Private EDUCATION
Each person is unique— why can’t your birth education be? Our individual education offers the most customized experience. Private birth classes and at home parenting workshops elevate your experience— and make your life easier.
Available SESSIONS
Please use the buttons below to schedule your private class or workshop (based on availability).
Private Classes
Learn HypnoBirthing techniques in your own home with our full curriculum, specialized to you. 3 Week and 5 Week options available.
A comprehensive class that covers our full curriculum. 4 hour class.
3. Lamaze
This evidence-based class focuses on listening to your body and your baby. 4 hour class.
Meet with a birth professional to walk through customized strategies for labor with you and your patner. Curriculum focus on active labor and partner support. 3 Hour Workshop.
4. Becoming Grandparents
Navigating the shift from parent to grandparent is full of joy and challenges. Get updated on the current trends and goals of modern parenting, including a refresher on baby safety and infant care, and ask all the questions you might have.
Learn to care for your new baby with your partner, parents, or friends! In-studio option provides everything you need to learn together. In-home can use your supplies or ours, and includes professional nursery inventory and light organization. Zoom is presentation and discussion only. 3 Hour Workshop
6. Custom
Would you like a birth professional to offer guidance to you, your partner, or family and friends on an aspect of pregnancy or postpartum? Tell us about it below— we’d love to be part of your experience!
Any private class can be hosted in our studio in Berkeley, on Zoom, or at your home. Pricing varies by location.
Meet the Instructors
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Throughout her entire life, Heidi has been a reassuring voice to others. A leader and supporter, a woman and a friend. After working for several years and earning a high-level management position in the solar power industry, Heidi had a life-changing realization. She became a mom and immediately realized that support is a fundamental need during pregnancy, labor and birth.
Heidi left her degree and career to pursue becoming a professional, certified doula. Heidi knew that with her passion for providing support, her commitment to education, and her ability to encourage and reassure others, becoming a doula was an obvious choice. It was almost as if the position was created specifically for her!
Heidi is certified to teach HypnoBirthing and Lamaze Childbirth classes. She has trained as a birth doula through DONA, CAPPA, Cornerstone, ProDoula, and Dynamo Doula. Her additional focus of study includes Spinning Babies and Evidence Based Birth. Heidi has also earned her Master rebozo credentials and placenta certification.
With a passion for vaginal birth after cesarean section, Heidi has supported and celebrated more than 50 clients as they reached this powerful goal. Her deepest desire is for her clients to know that they are cared for, that they can feel confident in their choices, and that they have the information they need when they need it.
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Keira comes to the birth world after a career in public health and social services research, evaluation, and consulting. That work also focused on supporting people as they navigate life transitions, social challenges, and the systems and institutions that support us as we all move through these moments. She has a passion for deep learning and listening, connecting to people, building communities, and being an advocate and a resource.
Keira is also a parent to two young people who are heading off to college, which inspired a search for change and a return to pursuing a passion for women’s health and empowered birth. She is grateful for the support, opportunities, and connections made during her own pregnancy, birth, and early child-rearing years. She now enjoys helping others find the connections, information and support they need to build their confidence, make decisions, grow, and thrive as they build their family.
Keira has a Masters in Public Health. She trained as a birth, postpartum, and full spectrum doula with Cornerstone. She is also a certified Cornerstone and Hypnobirthing Childbirth Educator. She also just started additional training as a lactation counselor!
When not teaching, learning, supporting births or helping families postpartum, Keira is a mountain bike coach for the Berkeley High School team, grows veggies and keeps chickens in her backyard, sings and dances with MoTor Dance, and gets into the mountainous backcountry (on ski wheels, or on foot) as often as she can with her partner, two kids and friends.
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My name is Amelia McDonald, a happy Bay Area resident, mom of two wonderful kids and too many pets and a lover of the water. I’ve spent many years supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum period, and that work has deeply shaped how I approach birth education — with respect, practicality, and a belief in informed choice and embodied knowledge.
Alongside birth work, I’ve spent much of my career teaching and coaching in high-trust environments, helping people feel capable, calm, and supported as they learn new skills and navigate big moments.
When I’m not talking about births and babies, you’ll most likely find me on a pool deck coaching, teaching, or cheering my swimmers on. I’m honored to be teaching at Brilliant Births and to support expecting families as they prepare for birth with clarity, confidence, and care.
