Tag: Learning

The Importance of Childbirth Education

Inform yourself and know your options!

An excellent childbirth education class is worth your time and money! Learning about the path that many have trodden before you is a GREAT thing to do. Evidence-based childbirth education classes help parents prepare for labor and birth by teaching pain-management strategies, while also providing information on informed consent for the pre-labor and labor processes. Classes can help instill confidence in parents’ abilities to cope with labor, which is pretty priceless! Childbirth education helps lower fear and anxiety regarding labor and birth, and has been shown to be a critical factor in reducing early elective delivery by induction. Don’t just take my word for it, read the policy brief that my certifying organization wrote. Not all childbirth education classes are the same, which is great because not everyone learns the same way or needs/wants to know the same information.

January 25th-31st is International Childbirth Education Week

2020 is the very first year of celebration for International Childbirth Education Week. I am so very proud to have helped start this movement & to be one of the first endorsers of this important week. Childbirth educators are special people that love to talk about the pelvis and cardinal movements. We love to dispel myths about childbirth and set the record straight when we hear or read people spreading misinformation. My style is more to pull the listener to the side to say, “you know that’s not really how that works,” and then explain what I know, rather than trying to correct someone’s grandma who just told them to rough up their nipples with a towel. (That’s totally not something you need to do BTW!)

I LOVE teaching childbirth education classes!

Those little A-HA moments are priceless. I love helping students know all their options. Helping people grow their resource list for who to ask and where to go is great too. A skeptical student converted when they try a double hip squeeze is awesome! There is nothing like the faces of satisfied students who feel more confident. Their emails with baby pictures and birth stories touch my heart.

Upcoming classes

I am currently only teaching private childbirth education classes that include 6 very full hours of instruction in my office space or your home. A 96 page binder full of information, handouts, & worksheets is included. Relaxation techniques, massage, movement, positions, & how to use tools will of course also be covered. I promise we’ll practice the breathing techniques that everyone seems to expect from Lamaze too. You can find more information on pricing and contact us here if you are interested.

If group classes are more your thing, in 2020 we have 4 group classes scheduled for “Natural Coping Techniques for Labor and Delivery.” This is a 3 hour class where we focus on how to deal with contractions without pain medication. This is not a “tell you what to do” kind of class. This is more of a “give you some ideas” kind of class. Importantly, it also includes snacks & is only $30/couple. Here are the links to sign up if you’d like to join us for a Saturday in 2020:

  • February 8th 9am-noon here (2 weeks from today!)
  • April 4th 9am-noon here
  • July 11th 9am-noon here
  • October 3rd 9am-noon here

Taking a childbirth education class is something that everyone should try. Even if you hate it, at least you and your partner will have something to laugh about on the way home. There are a ton of online options too if in-person isn’t you thing, and FREE ones too. Here is the Lamaze FREE class on increasing labor confidence and here is my friend Alice’s FREE online class Birth A to Z! No matter what kind of childbirth education classes you choose, INFORM YOURSELF!! You will increase your confidence even just to ask more questions, and that’s a good thing!

Childbirth Education Improves Outcomes

A recent study found that taking a childbirth education class improves birth outcomes. People who took a childbirth education class in this study were three times more likely to have a vaginal birth. Taking a childbirth education class helps improve confidence and skills for coping with labor and delivery. Childbirth education is still important, no matter what kind of birth you are planning.

Group & Private Classes Available

Coping with Labor Naturally is a 3 hour group class that covers the basics you need. The next one will be Saturday February 8th, 9am-noon, and you can sign up here. I will also teach this class in April, July, & October in 2020, so stay tuned if you are interested but not quite ready to sign up yet. This is a great class to bring your partner so they can learn ways to help you in labor. You will also learn which tools to bring with you and which to request when you get to the hospital.

If group classes aren’t your thing, maybe a full private childbirth education class would be right for you. Full private childbirth education classes have 6 hours of private instruction in your home or at my office space. I am a Lamaze certified childbirth educator who only uses evidence-based information. Yes, we will talk about the hee-hee-hoo-hoo breathing, but I cover everything from pregnancy nutrition to birthing positions to postpartum healing. I’m also an experienced birth doula, so I know the ins and outs of the local birthing scene too. This 6 hour class comes with a 96 page spiral-bound book of handouts and articles packed full of information for parents too!

