The Golden Hour

   From Womb to World:
   Your Baby's First Hour

Learn what happens in your baby's physiology in their first hour of life outside the womb, and what you can do to support this delicate time of transition: from intra-uterine life to extra-uterine life.

The first hour immediately after your baby is born is sacred. 

This crucial time sets the tone for your baby's physiological adjustment to being out of the womb, as well as for feeding. This time is also essential for the beginnings of the bond between mother and baby.

How to protect the golden hour

Learn what to say and do in your request to make sure you and your baby stay together undisturbed - even in a busy hospital room. And become informed of expert tips on exactly how to protect it, especially if you're giving birth in a hospital setting.

Why this time matters

Understand exactly why these first moments are vital for your newborn, and for you.

Your partner's crucial role

Discover the quiet but powerful ways your partner can be a big part of protecting this time and how they can support you during this time of transition for your baby, and for you.

Recognize which common newborn procedures can interfere

Learn which routine practices can safely wait until the golden hour has passed and how to communicate your desires respectfully. You'll hear about two non-essential practices that don't need to happen - at all.

Take the Course

Inside the Lessons:

  • A just-born baby should stay on their mother's chest, skin to skin. And when they are left there, undisturbed, they move through a series of nine amazing stages in the first hour. You'll learn what these stages are. They are observable and so you'll learn to recognize them —or maybe your partner will see one or two of them happening while you might be focused on birthing the placenta! They happen in a specific order and are instinctive for the baby. Within each of these stages, there are many behaviors your baby will do.
  • The many benefits of this practice of keeping the mother and baby "unit" undisturbed for the first hour (to two hours), and of keeping baby skin-to-skin with their mother.
  • Believe it or not, a just-born baby can self-latch! See a video of this, and learn how to facilitate it (if you decide to).
  • When a woman gives birth unmedicated her brainwaves change. Learn all about how knowing this will make you want to protect the golden hour.
  • Cesarean birth: choices and how to still preserve as much of the golden hour as possible. What to expect when baby is born by cesarean.
Take the Course

I know now that depending on what you see, you may not know all the options that are out there for couples. I will now wholeheartedly endorse midwifery, doulas and your course – not only as a father but as a Paramedic. You have opened these eyes to something that I never would have embraced. I thank you so much for a life changing course and experience.

— Ryan Collyer

Working with Rava in her birth prep course was a gift from God! Rava is extremely talented in what she does as a veteran doula and childbirth educator. Her attention to detail and compassion and love truly made this course a memorable experience! She provided us with essential tools for the unknown laborland experience.

— Amber Hanlon, mother of 3, yoga teacher

These aren't just "prenatal classes". They are so much more. Paul and I want to thank you for enlightening us about the realities of labour and birth. Personally, I feel your course freed my being of many fears I had about the labour and birth experience. Your love of what you do and your commitment to women around you was very inspirational.

— Rosa Malta, architect