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Maureen is a mom of three who found the birth of her first child unexpectedly profound. The years following this birth and the subsequent births of her other children, Maureen found herself counseling and advising many of her friends and family members regarding their birth options and how to accomplish their own desires for an empowered birth. In 2012, Maureen decided it was time to leave her corporate job and to transition into her life's passion of supporting, encouraging and nurturing birthing people and their families through labor and birth. Maureen is DONA trained, has taken several types of birthing classes (The Bradley Method, Hypnobirthing, Loving Arms, Natural Resources, Bay Area Birth Education) and lactation training classes. In 2015, Maureen added postpartum services to her practice after seeing many of her clients struggling to find their rhythm at home. Maureen will be a forever student of prenatal, birth and postpartum learnings and will continue to bring these learnings to her families that she is supporting. Maureen's peaceful demeanor and genuine care provide families with a strong base and level of support that is heartfelt.
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Gracie Kearney has been a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner since 2006 and a Certified Massage Therapist since 2015, but has been a healer as long as she can remember. She’s always had an innate desire to bring comfort to those in need, and is grateful to be able to share this gift with others, especially mothers and mothers-to-be.
Gracie incorporates shiatsu, acupressure and energy healing in her massage sessions with the aim of providing relaxation and deep healing for all of her clients. She brings a loving touch to all of her sessions, while incorporating trauma-informed care. Through her sessions with clients Gracie hopes to create peace within each individual, so that we may be the healthiest, best version of ourselves. Gracie is honored to be a part of the Brilliant Births team, and hopes to bring love, healing, and inner peace to each birthing body, as well as to the next generation.
CMTC#68271
Frequently Asked Questions:
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There are two ways to schedule a private class:
Quick schedule for in-studio only: This options allows you to choose the time that works best for you from a limited schedule. Book your selected in-studio private education class instantly.
For at home, online, or in-studio: Fill out our form and we will contact you within 1-2 business days with our instructors’ availability based on your preferences. Our instructors are able to accomodate a wider variety of dates, times, and locations in this option.
Classes are scheduled based on your schedule, instructor availability, and space availability.
If you have further questions on scheduling, or anything else, feel free to get in touch!
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Our private classes are priced to reflect our educators experience, customization, and travel costs.
Price varies depending on type of class, length of class, and location.
For more information, including options within a certain price range or an estimate on a particular class in your chosen location, please contact us.
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Curriculum for our private classes will include all of what is listed on individual class pages, as well as additional customization to fit your specific circumstances.
Content breakdowns are available by request at info@brilliantbirths.com.
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Brilliant Births provides all materials necessary for each of our classes. Zoom class materials may be mailed or picked up, while in-home class materials will brought by our instructor.
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You may choose the location of your private class.
In Studio: Our studio in Berkeley offers all the amenities one would want for a private class. We offer beverages and light snacks. Our location on a shopping street adds dining and shopping options to truly turn your birth education into a lovely day together.
At Home: Our at home option provides the ultimate comfort. Educators will bring all necessary supplies, and are also happy to demonstrate techniques and skills customized to your supplies and home.
Zoom: Our private zoom classes are still hands on! We will mail supplies to you (not applicable to Newborn Care Workshop). This option eliminates the travel costs, making it more cost effective.
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Our private classes can take place anywhere in the Bay Area.
We are located primarily in the East Bay, and travel fees will reflect travel time from that area.
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Yes. Brilliant Births educators have experience working with high profile families to fulfill birth education and doula requests. If you require an NDA, we request that you disclose this during the scheduling process. No further information is necessary at that time.
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If you will arrive late, please contact your educator or Brilliant Births to let us know. Our educators will wait for up to 20 minutes before departing. If their schedule allows, they will wait past that with the understanding that the class time has now been extended and additional fees may be required. If you are more than 20 minutes late with no communication, or your instructor departs, the class is considered cancelled.
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Private classes cannot be refunded or cancelled once they are booked. In special circumstances, we are able to provide a credit.
If you will arrive late, please contact your educator or Brilliant Births to let us know. Our educators will wait for up to 20 minutes before departing. If their schedule allows, they will wait past that with the understanding that the class time has now been extended and additional fees may be required. If you are more than 20 minutes late with no communication, or your instructor departs, the class is considered cancelled.
More Information
Asking questions is part of the process.
Feel free to send us an email and we will be sure to answer any questions that you may have!