Pregnancy and Parenting Courses with Mindful Birth

Cov Pregnancy

Cov Pregnancy

Join Mary Esther Malloy, Jackie Stewart, and Dr. Aisha Williams for essential practices for a transformative pregnancy — 5 weeks at any point in pregnancy. Begins Nov 14.

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New Moms Talk Groups, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

New Moms Talk Groups

Join Mary Esther Malloy for a Moms Talk Group unlike any other! These groups are about connection, investigation, and inspiration. 

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Sisters Supporting Sisters, Raising Healthy Black Children, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Mothering in Color

Motherhood is a journey best shared. Connect with other mothers of color who get it. Share your joys and challenges, and find practical tools to navigate parenthood with support. Dedicated groups created by mothers of color, for mothers of color. Because your experience matters.

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Relationship workshop, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Relationship Lab: Imago Couples Dialogue for Parents

Being parents means building a more resilient partnership. What if you could use moments of tension to get closer to each other and even help your relationship grow? 

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Mindfulness Lab: R.A.I.N - A Compassionate Approach to Mindful Parenting, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Mindfulness Lab: R.A.I.N - A Compassionate Approach to Mindful Parenting

Tools for when you feel overwhelmed and under-resourced as a parent. A 4-part practice lab with meditation teacher Jackie Stewart. For parents and parents-to-be.

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Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love: The First Years, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love: The First Years

A back-to-work-friendly course for mamas with babies in their first year, and those transitioning to toddlerhood.

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Listen: Toddlers & Up Moms Groups, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Toddlers & Up Moms Groups

Parenting our brilliant, irascible toddlers goes a lot better with support. Separations, Fears, Aggression, Tantrums (theirs and ours!) and a lot more. Mindful Parenting that is about staying connected when you really need it. 

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Dads Parenting Groups, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Dads Parenting Groups

For Dads, support and inspiration with other fathers and a Dads-only space to connect around the real deal of parenting, relationships, and life.

 

Register Here + More Info
Queer Parenting Group, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Queer Parenting Group

Build community and support with other parents to face challenges and celebrate victories as queer, lesbian, bisexual moms, non-binary, and trans parents.

Register Here + More Info
New Moms Talk Groups, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Upcoming Workshops - Live Online!

Join Mary Esther for a Cesarean Healing Workshop

(OPEN TO ANYONE WITH A CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE OF BIRTH OR POSTPARTUM)
With Mary Esther Malloy
Join other parents to work through your experience of birth in a workshop developed for families with ANY unexpected difficulty in birth – vaginal or cesarean.

No matter if your baby was born last month, last year, or many years ago. 

  • Find peace with your experience of birth
  • Discuss health and healing
  • Consider options for future pregnancies, including VBAC and repeat cesarean

This workshop will be held periodically throughout the year. Please email info@mindfulbirthny.com for registration info.($95)

Join MBNY for a Lunch Hour Workshop

  • Mothering in Color: Dropping the Shields (MiC Drop)  Soul-restoring conversation with other mothers showing up for themselves and their children despite the burdens of bias. Welcome to any and all mothers of color.3/19 and 5/7 at 12pm with Aisha Williams, PhD. 1hr.
    Register here for 3/19 workshop.
    Register here for 5/7 workshop.
  • White Parents Taking on Racism  Building community to fully participate as allies in the fight to end racism. For white-identified parents and parents-to-be.3/19 and 5/7 at 12pm with Laura Wolfe and Mary Esther Malloy. 1hr
    Register here for 3/19 workshop.
    Register here for 5/7 workshop.

We parent in a society with a strong go-it-alone ethos.

But our children are wired for closeness.
They need it like water. They need it like air.
And so do we.

parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups
For Toddlers-and-Up Moms’ Group, parent classes, new moms, new dads, new parent classes, new mom groups, mindful parenting, mommy and me, mommy and me classes, mommy and me groups, online mom groups, LGBT parenting, Gay Parenting, Queer Parenting, parenting support groups

Parent Coaching with M.E.

Mary Esther has been counseling and coaching parents since 2003. Contact us for fees.

  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy loss
  • Childbirth
  • Postpartum
  • Breastfeeding
  • Sleep!!!!!!
  • Feeding babies and toddlers
  • Setting limits
  • Relationship change with parenting

“This Group Saved My Life! It is so helpful!” Abby

I grew up in a culture where the whole extended family is involved when a baby is born. It’s been hard for me, being a new mom in New York City without family around. This group has been my family. I treasure these protected hours each week.

- Sharmista

When we first started this group I felt like a person who happened to be a mom. I feel like I’ve found myself again in this group. Thank you.

- Elsi

It's been more than I imagined. I didn't know how much of a help this group would be. It's been amazing.

- Jina

My goal is for all children to live fully, engage with the world, take reasonable risks, embrace the unknown, and break free of limitations.The opposite of high anxiety isn’t low anxiety. It’s connection, trust, playfulness, and joy.

- Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD

INDRA’S NET

Imagine a beautifully woven net that extends in all directions. At each knotted joint in the net is a jewel. And on each facet of each jewel is the reflection of every other jewel in the net. This is the jeweled net of the Vedic god, Indra. The image speaks to our profound interconnection. No jewel exists by itself, isolated. Separate.

Parenting is a time when isolation does not support wellness. We are deeply social beings and have not evolved to parent in isolation. In these groups, we find in our stories and the mindful listening a deep reflection of each other’s experiences. Research tells us that aside from prior episodes of depression, isolation is the biggest predictor of postpartum depression and anxiety. These groups are about connection at a time when we are primed for connection. Please join us and find your tribe.

A Note from Mary Esther Malloy

Hi Families, I want to share what is up-coming with our Mindful Birth NY Parenting Community. I’m hoping you can join us!

This summer we again will host a number of Wednesday Lunch Hour Free Parenting Clinics. Please check us out! We will also run drop-in evening Parenting Workshops on a range of topics.

We have New Moms Talk Groups starting every other month. For parents of older babies, I have a NEW program to suggest, Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love: The First Year. Our Toddler Moms groups are a true refuge! And we are starting NEW groups in the Fall of 2022 for parents of children with special needs, and another group for adoptive parents.

Please also consider our Dads Parenting Group, Mothering in Color group, or our Queer Parenting Group. Help us spread the word!

Programs are live online. 

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.” Thich Nhat Hanh

 

The question that has motivated my work all these years is how do we warm, smooth, and gently shape the baton that was placed in our hands, as we now  place the baton in our children’s hands…so that they might run a bit lighter and with greater ease, no matter the path ahead. 

With awe, gratitude and respect for the good, imperfect people who raised us and the good, imperfect people who raised them, the question we circle around in my parenting groups is how do we shift intergenerational patterns of pain. Or, from a different point of view, as a dad asked of himself in one of my recent birth classes, “How can I be a good ancestor?”

I don’t know how anyone does this important work alone. We parents need each other. We change each other as we tell our stories and listen deeply and think together …  when we practice presence together in this wild fray of life with children. I hope you can join us in 2022. It’s been a rough few years…

With love and kindness,

Mary Esther

PARENTING WORKSHOP CALENDAR SUMMER 2022 

with Mindful Birth NY

JUNE CALENDAR

Join us live online this summer! Free Parenting Clinics and a range of Special Parenting Workshops.

JUNE LUNCH HOUR CLINICS – Free to one and all!

Wednesdays from 12pm-1pm

  • June 8  Safe Alternatives: Sunblock & The Not-So-Pretty Truth behind Personal Care Products 

How safe are the everyday products we put on our children’s bodies? A look at alternatives to common chemicals in kid and adult body products, with Kristin Lawless, author of Formerly Known as Food and Stephanie Mero, cosmetologist and advocate for consumer product safety regulation, recently featured in HBO Max documentary, “Not So Pretty”, an investigative expose of the trillion-dollar cosmetics and personal care industry. Register here for Safe Alternatives: Sunblock Clinic

  • June 22  The Radical Potential of Mindfulness for on-the-go Parents  Parenting is one of the most important jobs we’ll ever do.Yet the 24/7-ness of parenting in a world that is not particularly supportive of families can wear us down. Before we know it, we can lose track of the best-self parent we thought we’d always be. How can parents find greater calm, happiness, and presence in the moment-to-moment of parenting and work in healthy ways with stress, anxiety and hypervigilance? How can mindfulness help us interrupt passing on intergenerational patterns of pain? Join us for an experiential clinic with Aisha Williams, PhD, whose research looked at how mindfulness and prayer support Black women to cope with stress, Jackie Stewart, a mindfulness and meditation teacher, and Mary Esther Malloy, founder of Mindful Birth NY. Register here for Mindfulness for Parents Clinic

SPECIAL WEBINAR FOR EXPECTANT FAMILIES, with author Kristin Lawless

Tuesday, June 28th from 7pm to 8:15pm – $60  

  • June 28 “Making People out of Food” – Pregnancy Nutrition for the 21st Century  This webinar goes way beyond the “What Not to Eat” list an OB might hand you. Instead, we consider how industrialization is changing our bodies, minds, and pregnancies. We look at how seriously delicious and healthy food in pregnancy can positively impact not only your experience of pregnancy and childbirth, but the very people we are “making out of food,” potentially even for a lifetime. We explore: nourishing a healthy microbiota, the importance of healthy fats and when this really matters, the role of traditional foods in pregnancy, avoiding plastics and other toxins, practical tips for keeping the body in good metabolic shape during labor, and more. With Kristin Lawless, author of Formerly Known as Food, and Mary Esther Malloy, owner of Mindful Birth NY. Kristin was pregnant with her son as she completed her book and took special care to discuss how recent changes in what and how we eat is affecting our children’s health. We are lucky to have her join us for this special workshop for expectant families! Register here for Pregnancy and Nutrition Clinic – $60

