In-person classes for new parents to return

Online videos for prospective parents were launched in May

Face-to-face new parent classes are set to return next month after the Isle of Man's healthcare operator scrapped the service last year in favour of moving them online.

The Jane Crookall Maternity Unit has confirmed the parent craft education programme, which was withdrawn in favour of online videos last September, is set to return for three weekly evening sessions from 16 October.

The sessions, held at Keyll Darree at the Noble's Hospital site, are set to deliver information about preparing for birth and labour.

The return follows a pledge by Manx Care in May, when the videos were launched, to introduce a "blended approach" to the delivering the advice to new parents.

Concerns had been raised that the online resources, featuring midwives who have previously delivered the sessions, would not have the "same impact" as face-to-face sessions.

At the start of the year retired midwife Jan Ulyatt started running monthly four-hour sessions for free to "fill a gap" left when the previous programme was stopped.

In the House of Keys in February, Joney Faragher MHK also suggested the changes failed to recognise the "social and emotional support of meeting other parents".

In response, Health and Social Care Minister Claire Christian said the move had been based around feedback to make the sessions more "accessible and more flexible" for new and expectant parents.

The weekly classes run over three evenings from 16 October

Meanwhile, midwife Regan Baggley previously said the shift in approach had meant the advice had been broken down into "bite size chunks", which parents could watch at their leisure.

The nine videos available online include information on the stages of labour, pain relief options, and caring for a newborn, alongside a tour of the island's maternity unit.

In the social media announcement, the maternity unit said it was "delighted" to announce the return of the bump to baby course.

The first edition of the returning programme will be run across three Thursday evenings from 16 October, between 18:30 and 20:45 BST and bookings can be made once a mother-to-be reaches 32 weeks of pregnancy.