La Leche League Canada encourages, promotes and provides mother-to-mother breastfeeding support and educational opportunities as an important contribution to the health of children, families and society. Meetings take place monthly at the BriarPatch Centre. Pregnant women, new moms, babies & toddlers all welcome to attend. Please contact us for more information.

We offer Childbirth Education classes, Birth Doula support, and sibling preparation classes. Read a little about each below. To find out more about any of our childbirth services, please contact us.

Childbirth Education Classes

Prenatal classes help you and your partner prepare for the journey of a lifetime! The benefit of taking prenatal classes & childbirth education include:

• giving you and your partner the information you need to make decisions that are right for both of you
• giving you a better understanding of the process of natural childbirth
• helping you and your partner become familiar with the many options that are available to you
• giving you confidence in preparing for your birth experience
• giving you a better understanding of alternative pain relief methods that are available
• helping to prepare you and your partner for what to expect during labour, birthing, breastfeeding, newborn care and the postpartum period
• giving you a chance to ask questions, to voice concerns and to share experiences
• helping you to sort through some information that may be inaccurate or out of date

Birth Doula Support

The word doula is a Greek word that means women’s servant. Women have been serving other women in childbirth for centuries and have proven that this support from another woman has positive effects on the labor process. A doula is a knowledgeable, experienced companion who offers emotional support, encouragement and wisdom throughout labor, birth and beyond. Postpartum doulas support women and families through the transformation that a new baby brings to a family.

Sibling Preparation Classes

The arrival of a new baby can bring many changes to a family. Parents spend a lot of energy on preparations, and after the baby arrives, much of the family's attention involves meeting the newborn's basic needs. All this change can be hard for older siblings to handle, and a sibling preparation class can help make the addition of a new family member a bit easier.

Motherhood is the most overwhelming, meaningful, incredible, transforming experience a woman can experience. No wonder it produces such emotional and physical change! This program is a support system for moms who are experiencing the "baby blues" after their baby has arrived. To find out more, please contact us: you will find that we are kind, friendly and supportive.

We welcome moms from Sherwood Park, Edmonton, and surrounding areas. Please get in touch! :0)

Real parents. Real kids. Real living. Real learning. This is an inclusive social group for homeschooling families with children ages baby to high school. Its primary purpose is to provide unstructured activities for homeschool children and parents to meet each other and have fun.  This group is open to families of all races, religions, family composition, and homeschooling style. The BriarPatch Homeschool Club meets on the third Friday of each month from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Grandparents As Parents (GAP) ~ for grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. Aunties and Uncles are also welcome to attend this unique programming offering peer support, educational information and links to other community resources. Meetings are held monthly at the BriarPatch Centre. Please contact us for more information.

H.E.A.R.T.S. Baby Loss Support Program (Helping Empty Arms Recover Through Sharing) is a special program for anyone who has been touched by the loss of a baby during pregnancy or any time after birth. Program includes;

• support group meetings
• additional support meetings for families who are considering a subsequent pregnancy or are expecting
• individual & family support
• a resource lending library
• memory-making events
• a monthly newsletter
• community presentations and workshops.

Please contact us for more information or to become involved.

The Compassionate Friends of Strathcona County is for parents who are grieving the loss of their precious child, at any age, for any reason. Monthly support group meeting, individual & family support, resource-lending library & sibling support. Please contact us for more information.

About The Compassionate Friends

The Compassionate Friends is an international, non-profit, non-denominational, self-help organization, offering friendship, understanding, grief education and HOPE for the future to all families who have experienced the death of a child at any age, from any cause. Its Primary Purpose is to aid in the positive reconciliation of grief and foster the physical and emotional health of parents and their surviving children. Its Secondary Purpose is to provide information and education about the grief of bereaved parents and their surviving children. The objective is to help those in their community, including family, friends, co-workers, employers and professionals to be supportive.

This unique program uses arts, music, play, writing, puppetry & talking to help children & teens understand the grief journey. The program includes a parent group. Individual & family support is provided. Community presentations & workshops are available, and we have a summer day camp program that runs in July & August. Please contact us for more information.