What is included in a pregnancy retreat?

At a residential pregnancy retreat run properly, one price covers everything except your flight: your room, all meals, drinks and snacks, the full class programme, all activities, at least one prenatal massage, and your transfer. Classes sold as add-ons are the warning sign that you are booking a venue, not a programme. Here is the full list, and what to check before you book anywhere.

One price covering the whole stay also makes the retreat easy to give: one booking, nothing for her to plan. You can give The Solo Babymoon as a gift.

The full list, at a mom'z retreat

Five days and four nights cover: a room with an en-suite bathroom on a private luxury estate in nature; four gourmet meals a day prepared by a private chef with a health nutritionist and adjusted to your dietary needs, with all drinks and snacks, even those late-night cravings, available around the clock; daily prenatal movement sessions for better birth and pelvic health; comprehensive birth preparation classes across the whole week; all activities; lots of pampering including a prenatal massage from a therapist trained in pregnancy work; a chauffeured group transfer that collects you from the airport or the city centre; and twelve months of access to the digital hub afterwards, including the course your partner takes at home. You arrive with a suitcase and decide nothing until you leave.

Who looks after you

Your childbirth educator and the retreat team stay on the estate for the whole retreat, and four midwives are on call 24 hours a day on a rotating basis. A clinic with a prenatal unit is 15 to 30 minutes away. Ask any other provider the same question before you book, because round-the-clock midwife cover is not standard in this category. Groups are small, 15 women, about half expecting a first baby and half a second or third, and the whole retreat runs in English.

What you keep afterwards

Twelve months of the digital hub, including the video courses designed for you and your partner to prepare together at home, and a curated WhatsApp group with the women from your own retreat. Those groups stay active and supportive for years, long after the week itself.

What is not included

Flights.
You book your own to the main airport of Barcelona or Lisbon, and the group transfer leaves from there at set times. That is the whole list. If you are comparing retreats, current dates and what each rate covers are on the rates and dates page.

What should never cost extra

The programme. If the birth preparation classes, the movement sessions or the massage appear as paid add-ons, the price on the website is not the price of the retreat, and the retreat is not the product; the house is. The same test works on meals: "self-catering option" in a pregnancy retreat listing means you are renting a villa. Our six standards for choosing a pregnancy retreat go through this in detail.

Three questions to ask before booking any retreat

Who teaches, what are their qualifications, and how many pregnancy retreats have they actually led? Shirin and Amber have led over 100 between them. Is a midwife reachable at 2am, and how far is the nearest clinic? And is there a date that fits your week of pregnancy? If a provider cannot answer all three in one email, the inclusions list will not save the week. Whether the whole category is worth the money is a fair question too; we answered it honestly in are pregnancy retreats worth it.

Frequently asked questions

Are drinks and snacks included?

Yes. Four gourmet meals a day prepared by a private chef with a health nutritionist, and snacks, fruit, teas and drinks around the clock. Cravings are catered for, including the late-night ones; tell the team what you need.

Is the massage included for everyone?

Yes, every guest receives a prenatal massage from a therapist trained in pregnancy work as part of the retreat.

Are transfers included even though flights are not?

Yes. You book the flight, and a chauffeured group transfer collects you from the airport or the city centre.

Is a midwife really available at night?

Yes. Four midwives are on call 24 hours a day on a rotating basis for the whole retreat, your childbirth educator stays on the estate, and a clinic with a prenatal unit is 15 to 30 minutes away.

What do I get after the retreat ends?

Twelve months of the digital hub, the birth partner course, and the WhatsApp group with your own retreat community, which usually outlasts the pregnancy by years.