Jennifer Weaver, an associate professor of developmental psychology and an International Childbirth Education Association certified childbirth educator, recently published an article titled, “Improving Online Childbirth Education: A Role for Active Learning.”
Her article explores how active learning techniques can improve the effectiveness of online childbirth education by engaging participants in interactive, meaningful ways. Recognizing that traditional in-person methods don’t always translate well online, she proposed strategies such as word clouds to explore perceptions of childbirth, virtual whiteboards for sequencing labor events, and multimedia tools like hospital room backgrounds to prompt discussions on coping with birth transitions. These approaches aim to foster community, deepen knowledge retention, and create a student-centered learning environment that supports both the social and educational needs of parents.
Weaver’s article appears in the October issue of the Journal of Perinatal Education.