♥ Independent Natural childbirth Instructors ♥
optimal childbirth Classes for couples - Shelton Connecticut

Welcome to the Personal Website of Nancy & George Berntsen

Empowering Natural Childbirth Preparation for Expectant Couples Are you ready for a transformative childbirth journey that honors your body, mind, and spirit? With 16 years of experience empowering over 450 couples through evidence‐based, time‐tested natural childbirth education, Nancy and George are here to help you embrace the miracle of birth with confidence and faith. Our comprehensive classes—available in person in southwestern CT and via live, interactive webinars (EST)—are designed to save you time while equipping you with practical, proven techniques for a natural, empowered birth. You are wonderfully made and uniquely designed for this incredible journey. Tap into your God‐given strengths and learn natural techniques that transform fear into excitement. Knowledge truly conquers fear of the unknown! Stay tuned—we’re updating our website with more resources, including our mission, class details, and inspiring success stories. For more information about our engaging group and private classes, please contact us by email today. Let’s embark on this amazing journey together!

Copyright © 2017-2025 Nancy Berntsen, Optimal Childbirth  Email us: Nancy & George  Last modified: 03/10/2025

Our Mission

We would like every possible birth couple to have the know-how to get their child off to a healthy start in life. Childbirth is a major physical, mental, emotional and spiritual event in life that requires knowledge and training in order to bring a healthy baby into the world. Our goal is to help prospective families to get off to a good start by empowering them with the tools they need to grow and give birth to a healthy baby.

Our objectives are to:

• Provide parents and prospective parents a broad overview of normal human pregnancy with emphasis on responsible, healthy preparation, pre-pregnancy through post-partum.
• Inform prospective parents as health consumers of the potential risks and benefits of various birth options.
• Encourage prospective dads and/or significant others to take an active role in preparing for pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
• Offer an occasional free Early Pregnancy class open to the public, or a personal meeting for prospective parents and those in early pregnancy.
• Present 12-module training in the Bradley Method^® of natural childbirth education as an excellent foundation for healthy mom and healthy baby, via lessons including:
  • Small class setting (2-8 couples) for personal attention (We *may* hold a class for one couple even if enrollment is low. Let us know if that is a problem for you.)
  • Reasons to prepare for a natural childbirth
  • The birth process
  • The role of the expectant father in pregnancy, labor, birth and post-partum
  • The role of other family members in childbirth
  • Nutritional guidelines
  • Exercise for healthy pregnancy and birth
  • Relaxation and comfort measures for pregnancy and childbirth
  • Developing a personalized birth plan
  • Communicating effectively with each other and your birth team
  • Labor rehearsals
  • Overview of lactation (breastfeeding)
  • Preparing home and family for arrival of a new baby
  • More! 
  
  

Instructor Profile

George and Nancy reside in Shelton, CT, and are parents of four grown children whom were all birthed with out pain medications. Nancy learned about natural childbirth in high school, when a friend loaned her a paperback book, "The Immaculate Deception." Soon after while attending college, she was preparing for a report on the role of the husband in childbirth. Her primary resource was a book, Husband-Coached Childbirth by Dr. Robert Bradley, known as the "father of fathers." The book was so practical and insightful compared to other resources she had studied, that she determined when the time came for her to start a family, it would be with George as her primary labor support. Thanks to George and Dr. Bradley's principles for pregnancy and birth, George and Nancy confidently succeeded in having four exciting, memorable, healthy pregnancies and surprisingly manageable birth experiences without need for pain medications.

George and Nancy are independent instructors of Optimal Childbirth Classes for Couples. They have co-taught classes since 2009. Prior, Nancy served as a trained volunteer lactation counselor and co-leader for Shoreline Nursing Mothers Group in southeastern Connecticut when their children were young. She is a graduate of University of Bridgeport with a BS in Nursing and is a personal support her aging parent and for a developmentally disabled relative. George is a graduate of Regent University of the State of New York with a BS in technology and recently retired as a manager in the fuel cell industry. He is also a Veteran of the U.S. Navy. Both have had teaching roles professionally and personally over the years.

Success can be yours!

Understanding your responsibilities for staying healthy and low risk and learning and practicing "secrets" to relaxation and natural breathing coupled with using effective communications with your healthcare practitioners and choosing them and your location for birth will help you have the best possible birth experience. Practice makes perfect! We recommend you take our classes at the beginning of your last trimester though we will try and fit you into a tighter schedule if need be.

We invite you to join us to prepare for one of the most pivotal events in your life, giving birth!

Contact Information

Telephone

203.209.0267 (in Connecticut)

Email

General Information: optimalchildbirth@att.net
Webmaster: use same address above

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Send mail to naturalbirthprep[at]yahoo.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008-2025 Nancy Berntsen
Last modified: 11/01/2025

* DISCLAIMER: This website is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.
Please consult with a qualified health care provider regarding your specific needs and concerns.

This web site contains information about our classes available in Shelton, CT and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®
The views contained on this web site do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method®
or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®.