Teaching about pregnancy anatomy

Teaching about pregnancy anatomy in an antenatal setting: one of the first topics I always covered in my childbirth preparation classes was “pregnancy vocabulary”.

Pregnancy vocabulary

In an in-person group, I often split the class into two teams. Each team gets an A2 poster – either the pre-pregnancy cross-section or the pregnant cross-section – plus body part labels such as “coccyx”, “uterus/womb”, “sacrum”, “vagina” and “cervix”. I explain that these are words they’re likely to hear on their journey into parenthood, and that we’ll refer to some of them throughout the course. Then I give them 5–10 minutes to add the labels to their poster (I use laminated labels with Blu Tack on my PVC posters).

You can download the body part labels for free here:

Pregnancy anatomy changes

Once the teams have finished, we come back together with the posters to compare the pregnancy anatomy images. Then we discuss common pregnancy discomforts, where they come from, and how to avoid or ease them.

In 1:1 sessions, I use both posters side by side, or my pregnancy anatomy changes posters.

Online, I use an animated pregnancy vocabulary slide like the one in this video:

The same image is also in my antenatal class journals. I’ve found that parents-to-be like to take home paper handouts again – they especially love worksheets where they can colour in images and take notes. It all helps them focus and remember the information.

Pre-pregnancy vs pregnant body worksheets

My pre-pregnancy vs pregnant body worksheets come in three skin tones plus a colouring-in version, with and without annotations or lines – so they work as handouts too! For a fun warm-up, try my Pregnancy Anatomy Icebreaker or Uterus Anatomy Scavenger Hunt.