JOHN DAY — Becoming a parent, especially a first-time parent, can be a nerve-racking ordeal.

There is no parenting manual that covers everything, but a prenatal program sponsored by the Blue Mountain Hospital called Locally Grown seeks to provide expecting couples with some of the knowledge they may need prior to the arrival of their baby.

Charissa Moulton is a speech language pathologist, pediatric feeding specialist and orofacial myologist at Blue Mountain Hospital. When Moulton isn’t making a difference at the hospital, she’s helping parents-to-be understand what to expect in the weeks before and after their baby arrives through her work with Locally Grown.

“We go over the three stages of labor, delivery, we do a tour of the hospital, we have guest speakers who are local physicians come in and talk each night,” Moulton said. “The class is run by two of the nurses at the hospital so they go over the information about the stages of labor and what to expect with that.”

The class also educates attendees about lactation and breast feeding, something Moulton teaches as a lactation consultant. Attendees will also have access to a wide range of community partners who provide parenting support after the arrival of the baby.

The lactation education is new and something Moulton said hadn’t been offered in the county in a number of years, if ever.

“I don’t know if it’s ever been available, but at the very least there has not been anything for at least 10 years. Being able to provide that is definitely new,” she said.

Other subjects discussed will be pain management and mitigation, including a presentation by an anesthesiologist, as well as discussions about the effects of postpartum depression.

Locally Grown isn’t the first prenatal class in the county — Families First had done home-based prenatal classes that were sponsored by the hospital. Moulton said Locally Grown had worked with Families First to get the class going, but their intentions differed from Families First as they wanted to provide more of a traditional prenatal class setting as opposed to the home-based one-on-one care that Families First provided.

“We kind of wanted to provide a more stereotypical prenatal class, where it’s a group setting. That way expecting parents can come and learn the information in a group setting and ask questions of other providers,” Moulton said.

“The goal of the class is to prepare expecting parents for delivering baby and then, afterwards, some of those first things that come up after baby is born,” she added. “(Also) to connect them to community resources that are available both during pregnancy and after baby is born.”

Locally Grown held its first set of classes in March of 2022. Turnout has been good, averaging four expecting couples per class, according to Moulton.

The classes are held one night a week over a three-week span. Classes are 2½ hours a night, and all of the 2023 class start dates can be found on the Blue Mountain Hospital website, https://bluemountainhospital.org/.

Registration for any of this year’s classes can be done on the hospital website. Classes are provided at no charge to the public.

This year’s first set of Locally Grown classes starts on Tuesday, Feb. 28, with additional sessions on the following two Tuesdays. Classes take place from 5:30-8 p.m. downstairs at Blue Mountain Hospital, 170 Ford Road in John Day.