I also have the option of a private 3 hour birth planning only session. This class is easy to customize for your needs and specific situation. I’m happy to cover whichever topics you might be interested in learning about, and help you come up with a plan. This is a great option for people who might be shy or have a very specific situation that needs specific information. This is also a great option for those birthing at home, who might want all the comfort techniques and help writing a transfer birth plan. Contact us directly to schedule a class and get more information!

Online Options

Maybe you’re really busy and would prefer an online option? Lamaze has some great online courses that are inexpensive and evidence-based.

  • FREE Labor Confidence with Lamaze Course here
  • Safe & Healthy Birth: Six Simple Steps here
  • Labor Pain Management: Techniques for Comfort and Coping here
  • Breastfeeding Basics: From Birth to Back to Work here
  • Bringing Home Baby here
  • Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC): Informed and Ready here

There are other online courses as well that I like, but I will say that most people benefit from some in-person, hands-on learning too. No matter how you choose to learn, taking the time to prepare for childbirth is a GOOD thing to do. Refreshing your knowledge and skills, even if this isn’t your first birth, are also good uses of your time and energy. I’m always happy to recommend books to read too! Childbirth education is important. Childbirth education is helpful. Childbirth education is worth your time.

15 Doula Lessons from 2019

As an experienced birth doula learning is important to me, and I grow with each birth I attend!

Every single birth I attend is an opportunity to serve a family. I am always honored to be invited into that space. With more than 5 years under my belt as a birth doula, I still feel like I learn things each time. Even as I inch closer to 150 births attended, I am always in awe of the process and my amazing clients. I will never feel like I have seen it all, and this year definitely brought some surprises. Instead of posting statistics about how many births I have attended, I prefer to post about doula lessons that I have learned this past year. Some of these have reinforced things I learned previously, and others have challenged me in new ways. This year has been interesting in so many ways, and I love that I keep growing and learning along the way.

Here is my list of 15 doula lessons in no particular order:

1. In childbirth, faster is not always easier.

2. I don’t have to agree with all of your decisions to support you.

3. A little determination goes a very long way for labor and delivery.

4. Communication and trauma informed care are not taught to all medical providers.

5. Rice socks smell like burnt popcorn if you microwave them for too long.

6. Home birth can be beautiful beautiful beautiful! Make sure to remind people to PRACTICE with their birthing tub at home!

7. Things I may view as traumatic, may not be viewed the same as my client. Don’t project my views onto other people’s memories. Recovering from a challenging birth is really important for me, physically AND emotionally.

8. Sometimes I burst into tears at the magnificence of it all, and that is ok.

9. Repeat clients are seriously, just the best! VBACs are pretty amazing too.

10. Watch the partner’s face; those glimpses of true joy and love are amazing!

11. LISTEN to the birthing person; their opinion matters.

12. Sometimes clients still surprise me with their ferocity, and I LOVE that!

13. Amazing providers who give individualized care and continue to consider experience and preference over standard operating procedure give me hope! All the preparation in the world cannot make up for an unsupportive provider.

14. Trusting my doula gut when it says GO is still the right thing to do.

15. Patience is undervalued and wholly necessary.

2019’s doula lessons were not easy, and this is certainly not going to be a year that I will soon forget. As I grow in my doula knowledge and skills I am also constantly reminded of how much I really don’t know. These doula lessons all help to increase my confidence and capacity to deal with new situations, hopefully with grace and humility.

Messages

Stop listening to all the bad messages!

Have you ever heard any of the following statements?

Oh you’ll be begging for the drugs in labor!

Maybe we should just schedule an induction so that baby doesn’t get too big.

Your pelvis is just way too small to birth a baby.

Oh my gosh, is that baby eating AGAIN?

Does your baby ever stop crying?

Have you ever stopped to think about the messages we are sending expecting families?

These are some of the common themes I hear:

Doubt your body.

Doubt your abilities.

Just listen to whatever I tell you and do as I say.

