The Purpose of Childbirth Preparation...

...is to prepare mothers to give birth in awareness, not to achieve a specific birth outcome.

This Birthing from Within guiding principle was a real shift for me.  Before I became a Birthing from Within Mentor and Doula in June 2011, I was promising my clients a natural birth in the hospital. I had an intervention free hospital birth and at that time most of my doula clients where having the same type of birth. I was selling pregnant couples a 'good' hospital experience.  And of course couples were buying it.

My realization through my Birthing from Within training and experiences over the last year have helped me realize that truly birthing 'from within', has nothing to do with the type of birth you have and everything to do with where your head is at. Preparation is incredibly valuable, and it does not guarantee a certain outcome.

Research shows parents who receive support:

• Feel more secure and cared for
• Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics
• Have greater success with breastfeeding
• Have greater self-confidence

These things are true for most parents who use doulas, regardless of the birth outcomes.  This is what I am now offering pregnant couples.  It is not a 'magic bullet', and sometimes it is hard for first time parents to understand how valuable building confidence and feeling good about the birth really is.

The DONA Website also mentions less interventions and cesareans.  While these statistics are valid over a large number of births, parents sometimes interpret this as: "If I hire you as my doula, I will not have an epidural or a cesarean." Promising this (even unintentionally) is doing a disservice to the parents and the doula. Doulas burn out because we take on responsibility for birth outcomes and then when it does not go the way we expect (and parents expect), we take it personally and it is emotionally draining.

Birthing from Within preparation and support includes preparing for every possible outcome and helps parents learn to be present in the moment and recognize their birth as a major rite of passage, whatever kind of birth they have.

Please take a look at my new website for more about what I can offer you.