A School for New Moms Is Opening in Rittenhouse

New Mom School’s first Pennsylvania location, in Rittenhouse, offers postpartum classes starting June 8th. / Photography by Kaitlin Green on behalf of New Mom School

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Nearly three years ago, Grad Hospital resident Eva Almiñana found herself in the thick of the postpartum experience.

After giving birth to her son, she quickly realized there was plenty of support — from doctors, online experts, and others — on how to care for her newborn, but practically none on how to also care for this radically changed version of herself: the crashing hormones, her tender and healing physical body, the “roommate phase” with her husband. She had no idea where to find guidance.

It was a far cry from how she had envisioned early motherhood, which she assumed, from her own upbringing, would come with a built-in support system. “I grew up essentially next to a mirror image of my family,” Almiñana says about her childhood in Powelton Village. “Our neighbors had a daughter three months older than me, and another daughter one month younger than my sister — we shared everything, from backyards to babysitters. And my mom found friendship in a group of women through Lamaze classes and maternity aerobics. That community has stayed with me my entire life.”

But the birthing classes Almiñana attended, while informative, weren’t friend-making opportunities — many of the other soon-to-be parents typically left right after the session or didn’t live close by. And after she gave birth, Almiñana says, she found it challenging to even leave the house: “I didn’t know where to go or what to do — there’s a ton of options and I craved community, but in those early months it was tough to figure out plans and actually stick to them.”

For many new moms like Almiñana, the first 12 weeks after delivery — nicknamed the “fourth trimester” — can feel as intense as pregnancy itself, from the physical recovery and intense emotions to the nonstop mental load of caring for another human life and grieving the loss of your pre-kid self. Yet research shows that, after a single, post-birth check-up at six weeks, postpartum maternal support in the U.S. is virtually nonexistent — and that nearly 65 percent of mothers feel forgotten after the baby is born.

Almiñana’s son is now two and a half, and — after fits and starts — Almiñana is totally rocking motherhood. (She’s even expecting her second child in September!) But she has been unable to forget how lonely and bewildering those early days of motherhood were. Surely, she wondered, there’s a more straightforward way for new moms to find the supports they need to navigate one of the most intense transitions of their lives?

Her answer: New Mom School, opening June 8th in Rittenhouse Square, will offer in-person classes (for anyone who cares for newborns ) on expert-led topics that aren’t totally devoid of child-development info, but are refreshingly mom-first — like transitioning into motherhood, reducing anxiety, and finding balance.

Almiñana’s center is a franchise of the national New Mom School brand started in California in 2012 by first-time mom Alexandra Spitz, who has a background in early childhood education, but felt “overwhelmed, joy-depleted, [and] held captive by the new tiny boss in [my] life.”

New moms and their children gather for weekly sessions at New Mom School.

At the Rittenhouse location, sessions will be broken into eight-week segments, with registered participants grouped in accordance with their kids’ birthdays (so everyone is on a similar motherhood timeline). About 10 to 14 moms and their babies will meet weekly for 90 minutes to discuss various topics, under the guidance of instructors who work in the professional new-mom world — for example, as a postpartum doula, early childhood educator, or pediatric nurse. There are even sessions geared toward second- (and third- and fourth-) time moms.

“Every baby, every birth story, every postpartum is so different,” Almiñana says. “You can find camaraderie, but having a few people by your side who are on the same (or similar) timeline can be a source of comfort during what can be an isolating time.”

Brittany Sharpe McCollum knows how critical these services can be.

“Managing postpartum life and caring for a newborn present an incredible, multi-faceted experience,” says McCollum, a certified childbirth educator, professional labor doula, and lactation counselor who has been teaching in-person and virtual childbirth classes through her brand, Blossoming Bellies Wholistic Birth Services, since 2007. “No matter how much time we spend preparing for all that comes after the birth, there is a limit to how much understanding one can truly have until it becomes a lived experience … getting to know your changing body, figuring out your new identity as a parent, navigating relationships that have evolved and expectations that have shifted, all while nurturing this little baby. If there is any time in life when folks can benefit from a community of others going through a similar journey, the postpartum experience is it.”

Research shows that a lack of adequate maternal support is a major contributor to America’s shamefully high maternal mortality rate — the highest among the world’s wealthiest countries— and that it especially impacts Black mothers. The thing is: With adequate prenatal and postpartum support, over 80 percent of these deaths are preventable. In developed countries with lower maternal mortality rates — like Norway, Finland, and Germany — postpartum care is either free or heavily subsidized, and includes home visits by healthcare professionals and midwives, plus therapy or counseling. (The U.S. is the only nation that does not guarantee access to provider home visits during the postpartum period.)

And a new study published in JAMA in April points out what Almiñana had been feeling all along: Consistent, knowledgeable postpartum support — including doula care — acts as a safety net for mothers, reducing the risk of maternal anxiety by over 50 percent and improving postpartum follow-up.

Almiñana’s New Mom School will welcome local experts to lead presentations grounded by evidence-based, research-backed information, empowering moms to make informed decisions. The lineup includes Brianna Dawson, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner based in Fort Washington; licensed professional counselor and certified sex therapist Anna Vresilovic, who works for PhIIRST in Rittenhouse and Media; Victoria Clement, a pelvic floor physical therapist and owner of Restore Physical Therapy and Pelvic Health; and certified child health education specialist and trained doula Kailah King-Collins.

Almiñana with her son inside her Rittenhouse New Mom School / Photograph courtesy of Eva Almiñana

Outside of the curriculum, the Rittenhouse outpost will also host a free weekly feeding-support group on Tuesday afternoons. (You do not have to be enrolled in a current or future class to attend.) It’ll be led by Katharine Moffit, a local registered dietitian and lactation consultant who supports all modes of feeding.

Prior to the Monday launch, New Mom School Philadelphia will host a grand opening celebration tomorrow, June 6th — with socializing for new parents and playtime for babies up to 12 months at 9:30 a.m., followed by a meet-up for expecting parents, called “Bumps,” at 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to join.

“Motherhood is a wild ride — the identity shifts, the stress it put on my relationship with my husband, the loss of self going from none to one — none of it was something I had anticipated,” Almiñana reflects. “I know there will always be hard days ahead…but I have learned so much about myself, and my relationship is stronger because of it.”

New Mom School Philadelphia is located at 255 South 17th Street, suite 1700 (inside the Medical Arts Building), in Rittenhouse. Classes begin on June 8th and start at $175 for an eight-week session.