You are not enough.

All of these messages are completely counter to what you actually need when you are preparing for birth. Yes, maybe your friend did beg for the drugs in labor, but that doesn’t mean you will. Yes, maybe an induction is appropriate for some people, but not everyone wants or needs to have a medically managed birth. What if I told you that ultrasounds are not actually very accurate at predicting a baby’s weight and that the only way to tell if your pelvis is too small to fit a baby out of it is to try? And of course the messages don’t stop after the baby is born! The amount of bad breastfeeding advice I see is astounding.

What if, instead of sending people the messages that they are not good enough, we empowered them with the knowledge and skills they need to confidently give birth? What if we spent as much time telling the fantastic and amazing birth stories as we do the bad ones? What if we trusted bodies and tried to better understand biology and physiology and psychology so that we can help people have better birth experiences? What if we had a better understanding of how breastfeeding actually works and what breastfed babies need?

Half of navigating all this messaging is in knowing who to ask for good information, and let me tell you, it isn’t going to be found in a Facebook group full of other parents who are also being pumped with bad messages! As a Lamaze certified childbirth educator, I help guide people through the evidence and navigate through their fears to get to a place of understanding what they need to do and know to have a better birth experience. I have an entirely evidence-based curriculum with a list of topics that I am required to cover and a test I had to take in order for my class to be considered a Lamaze class. (Hint: not all childbirth classes are created equal or have these requirements!) Information and communication is also one of my strengths as a doula!

But the onus is not entirely on everyone else! You are also responsible for which messaging you are internalizing! What if we spent more time preparing for birth prenatally rather than just depending on people to tell us what to do? What if we spent as much time learning about the birthing process as we do researching the best stroller and car seat?

Being mindful of the messages we receive and how we internalize them can be extremely helpful when searching for insight about our own fears, especially regarding childbirth and parenthood in general really. What messages do you see reflected about childbirth, in our culture? In advertising? In medicine? In your family and friends?

Learning Opportunities!

Greetings and salutations! I am so excited about some upcoming learning opportunities for families and professionals too!

On May 4th from 9am-noon you can come learn all about Coping with Labor Naturally in this fun class. We’ll laugh and have fun, and I promise that there will be snacks too! This is the 2nd time I’m teaching this class, and this time I am going to make sure to build in more time for ask the doula questions! I still have some spots available for interested expecting families, so email me today if you are interested to reserve your spot for this class packed with practical tips for dealing with contractions.

On Saturday May 11th, you can head over to the beautiful space of Studio 3 in Henderson, KY where I will be speaking in a special class for expecting parents! I’ll be focusing my short time on answering these questions: What does a doula actually do? What is the difference between standard and evidence-based care? What are the top 3 natural ways to cope with labor? What are 3 ways a peanut ball can help you in labor? Sign up quick, because spots are extremely limited for this exclusive class where you can also learn from other local experts about yoga, chiropractic care, and essential oils for pregnancy and birth!

Are you passionate about breastfeeding and want to learn more to better support those around you, gain some new skills and vocabulary, and maybe start a journey towards becoming a Certified Lactation Educator? Maybe breastfeeding keeps coming up in your job or life and you feel compelled to be better educated about all things lactation. Join me and my friend Bonnie (who will be featured in an upcoming blog post) for this really informative training May 16th-18th.

May is just chock full of learning opportunities! Please contact me if you have any questions about all of the above chances to learn!

Finally, just a quick note to tell you that if you wander over to the services section of my website now, you will find some links to 6 different amazing online classes that are now being offered by Lamaze! Check them out here. I know in-person classes are not everyone’s thing for lots of different reasons, and these classes are going to contain all kinds of excellent evidence-based information about each of the 6 topics: Labor confidence, safe and healthy birth, labor pain management, breastfeeding, bringing baby home, and VBAC. If you purchase the class through those links, I will get a little bit of money for recommending them to you, so don’t do it if you aren’t comfortable with that.

I am a lifelong learner, and I will always be committed to making my classes accessible to as many people as possible. I know I have a bunch of letters after my name, but I promise that I am not as scary as all of those might make me seem! Come learn with me!!