Childbirth Education
I created this eight-hour comprehensive childbirth education for you and your support person, if you have one, to fill a need for a childbirth class that was:
truly affirming of, informative about, and without any preference toward all birth choices and coping strategies in childbirth, including but not limited to your choice to pursue medication for pain relief or to pursue unmedicated labor
acknowledges and mitigates the realities of structural racism, sexism, and cisgenderism, including a module on self-advocacy during labor that unpacks how our positionality, socialization, and past experiences with healthcare systems may be impacting how we experience interactions with care providers and strengthens our ability to advocate for ourselves
presents rigorously evidence-based information while placing it in the context of your values, intuition, and desires for birth
balances delivery of information and the deeper mental and emotional preparation that work together to support empowered birth
inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities
centered on birthing people of color, including offering BIPOC-only workshops so that we can learn in community together
We will use interactive presentations, videos, group discussions, discussions between you and your support person (if you have one), hands-on practice for physical touch support during labor, and creating artwork to explore our own personal answers to each of these questions:
What are we bringing with us to birth? Unpacking our knapsack of emotions, fears, hopes, beliefs, and strengths
The childbearing year as a transformative journey
How can I clarify my values, hopes, and fears about birth and use those to guide how I prepare and make decisions around birth?
Stages of labor - what is birth like?
What happens in our bodies during labor and birth?
What are the stages of labor and what are the range of experiences I can expect physically, mentally, and emotionally at each stage? What can my support person expect?
What are that range of coping strategies that may be most helpful at each stage?
Hear, view, and share birth stories
“Success” stories and expanding our notions of success
Birth options (throw out the plan, but make a map)
Home and hospital options
Vaginal and cesarean birth options
Medical and non-medical comfort measure options
Support plan
Building flexibility and resilience for when birth surprises you
Hands-on partnered support practice
Hands-on practice with labor and birthing positions in collaboration with a support person, if present
How can I expand my toolbox of coping strategies so that I am physically and emotionally prepared to handle the challenges, expected or unexpected, that birth may bring?
How do I want my support person to best support me physically and emotionally during labor and in postpartum?
Facing our fears or concerns around birth
Identifying our strengths that help us meet those fears
Creating personally meaningful affirmations to help guide us through fears and challenges
Advocacy
Our personal rights in birth and the reproductive justice and birth sovereignty framework
Unpacking how internalized or experienced oppression can make us feel constrained in our choices, and how to resist these forces
Language and practice asking questions and advocating for ourselves
How can I get in touch with and affirm my personal strengths, so that I can bring them into my birthing space and use them to overcome any challenges I encounter and advocate for myself and my baby?
Cost: Free to $200. Sliding scale based on ability to pay.
