be a very lonely ride! We want no mum (or dad) left behind!

Yes! We often have people attending the courses who already have children. By attending a course as a second/third/fourth time parent you be able to make a brand new group of friends at a similar stage of pregnancy, talk over previous birth experiences with our midwife, refresh your baby care skills and perhaps learn some new ones! If you think the full course isn't for you, you may prefer our Birth Only course to address any differences in the health system here, or advice for how giving birth to your current baby could be made different to previous births. You may also consider our Prenatal consultation service if you only have some questions on pregnancy, labour, recovery and the newborn stage this time around!

As our teaching sessions take place in the evening and are full of information, this does not leave as much time for socialising as we would like! But we feel it is very important for you to have time and space to connect with the other parents in the group (before babies come and life gets tricker for a while!) to enable you to build a support network for after your babies are born. For this reason, the social event is an adults-only event ;-) That is why we think it is beneficial to organise a social event before your baby arrives, so you get the opportunity to socialise and swap contact information with your antenatal group before life (and baby) makes it complicated! So we book a table in a central Madrid eatery and provide a fully organised social event so you can chat and connect over tea, coffee and cake in a relaxed environment. Our preferred venue is The Chess Cafe, (near metro Acacias Line 5 and with ample street parking), where the kitchen is open all day incase you need something more filling than cake (we know pregnancy is a hungry time)!

We are more than happy to accept a €50 non refundable deposit to secure your place on one of our Prenatal courses, with the balance being payable two weeks before your course starts.

We can provide personalised information to you via our Prenatal Consultations, this may include some or all of the course content, depending on your needs. Please see the the Prenatal Consultation page for more information.

We have reduced class sizes of 10 couples maximum to reduce possible sources of contagion. Our venue is spacious enough to allow couples to socially distance. Windows / doors will be opened and/or air conditioning will be used to encourage ventilation. All chairs will be cleaned in advance of your arrival. Our instructors wear NO LONGER be wearing masks but you may use a mask (we leave it to your own discretion). We use hand sanitiser regularly clean any props. We require any group members who have any symptoms of Covid and/or have recently tested positive, to not attend the in-person class and to instead advise us as soon as possible so we can accommodate you online. If your instructor contracts Covid (or any other infectious illness) then we will provide alternate arrangements so you can still receive your class (in the form of a substitute instructor, virtual classes, or on rare occasions we may reschedule).