Comfort and Movement in Labor
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Come dressed for comfort and moving. This class will give you information about how to address the pain that comes at each stage of labor through practice and hands-on coaching.
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You won’t be in labor while we explore positions, movements, and techniques to manage pain, so why not lean into it and have fun while we try out some of these new things?! Class is designed to offer playful space for you and your partner to become more comfortable with the very real work of giving birth to your baby.
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Class is centered on exploring coping methods that support unmedicated birth. Regardless of your birth location, these tools will be useful while laboring at home, in a birth center, or planned hospital birth.
Comfort + Movement: Coping in Labor as a Couple is a 2.5 hour one-session class. Attendees will leave class with specific comfort measures to use at each phase and stage of labor, exercises they can do after class to continue exploring the methods that work best for them, and new muscle memory for positions that help manage the pain expected in childbirth.
Location of Class:
1st Wednedsay of the month at Burr Ridge Birth Center
3rd Wednesday of the month at Birth Center of Chicago
WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS CLASS:
This class would be great for a couple that would like to add a hands-on component to their learning, if their main childbirth education class does not offer in-person instruction. It is also great for people who have limited time to re-take a childbirth class as an experienced birth-giver.
WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE THIS CLASS:
You will not enjoy this class if you are expecting deep learning about the birth process and labor. Two hours is simply not enough time to explore the complexity of birth. There will be a general overview of phases and stages, but this class will not satisfy the requirement for a comprehensive childbirth class.
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THIS CLASS:
Please come to class prepared to move like you would in labor. That means wearing clothing you can squat, sit, lie, and wiggle in. (I think you can do all those things in anything you wear, but heads up, we will be doing these things in a group setting, in a public classroom.)
About Class
About Your Instructor
Ariel Swift is a Chicago-based birth doula and childbirth educator with over 14 years of professional experience supporting birthing people and their families. Her connection to birth work began long before certification—on July 13, 1998, when she witnessed her first birth at age 15. That moment shaped a lifelong commitment to compassionate, informed, and family-centered care.
Since then, Ariel has earned multiple doula and childbirth education certifications, helped open Chicago’s first freestanding birth center, and worked to advance Illinois legislation supporting equitable access to maternity care. She has also developed leadership teams nationwide to expand access to midwifery care and strengthen community-based birth support systems.
At the heart of Ariel’s work is a deep belief that well-supported births create ripple effects of healing that extend far beyond the birth room. She is known for offering grounded, practical, and creative support by meeting families where they are and helping them feel confident, informed, and respected throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Originally from Washington State, Ariel has called Illinois home since 2005. She brings a common-sense, hands-on approach to both her professional and personal life, valuing clear communication, healthy boundaries, and calm, intentional spaces.
Ariel is the parent of two midwife-attended births, is partnered with a supportive spouse, and shares her home with a small herd of cats. She is honored to support Chicago-area families through pregnancy, birth, and early parenting with care that is rooted in experience, advocacy, and heart.