NEW: PARENTING WORKSHOP FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS 

Wednesday, June 30th from 6:30pm to 8pm – $30

  • June 30  Workshop for Adoptive Parents This 90-minute virtual workshop is for adoptive parents to children of any age. The aim of the workshop is to provide a safe space for adoptive parents to gather and build support for the hard, wonderful work of parenting. Topics include tools to stay close and connected to our children in emotionally intense moments and navigating relationships with birth families. Facilitator Laura Wolfe is a peer counselor who leads Mindful Birth NY’s Queer Parenting Group, White Parents Taking on Racism, and Toddler Parenting Groups. She is the mom of a six-year-old boy who she adopted at birth. She will be joined by Jennifer Puma who is in the throes of new parenthood as the mom of her 5-month-old daughter who she adopted two weeks after she was born. If you are unable to join us on June 30, please email info@mindfulbirthny.com to be notified of dates for upcoming Parenting Workshops for Adoptive Parents planned for this Fall.
    Register here for Adoptive Parents Workshop – $30

JULY 2022 CALENDAR

Join us live online this summer! Free Parenting Clinics and a range of Special Parenting Workshops.

JULY LUNCH HOUR CLINICS – Free to one and all!

Wednesdays from 12pm-1pm

  • July 6   Mic-Drop: Mothering in Color – Dropping the Shields   Soul-restoring conversation with other mothers showing up for themselves and their children despite the burdens of bias. Welcome to any and all mamas of color, with Aisha Williams PhD Register here for the Mothering in Color Clinic

 

  • July 6   White Parents Taking on Racism   Building community to fully participate as allies in the fight to end racism, with Laura Wolfe and Mary Esther Malloy Register here for the White Parents Taking on Racism Clinic
  • July 20   Birth Processing Workshop   No matter how your baby was born, no matter what happened or didn’t happen, birth is a big experience and deserves care and attention. Join other parents to process your experience of birth in a welcoming and non-judgemental setting. Mary Esther Malloy is one of NYC’s most experienced doulas and has facilitated cesarean and birth healing workshops for years. Register here for the Birth Processing Workshop

NEW MOMS AND TODDLER MOMS CHECK-INS

Open to anyone enrolled in any Mindful Birth NY Parenting Group this past year (New Moms; Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love; LIsten: Toddler Moms; The Opposite of Worry; Mothering in Color; Queer) – $30

 

 

SPECIAL JULY EVENING SUMMER PARENTING WORKSHOPS 

 

  • July 21   Dads Parenting Group, with Jeremy Hopwood. Finally, for Dads, support and inspiration with other dads and a dads-only space to connect around the real deal of parenting. Thursday, July 21st and 28th from 7:30pm to 9pm  Register here for Dads Parenting Group – $30
  • July 28   Sisters Supporting Sisters in Raising Healthy Black Children, with Aisha Williams, PhD. Soul-restoring conversation with other mothers showing up for themselves and their children despite the burdens of bias. Welcome to any and all Black-identified mothers. Thursday, July 21st and 28th from 7:30pm to 9pm Register here for Sisters Supporting Sisters Workshop – $30

AUGUST 2022 CALENDAR

Join us live online this summer for Special Parenting Workshops!

SPECIAL AUGUST EVENING PARENTING WORKSHOPS

  • August 11   Mothering in Color Workshop, with Aisha Collins Williams, PhD. Soul-restoring conversation with other mothers showing up for themselves and their children despite the burdens of bias. Welcome to any and all mamas of color. Thursday, August 11th and 25th from 7:30pm to 9pm Register here for Mothering in Color Workshop – $30
  • August 17   Queer and Non-Binary Parenting Workshop, with  Laura Wolfe. Wednesday, August 17th from 6:30-8pm Register here for Queer and Non-Binary Parenting Workshop – $30 (Link coming soon)
  • August 25  Dads Parenting Group, with Jeremy Hopwood. Finally, for Dads, support and inspiration with other dads and a dads-only space to connect around the real deal of parenting. Thursdays, August 11th and 25th from 7:30pm to 9pm Register here for Dads Parenting Group – $30

 

Register for Classes

Photo Gallery

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I’m reflecting on my blessings and I find myself thinking of our New Moms group. At that very unusual time in our lives when we all met – that raw, sleep-deprived, nervous, confused, perhaps a little self-doubting and deliriously in love with our new little ones time – I really needed the group. And I got more out of your shared stories, questions, advice and support than I could possibly express in words. As I chase after my swift, opinionated crawler, I remember us all bringing our sweet little (stationary!) newborns to that yoga room, with our fierce determination to get there no matter how difficult it was, for the chance to talk with one another and set our minds at ease. Thank you in particular, Mary Esther, for being a generous, wise & nurturing leader. You are truly a treasure.

- Kristin

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