Lisa Harrington, MS, BS, CCE (ACBE)
As part of our guest blog series, Lisa Harrington, MS, BS, CCE (ACBE), Health & Patient Education Program Coordinator at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, answers questions about the types of classes they offer in their childbirth education program, including online eClasses in English & Spanish from InJoy, to meet the needs of their diverse patient population. Part of the Care New England health system, Women & Infants is in an urban/rural corridor that serves around 8,500 births each year.
Currently, why does your organization offer in-person, live virtual classes, and self-paced online eClasses?
We feel it is good to offer education in different ways. One size does not fit all families. In March 2020, COVID restrictions forced us to rethink how we provide education. At that time, already having InJoy’s self-paced online eClasses (opens in a new tab) in place was a lifesaver! The country was in lockdown, but we never stopped educating our families. Later on, we added live virtual classes for families who wished to connect to an educator in real time and to be a part of a classroom community.
Post pandemic, we brought back in-person classes and hospital tours at the request of our families. Today, we offer in-person classes, two live virtual classes, and self-paced online eClasses to meet the educational needs of all families. In addition to English classes, we offer in-person classes and InJoy’s self-paced online eClasses in Spanish. The self-paced online eClasses are also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Portuguese.
What percentage of your patients sign up for any type of prenatal class with your hospital?
About 25% of first-time expectant families sign up for some type of class. (Some second-time parents with wider gaps between children or who want to know the latest on different topics also sign up.) We’d love to see 100% participation, but today’s families have easy access to online information, and in some cultures, there’s a strong tradition of learning exclusively from family members.
However, we have recently noticed an increase in registration and revenue. Families today seem to be rediscovering the value of childbirth education and are sharing their experiences on social media and by word of mouth. Plus, some public and private insurers cover the cost of classes, and we’ve been sharing that message.
When and why did your organization choose to offer self-paced online classes?
We first started offering InJoy’s online classes in 2014 when we decided we needed to meet the needs of families who could not attend in-person childbirth classes due to schedule conflicts, illness, hospital admission, storm cancelation, or learning preference. Some families have varied schedules, and it makes it difficult if both partners want to attend a live class that is locked into certain dates and times. So, we are reaching more people than we would if we were only offering in person and live virtual classes.
We also started providing eClasses on the antepartum unit (and we still do). These patients don’t have the option to come to an in-person class and can take the online class on the unit, and they are very grateful for the opportunity! We post fliers on the unit about the eClasses and offer them for free as a service to the antenatal patients. Educators visit the unit to follow up with the patients and answer questions.
How do your registration numbers and pricing compare across class formats?
About 65% of our registrants sign up for in-person and live virtual classes, and 35% sign up for self-paced online eClasses. We charge the same amount for in-person classes and eClasses since they offer a similar scope of content and generally take the same amount of time to complete. We have not gotten any pushback from parents on the pricing of either option.
Which topics do you offer as eClasses, and how did you choose them?
We offer Understanding Birth (opens in a new tab), Understanding Breastfeeding (opens in a new tab), and Understanding Your Newborn (opens in a new tab) to give families eClass alternatives to our most popular classes.
In particular, some families like the Understanding Breastfeeding eClass (opens in a new tab) because they are uncomfortable talking in a public forum about this topic, especially partners. They appreciate being able to watch breastfeeding videos privately and have more time to review them than they do in a live class.
Understanding Your Multiples (opens in a new tab) is a specialized childbirth preparation class that we don’t offer in-person. With this eClass, we have a great way to provide this education to families expecting multiples.
We appreciate that the eClasses are aligned with Baby-Friendly standards.
How do you manage your eClass enrollments?
Currently, parents use our class registration platform, Go Sign Me Up/Learning Stream, through the Women & Infants Hospital website to sign up for any type of class we offer. As of October 4, 2025, all class registrations will be through MyChart, our Epic Electronic Health Record patient portal. In fact, all inpatient and outpatient services will use the same Epic system. Using Epic, parents can pay for their classes through the portal or enter their insurance information and we will submit the class charge directly to their insurance carrier. If insurance does not cover a class, the parent will see a bill in their MyChart portal, and can pay it there.
How do you market your eClasses?
We promote all our classes in our patient education materials and on our hospital website. We advertise on social media, post fliers through healthcare providers, and by word of mouth. Parents can also learn more about Women & Infants Hospital through the links provided in the “Services & Information” customizable area in the eClass. We even added an email option for families taking eClasses to easily connect with an educator.
What feedback do you hear from parents about the eClasses?
We issue a custom eClass evaluation. We found that people love the convenience and ease of learning with the eClasses. They appreciate the quality of the course and the evidence-based information they receive. They also like that they can revisit breastfeeding and baby care information when they are in the moment, even after birth, and pull up all the guidelines.
What else is your program finding success with?
Our free tours are always filled. Tours help lower anxiety and are promoted by their healthcare providers.
We also offer:
- A free family finance course via Zoom, which was received better online than in person.
- A live virtual grandparenting class for $30 per family. It works well virtually because the expecting parents can attend along with their parents, no matter where they live!
What does the future look like for the types of classes your hospital will offer?
The future is here! We will continue to offer in-person classes, live virtual classes, and eClasses. The eClasses remain essential because people get sick, get close to their due date, or need flexibility.
We want to have a personal connection with as many people who want it, but also support those who want self-guided learning for whatever reason. This way, nobody misses out! We’ve increased our numbers because of eClasses. We meet people where they are.
Resources:
- Learn more about InJoy’s suite of eClasses (opens in a new tab)
- See how Women & Infants Hospital presents their class offerings to parents (opens in a new tab)
