the Package
The Prenatal, The Newborn, The Hands On & The Nourish
The Prenatal, The Newborn, The Hands On & The Nourish
These classes are designed to provide you with a series of thorough learning experiences over the course of your pregnancy. You can take The Prenatal and The Newborn as a one-day online intensive class, or you can take them separately over a few months. Usually, these classes are taken between 28 and 34 weeks gestation. The Hands On and The Nourish are each 2 hour in person classes meant to be taken between 32 and 37 weeks to prepare for the technical aspects of labour, birth, caring, feeding your newborn and YOU! These classes are taught by Sarah Leslie and Sarah Wilson, who have a combined 30+ years of experience working as registered midwives.
In this morning online session you will learn about the last trimester of pregnancy and how to prepare for your birth. You will also learn the basics about labour and birth with the following topics:
What are your choice of birth place (home, Toronto Birth Centre, hospital).
How to preparing for birth (teas, foods, exercise, perineal massage, Hypnobirthing).
What is a birth plan and do you need it?
What supplies do I need for giving birth, what to have/pack.
Planning for support in labour (partner, doula, family, friends), who's taking care of the fur baby?
Why do people pump before labour?
What are the phases of labour (latent/early labour, active 1st/2nd stage, pp 3rd/4th stage)
What coping strategies/support are available to you in the different birthing places.
What pain management options are available to me during labour and birth?
What are the most common challenges during labour (rupture of membranes, fever, "slow progress", long inductions of labour, high blood pressure, abnormal fetal heart rate) and how can I make the best of them?
What are the different kinds of births (spontaneous vaginal birth, caesarean birth, vacuum birth, forceps birth)?
What does it mean to do skin to skin?
What is delayed cord clamping?
What is cord blood banking?
How to optimize healing your body after giving birth.
How can I optimize my mental health after having a baby?
When can I get more active after giving birth?
In this afternoon online session you will learn your newborn's operating system by cover the A-Zs from sleep to feeding and the transition into parenthood! We will cover the following topics:
Identify normal newborn appearances and behaviour
What tests do newborns have in the first 6 weeks
Information about Ontario Health cards, registration and birth certificate
Understand the basics around an ideal latch for breastfeeding and feeding newborns
Learn about healing and recovery from birth
Information about postpartum mood disorders
Baby hygiene (bathing, diaper rashes and dressing baby)
What to expect from a newborn, including sleep, and how you can grab some zzz’s too.
Normalizing the 4th Trimester and setting yourself up for parenting success
This class is best taken between 34 and 37 weeks gestation.
By joining us in person, you can expect to walk away with the following:
A refresh of the phases of labour and what to expect in the first few hours postpartum.
Labour and birthing positions to help support your labour to be as efficient and productive as possible.
Tricks to help with pain in labour (counter pressure, TENS machine placement, distraction techniques, sterile water injections, hot and cold packs).
Monitoring in labour (what does it look like and feel to have an IV, epidural and external/internal fetal monitoring)
The tools of obstetricians (forceps, vacuum, internal fetal monitoring, fetal scalp sampling)
How to diaper a newborn and manage those poop blowouts!
How to swaddle a newborn.
The basics of how to bathe a newborn.
How to hold a baby to relieve gas and create comfort.
Car seat basics so you can feel confident your kid will stay in their seat! (We have a car seat for demonstration)
Bring your baby wrap, and we can help you learn how to use it!
This two hour class is only available for folks who have taken The Prenatal and The Newborn. For a stand alone in person class take a look at The In Person.
The Nourish is a 2 hour in person class created for expecting parents. Whether you're planning to breast/chestfeed exclusively or combo-feed with breastmilk and formula, this class is for you. This class is taught by Sarah Wilson or Sarah Leslie, both of whom have extensive experience teaching new parents how to effectively feed their newborns.
This class is best taken between 34 and 37 weeks gestation.
By joining us, you will have a better understanding of the following:
The anatomy and physiology of making milk.
Harvesting of breastmilk during pregnancy.
The benefits of skin to skin with your baby.
How to position your baby for feeding (breast/bottle) with a newborn doll.
How to burp your baby during and after feeds.
What are the common breast/chest feeding issues and how to solve them?
What are blocked ducts, mastitis and blebs?
How to increase your milk supply.
How to choose the right formula for your baby.
How to optimize feeding and sleeping for your newborn.
What is cluster feeding, the "witching hour" and the "Sundown Scaries".
How to optimize the nutritional requirements for breast/chestfeeding.
