This post is part of our ongoing comparison of the best online birthing classes. All prices noted below are accurate as of 2021.

Lamaze is a recognizable brand in the childbirth world. The “Lamaze Technique” was popularized in the 1950s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze. While the focus of Lamaze used to be limited to breathwork, they now offer more generalized education.

Now Lamaze offers online classes on a variety of topics, including how to prepare for pregnancy, sex during pregnancy, and labor pain management. You can pick and choose which classes to take. Classes start at $30.

Lamaze classes typically last 1 hour, and you can take that at your convenience with access for up to 1 year. Mamas can choose to take multiple classes at once, paying varying entry fees for each. This is affordable and works well as refreshers for fast learners.

The Mama Natural Birth Course spans 10 hours and is divided into 8 classes for easy viewing. We do this to break up the subject matter and keep things from getting too information-heavy at once. With Mama Natural, you have access to our $264 course for 1 year, and while it may seem pricey next to a 1-hour-$30 course, if you took all the Lamaze classes needed to cover all Mama Natural Birth Course topics, you’d spend $300.

We’ve tried to be impartial in our comparison of the best online birthing classes, but there really is no comparison between Lamaze and The Mama Natural Birth Course. The Lamaze classes more closely resemble the free courses you’d find elsewhere, consisting of PowerPoint slides with occasional videos that you click through. The videos are decades old, shot before the advent of HD cameras, with no personality to speak of.

Hate to be so critical, but we do feel strongly that you’d be better off with any of the other courses we cover in our best online birthing classes series.

Lamaze online birthing class slideshow approach
Example of Lamaze online childbirth class interface, where you click through slides.

How does Lamaze Compare to the Mama Natural Birth Course?

Here we’ve compared each course for a quick overview regarding the features we think are essential when choosing the best online birthing course:

Class Specifics Mama Natural Lamaze Class
Course Length 8 classes / 10 hours Varies by class, typically 1 hour+ per class
Course Access 1 year 1 year
Instructor Genevieve Howland & Maura Winkler, CNM, IBCLC Varies by class
Taught by a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) ✓
Format HD video-based, hands-on HD video, slideshow, interactive images
Approach Conversational, informative, “talk show style,” evidence-based Informative, evidence-based
Printable Worksheets ✓ ✓
Real Natural Birth Footage ✓
Community Group Moderated By Certified Doula ✓
Pricing $264 $30+
Audio Tracks ✓
Section for Dad ✓
VBAC Training ✓ Class Available
Breastfeeding Training ✓ Class Available
Accepts FSA/HSA ✓
Donate 10% to Charity ✓
Physical Bonus via Mail ✓
Extras Mama Natural Affirmations App and physical copies, Prenatal workout video, Natural Birth Playbook, and more Email support via instructor, Class discussion board
30 Day Money-Back Guarantee ✓

 

Clearly, the Mama Natural Birth Course contains a lot more than one Lamaze class. Our key benefits include:

Value

The individual class prices starting around $30 is great if you only need a single area of coverage, but for comprehensive information, you’ll pay a premium as the classes add up quickly. Taking 10 hours of Lamaze classes works out to $300, which is more than the Mama Natural Birth Course price by almost $40.

Instructor

Lamaze classes are taught by nurses and certified childbirth educators, but the Mama Natural Birth Course is the only online birthing course instructed by a Certified Nurse Midwife. Tied into this is the style, where Genevieve and Maura present information in a conversational approach, while Lamaze classes feel like, well, classes. They’re textbook approaches to learning, which can get a little dull for some mamas.

Real Natural Birth Information

The Mama Natural Birth Course aims to guide mamas through natural birth using actual footage and real-life experiences. Lamaze classes do provide an overview of childbirth, but it’s not nearly as comprehensive as most mamas would like. If you’re seeking something in-depth, you’ll likely come out disappointed.

Extras

Not only does the Mama Natural Birth Course offer more content surrounding natural birth, but we also provide extra goodies like prenatal workouts, a Natural Birth Playbook, and more. This is your time, mama, and you deserve extras! While you can email your instructor or participate in class discussions with Lamaze, that has a schoolroom vibe that not all mamas enjoy.

FSA/HSA Coverage

If you have these benefits, use them. Save yourself some money, mama, and use your FSA/HSA coverage with the Mama Natural Birth Course. Few online birthing courses offer this payment option, and Lamaze does not.

Closing Thoughts

Having options is important, and we’re excited to see that there are so many online natural childbirth classes available for mamas to choose from.

While the Lamaze name has been around since our grandmothers were giving birth, we believe their online offerings pale in comparison to most other options online, including the Mama Natural Birth Course.

The single-class option is affordable at a glance, but once you start stacking classes, it gets expensive quickly. As parents, we designed the Mama Natural Birth course to give you the best bang for your buck. We know how pricey kiddos are, and mamas deserve a quality course that won’t break the bank.

Not only that, we believe that childbirth education should be approachable and accessible — not clinical or stuffy.

Whatever you choose, we hope you find the best online birthing course for you.

The Mama Natural Birth Course