First aid for new parents: three ways to ease the worry
Three ways first time parents can ease the worry of the early months: prenatal classes, a new parents' group and a childcare first aid course.
Written byEdway
The short answer
Anxiety, stress and overwhelm are common emotions for new parents. Babies don't come with instruction manuals, and without proper support the first few months with your new baby can be filled with not only love and amazement but fear as well. Three things help most: prenatal classes, a new parents' group, and a childcare first aid course done before the baby arrives.
Newborns are so small and fragile, and then they make choking noises, seem to stop breathing for a moment and throw up, a lot. How do you know what is normal and what is not? Here are three ways to help you understand your newborn.
Prenatal classes
Hospitals, medical centres and midwives' clinics recommend that both parents attend prenatal classes. These classes are designed to help new parents understand the whole process of birth and the first few months of your baby's life, so you know what to expect.
Ask your doctor, obstetrician or midwife to book you in.
New parents' groups
A new parents' group may seem a bit pointless if you've never had a child. After all, who wants to sit around with a group of strangers talking about nappies? In fact, these groups are one of the most valuable things you can do as a new parent.
Those conversations are invaluable for understanding what is normal, what everyone else is going through, and how they are solving the same problems you are all facing. Your hospital can help you find a group near you.
A childcare first aid course before the baby arrives
Doing a first aid course is a very powerful thing to do. We recommend you do it before the baby is born, so you have the time and the headspace to absorb the information.
A childcare first aid course teaches you the signs of an emergency and exactly what to do when one happens. The more you understand what is normal and what is not, the less anxious you will feel in those first months as a new parent, and the more you can enjoy getting to know your new family member.
For anything about your own baby's health, your GP, hospital or midwife is the right person to ask.
What the course covers
The childcare first aid course is HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting. It is built for people who care for babies and young children, and it suits new parents too. You learn to:
- respond to an emergency
- give CPR, including to infants and children
- manage asthma and anaphylaxis emergencies
- apply first aid procedures
No experience is needed. The course is 8 hours in the classroom, including breaks, and there is an online module of 1 to 3 hours that you finish before your class. The training is hands-on, with a trainer in the room.
When you finish, your Statement of Attainment covers four units: HLTAID012, HLTAID011, HLTAID010 and HLTAID009. It is nationally recognised.
Training Aid Australia (RTO 91411) delivers this course and issues your Statement of Attainment.
If you would like more detail on what any first aid course teaches, read what a first aid course covers.
Next step
To see dates, check the issuing RTO and book, go to the Childcare First Aid course page. Want general first aid for adults as well? The First Aid course is built for work and community settings.
Sources
- Edway knowledge base — courses/childcare-first-aid/index.mdHLTAID012 title, what you learn (CPR for infants and children, asthma and anaphylaxis), 8-hour duration and online module, four units, issuing RTO; faq.yaml for no experience needed and the issuing-RTO sentence
- Edway knowledge base — courses/first-aid/index.mdHLTAID011 as the general workplace and community first aid course, for the pointer in Next step
