A magazine for Espoo residents 3-2020

Family coaching
went online
Eira Mäenrinta, who
is expecting her first
child, says remote family
coaching offers a great
deal of information but
not enough interaction
between the mothers.
Eira Mäenrinta met the
public health nurses
from her maternity
clinic via the Internet.
“Luckily, the coaching
was offered despite the
emergency conditions,”
says a happy Mäenrinta.
› Previously, family coaching sessions
were organised as group meetings with
six mothers attending at the same time,
while in remote coaching the groups are
larger. Everyone can bring their partner
or support person along.
Eira Mäenrinta, 25, lives in Olari
and participated in remote coaching at
the beginning of June. Her firstborn is
due in August.
“I was particularly looking forward
to meeting other mothers, but
remote coaching didn’t facilitate that,”
Mäenrinta says.
Online baby groups supplement
the need for networking. Mäenrinta
is a member of the Facebook groups
Vauva2020 (“Baby2020”) and
Elokuiset2020 (“Babies due in August
2020”).
Despite her disappointment
in not meeting other
mothers, Mäenrinta is
happy that family coaching
was organised
online.
“The coaching provided
in-depth knowledge
about the different
stages of pregnancy.
During the two
hours, we discussed
contractions, the
stages of labour and got practical advice
on when to go to the hospital to give
birth,” Mäenrinta explains.
Opportunities for interaction during
the coaching are being improved.
“In the autumn, parents will be able
to submit questions in advance,” say the
public health nurses who organised the
coaching, Laura Räisänen and Ruut
Korhonen from the Tapiola maternity
clinic.
The online coaching groups have had
up to 43 participants and their support
persons, which means that the sessions
are more like lectures than interactive
events.
“In the autumn, we will try make our
activities more interactive. We are nevertheless
happy that we have been able
to create a new way of providing coaching
in these exceptional circumstances
and have reached almost all the families
that have had a baby in the spring and
summer,” Räisänen says.
Two public health nurses from the
Aurora maternity clinic have
also been involved in providing
family coaching
online in Finnish and
English.
This autumn,
remote coaching
is available
in all seven
greater areas
of Espoo.
encounters
The coronavirus
this spring also
necessitated new
operating models
for family services.
Text Juha Peltonen Photo Timo Porthan
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