Prenatal Classes in Singapore: How Teaching & Supporting Families at Beloved Bumps Enhances My Work as a Birth Doula”
Over the last few months, a new chapter has opened in my life as a doula in Singapore, and it has surprised me in the best ways. I became part of the Beloved Bumps team as one of the instructors, teaching prenatal classes for expecting parents in Singapore, and this experience has not only changed how I support parents, but also how I see my role.
At Papaya Wellness Doula, there is a deep belief that every family deserves to design a birth experience that feels true to their own values, culture, and story. Birth is seen as a natural, powerful process, and the heart of this work is offering knowledge, emotional grounding, and continuous support so parents feel informed, respected, and genuinely empowered.
Stepping From 1:1 To A Full Classroom
For years, my comfort zone was intimate, one-to-one spaces: sitting in living rooms for prenatal visits, walking the hospital corridors during labour, and holding space in those raw, tender postpartum days. When I first stepped into a Beloved Bumps classroom, facing a group of parents from different backgrounds and nationalities, my heart was honestly racing.
Going from talking to one couple to standing in front of a whole room felt intimidating at first. I remember wondering if my voice would shake, or if my accent would stand out too much. And then something beautiful happened: I heard familiar sounds, recognised shared stories, and even found parents who spoke French and Spanish. As a fluent French and Spanish speaker, being able to switch languages when needed felt so comforting suddenly the classroom felt warmer.
Why These Classes Feel So Meaningful
In these prenatal classes, I get to walk parents through how birth actually works, what options they have in Singapore hospitals, practical comfort measures, newborn care, and what the postpartum period can really look like. Many couples arrive carrying a mix of excitement and worry unsure about pain, decisions, and how they will cope when baby arrives.
As we move through the sessions, something shifts. I see shoulders relax, partners start participating more, and couples look at each other with a new sense of teamwork.
When “Couples” Show Up In Class
One of my favourite moments is walking into a class and spotting familiar faces couples who have already invited me to be their birth as they doula through Papaya Wellness Doula. It is such a joy to greet them not just in a private setting, but in a lively room full of other parents, all learning together.
We get to practise positions, comfort techniques, and communication tools in a relaxed, playful way. Later, when labour starts, those shared moments come back. The breathing we practised, the positions we laughed through in class, suddenly become real tools we lean on together in the birth space, and there is a special ease because our relationship has already grown in more than one setting.
Finding My Place In The Beloved Bumps Team
Another unexpected gift has been becoming part of the Beloved Bumps team. The midwives and instructors I work alongside care deeply about evidence-based information, but they also care about how parents feel when they walk through the door seen, welcomed, and never judged.
Coming from independent doula work, being surrounded by like-hearted professionals feels nourishing. We share similar values: trust in the birthing person, respect for choice, and honest, kind preparation for life with a newborn in Singapore. Knowing that the families in our classes are held by a whole team, not just one person, makes the community feel even stronger.
How Teaching And Doula Work Feed Each Other
Teaching at Beloved Bumps and working as a birth and postpartum doula with Papaya Wellness Doula now feel like two parts of the same calling. In the classroom, I can reach many families at once, planting seeds of knowledge and confidence before birth. As a doula, I then get to walk closely with some of those families, turning that information into personalised, hands-on support during labour and the fourth trimester.
Both roles make the other stronger. Teaching keeps me tuned into what parents in Singapore are really asking and needing right now, and doula work keeps my teaching grounded in real births, real recoveries, and real emotions. Together, they allow me to support parents from the moment they sit down in a prenatal class, to the moment they hold their baby in their arms, and into those first tender weeks of becoming a family.