Parents' Individual Needs and Differences Determine Class Content

Birthing from Within Classes are designed as gourmet meals, where parents can 'order up' different dishes  depending on their needs and appetites.

In a six week series, each class is a meal, which includes:

• APPETIZER: some type of introduction to whet the appetite
• BREAD BASKET: this is the pain-coping.  1/3 of each class is spent on learning practical skills that parents can use during labour.
• MAIN COURSE: the 'meat and potatoes' or practical information.
• SIDE DISH: enhances the main course.  It can include birth art, role plays or other activities to initiate parents - moving from the known into the unknown of birth and parenthood.
• DESSERT: closing the class by celebrating the pregnancy and upcoming birth.

A weekend class is designed the same way, with three complete meals on the Saturday and three more on the Sunday.

I have at least 50-60 hours of potential content and 15 hours of class time.  So while I follow this menu, and I have a general idea of what types of things might come up, the same class from one series to another can be very different depending on what kinds of questions parents ask.

I always begin the first class by asking:  "What would need to happen during this class to make it worthwhile for you?" and I use that in my preparation and delivery of class content.

The one thing I don't spend too much time on is providing a lot of obstetrical information.  I find that people who are interested in medical information usually have a lot of it by the time they take the class.  I am always happy to recommend books to parents and there are some suggestions on my website and this blog. Birthing from Within is really about learning what birth might be like from the parents point of view and to prepare them for their own birth experience.

Topics covered in a typical Birthing from Within Class:

• How to cope with pain in labour (what it might look like, practical non-medical and medical ways of coping)
• Nutrition and physical health for pregnancy and postpartum, including breastfeeding.
• Labour itself:  early signs, a 'map' of labour, things that help labour progress, what might a 'normal' labour look like.
• Unexpected events: Induction and Cesarean Birth are covered
• Special class for dads:  dad's role as the main support person; special concerns of dads
• Life with Baby: includes expectations, practical information, where to get help
• Ways to celebrate birth and new parenthood
• And lots more....

Please get in touch with me to register for the classes I am offering in Lethbridge and check out www.birthingfromwithin.com to find Birthing from Within Mentors in other parts of the world.

Like my Birthing From Within Lethbridge Facebook page for interesting information and connection to community resources.

The Teacher is "Midwife" to the Parents' Discovery Process...

...not the expert from whom wisdom flows.

This is the fourth Birthing from Within guiding principle, and one more thing that sets Birthing from Within apart from some of the other prenatal class options that are out there.

I realized how true this is when I mentored my first group class last weekend.  My regular class series (whether weekend or six week series) is 15 hours of class time.  Last weekend's class was 6 hours total.  At first, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to cover 'everything' in 6 hours.  Then as I explored further, I recognized that there is no 'everything'.  There is simply the process of introducing parents to new ideas and ways of thinking about birth and themselves as parents and trusting they will take what they need from the class and learn more on their own.

There is so much 'information' about birth:  telling people where to go, what to do and presenting potential scenarios for parents depending on the decisions they make.  The reality is that parents will not really be able to understand in advance exactly what will happen and instead need to understand that each birth is a different and intensely personal experience for everyone (even a mother and father at the same birth or a mother from one birth to the next).  This is one of the reasons that we use the Labyrinth to look at birth.  The labyrinth has one pathway in and out, but the path is full of twists and turns.  When I taught this at my class last weekend parents really responded to it.  One mother said that she only really understood how useful it might be for labour and birth once she explained it to her own mother.  This is a really good example of how the Birthing from Within Mentor (teacher) introduces a concept and parents take it, explore it further and make it their own.  She bought the Labyrinth of Birth book, which includes history of labyrinths, how to make them and ways to use them in preparation for labour and during labour.

What I do as a Birthing from Within Mentor can be hard to explain.  In our society, we are accustomed to looking for the right answer.  Many people feel inclined to make judgments about pregnant women and give them advice, and sometimes that advice seems helpful, especially if it reinforces what we already believe about birth.  As a Mentor, it is not my job to tell parents what to or tricks on how to have the 'right' birth.  My role is to help them understand what might be right for them and to truly accept that the unexpected is inevitable.  From there, parents take responsibility for their own birth preparation.  Sometimes, it seems to make the classes more challenging to 'sell' to people, since I am not offering a magical solution.  Instead, I am offering the opportunity to discover things about yourself, your relationship with your partner and presenting new ideas that may help you in birth and as a new parent.

I have a six-week series starting on November 2, for those in the Lethbridge area.  please contact me for more information:  elliedoula@gmail.com