Online class structure:
The Prenatal: 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Lunch: 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
The Newborn: 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
In person class structure:
The Hands On: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (only for those who have taken the online classes)
Lunch: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
The Nourish: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
The Prenatal Class: Sun, Mar 15, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sun, Mar 15, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Prenatal Class: Sun, April 12, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sun, April 12, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Prenatal Class: Tues, May 5, 2026, 6 pm to 9pm The Newborn Class: Tues, May 19, 2026, 6 pm to 9pm
The Prenatal Class: Sat, June 13, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sat, June 13, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Prenatal Class: Sat, July 4, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sat, July 4, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Prenatal Class: Sun, Aug 2, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sun, Aug 2, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Prenatal Class: Sun, Sept 6, 2026, 0930 to 12:30 The Newborn Class: Sun, Sept 6, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30
The Hands On: Sun, Mar 29, 2026, 10 am to 12 pm The Nourish: Sun, Mar 29, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sun, April 19, 2026, 10 am to 12 pm The Nourish: Sun April 19, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sat, May 30, 2026, 10 am to 12 pm The Nourish: Sat, May 30, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sat, June 27, 2026, 10 am - 12 pm The Nourish: Sat, June 27, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sat, July 18, 2026, 10 am - 12 pm The Nourish: Sat, July 18, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sat, Aug 15, 2026, 10 am - 12 pm The Nourish: Sat, Aug 15, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Hands On: Sun, Sept 20, 2026, 10 am - 12 pm The Nourish: Sun, Sept 20, 2026, 1pm to 3pm
The Prenatal, The Newborn, The Hands On, and The Nourish is a total of 10 hours of detailed instruction that will give you everything you need to know to prepare for birth, optimizing your labour as well as caring for and feeding your newborn.
The Prenatal: $100 for two people or $50 for one person
The Newborn: $100 for two people or $50 for one person
The Hands On (this is only available for those who have taken The Prenatal and The Newborn):
$50 for two people or $25 for one person
The Nourish: Free for those who have signed up for The Package.
The Prenatal, The Newborn, The Hands On and The Nourish: $250 for two people or $125 for one person
Note: You can also take The Prenatal, The Newborn and The Nourish individually.
Please email Sarah Leslie at SarahLeslieRM@gmail.com to sign up or use the contact page on this website for more information. Include the date of the classes you are interested in and who you are receiving pregnancy/birth care from i.e. midwifery clinic, OB or family doctor. Once we have received your payment we will send you a confirmation email along with the Zoom link for the classes you've signed up for.
The Thorncliffe Hub (Midwives’ Clinic of East York-Don Mills hosting)
45 Overlea Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, M4H 1C3
Meeting room 3 and 4 at the top of the escalators and to your left.
The classes take place at East York Town Centre as part of the Thorncliffe Park Community Hub
There is ample free parking
You can find us by entering the mall through entrance No. 6 (beside Once Upon a Child) and heading up the escalator
You will receive a reminder email the week of your class which will have the exact room the class will be held in.
Take the subway to Pape Station on the Bloor-Danforth Subway line.
At Pape Station board the #72 Thorncliffe Park bus.
Ride the bus and get off at 11 Thorncliffe Park Dr and walk east on Overlea Blvd entering in Entrance 6 and go up the escalators.
Take the subway to Broadview Station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line.
At Broadview Station, board the #100 Flemingdon Park bus or the 25b Don Mills North bus.
Ride the bus until the entrance of Costco and the mall and then get off and enter entrance 6 and go up the escalators.
Take the subway to St Clair Station on the Yonge subway line.
At St Clair Station board the #88 South Leaside bus.
Ride the bus until the entrance of Costco and the mall and then get off and enter entrance 6 and go up the escalators.
The information were very helpful and the way it was delivered gives to us, as first parents, confidence to pass through all those phases and having our little girl.
Ariane
Super informative class! This is my first pregnancy and I learned so many things that I didn’t even think I needed to know! Sarah took her time to make sure the group was ready to move on from each slide and answered all the questions anyone had. I couldn’t be happier, thank you so much!
Parent of the Midwives Clinic
Sarah was a wonderful instructor and her session is both informative, casual and empowering. It provided us a great sense of comfort knowing we are more prepare for the birthing day.
Parent of the Midwives Clinic
Sarah Leslie was personable, thorough, patient, left time for questions, and was very knowledgeable. Thank you!
Parent of the Midwives Clinic
Even though we've read several books and done other free classes, this was by far the best and the most informative class we took. It was nice to meet other parents and hear they're questions and get so much excellent information.
Parent of the Midwives Clinic
I’m so happy my partner and I took this class! It was very informative and enjoyable. I feel more prepared and now know what topics I want to delve even further into after exploring them today. Thanks so much!
Katelyn
Sarah was an excellent facilitator. The Newborn class was a great refresher of the tips I have learned in my earlier prenatal classes, and covered many things I didn’t yet know about. She comes across incredibly professional and knowledgeable. Thanks for a great class!
Michelle
The class was fantastic. Well paced, informative and definitely helped take care of some back of the mind worries I had!
Tamara
This class from Sarah Leslie was AMAZING. It was super-helpful to know what to expect, and what is perfectly normal, and why it's all happening. Especially when family/friends will make strange remarks, "Not sure if you noticed this but you may be giving baby heat rash". It's nice to say thanks so much - that's actually baby acne. Or that's newborn rash. Or whatever those little stages are instead of being stressed out at night wondering if you've done something horribly wrong. Sarah has the most amazing blend of practical know-how, a full willingness to share from her own personal and professional experience, and a total love of babies. It is so incredibly refreshing. And she provided resources to help with the big stuff that align with all methods of parenting and didn't focus on one specific kind, which I appreciated as a lot of the internet seems to lean strongly in one sharp direction I was looking to avoid. Thank you so much, Sarah! We are forever grateful for your guidance, recommendations, and of course, for your help bringing our sweet little one into this world! 😍
Nathalie & Christopher