Short answer, YES! Reclaim your autonomy in birth by reclaiming birth wisdom.
You want to empower yourself with the wisdom and the tools to navigate the childbearing year. There is so much information, from anecdotal advice from friends and family, podcasts, youtube, and online blogs, like this one, that it can be overwhelming.
A childbirth education class can save you time from googling to figure out what you need to learn and instead spend time actually learning.
The most common thing new parents say after taking a class, either with me or elsewhere, is
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know”
What are the Benefits of a Childbirth Education Class?
Empowerment
Empowerment is where education and intuition meet. A CBE course lays the educational foundation for your intuition to confidently rise from.
Parents empower themselves with
- an understanding that orients them on their journey
- options for their care
- tools to navigate labor and any complications or discomforts that may come up.
- less stress and overwhelm that affects their mental health, keeps them from enjoying their journey
- trust & confidence in birth and their ability to birth.
- less anxiety and fear around childbirth
Common Childbirth Education Topics
•Preparing the Mind Body Spirit
•Anatomy & Physiology
•Birth Plan
•Facilitating Smooth & Safe Labor
•Birth Team Roles
•Labor tools
•Informed Consent & Choice
•Partner Roles & Support
•Preparing for labor and birth
•Herbs & Homeopathy
•Stages of Labor
Sensation & Pain
•Labs and Exams
•Lifestyle & Nutrition
• Preparing for postpartum
•Bodywork
•Breastfeeding
•Maternal Postpartum & Healing
•Newborn Baby Care
Informed Consent
Practicing informed consent is our right. We have the right to informed consent and to know all the details of our care. Improved communication can help individuals step into autonomy of their own birth experience.
When parents learn about the childbearing year and what their options are they can actively participate in their healthcare. Unfortunately, not all providers are exercising informed consent.
These classes can help individuals learn how to effectively communicate their needs and desires during childbirth, as well as how to ask questions and seek information from their healthcare providers.
By taking a class, parents inform themselves, taking radical responsibility for their experience and have the advantage of not only understanding what their provider is saying and offering but express their desires for how they want their care to be managed.
Community
CBE can also provide a sense of community and support. Many classes are designed to allow individuals and their partners to connect with others who are going through a similar experience. This can be especially helpful for individuals who may not have a strong support network, or who may be feeling isolated during their pregnancy.
Confidence
When individuals feel prepared and knowledgeable about the birth process, they feel more confident in their ability to handle the challenges of labor and birth.
This can lead to a more positive birth experience and can also help to reduce the likelihood of interventions, such as epidurals or cesarean sections.
How does taking a Childbirth Education Class reduce the risk of interventions and negative outcomes?
Well informed, confident and empowered parents are more equipped to
- understand their options
- make their own decisions (instead of releasing this power to their provider)
- do what is right for them and not what is easier for the provider or “routine procedure”
- use tools and technique to manage discomforts that can lead to epidurals and the cascade of interventions
- use tools and techniques to manage complications ( or prevent them all together),
- avoid complications that can lead to unnecessary interventions or a c-section.
Postpartum
Postpartum is one of the most neglected phases of the childbearing year, it can be just as long as pregnancy, or longer, and it can be the most challenging or shocking for new parents.
Our culture doesn’t prepare us enough for the postpartum journey.
A quality childbirth education class will help prepare parents for the realities of postpartum including maternal healing, newborn care, newborn sleep, feeding patterns and breastfeeding tips.
Parents are much more likely to have a positive breastfeeding experience and avoid breastfeeding complications like infection, painful feeds, nipple wounds or milk supply issues.
On-line VS in-person courses
Online Childbirth Course
- Self-paced
- Access from anywhere
- Flexibility
- Wide range of options available
- Possible online mama community
- May have lifetime access with resources you’ll want to refer to in the future
In-Person
- Set time and place
- Less Flexibility
- Can ask in person questions and customize course if class is private
- If Group class, grow your community by meeting other moms
- Hands on exercises and guided practice
- Less options available depending on where you live
Best Online Childbirth Education Classes for a natural and safe birth.
Here is a short, but very sweet (and informative…and fun) CBE classes that I recommend the most.
Ellen Fisher
5x! Homebirther partners with birthing, nutritional and mind coach experts to share her tried and true wisdom when it comes to birth, and breastfeeding
https://www.theempoweredbirth.com/
Ellen fisher 5x homebirther just created this amazing course, she has a YouTube channel on homeschooling, vegan lifestyle and pregnancy and birth that is a wealth of wisdom. Her course is worth the investment as it is well rounded and holistic.
Hearth and Home Midwifery
Two down to earth midwives from Portland Oregon have put together an affordable, but still very thorough and evidenced based CBE class.
Conscious Childbirth
I am so proud of this course, created after years of teaching and adapting the course to what my families needed. This course focuses on autonomous birth, informed choice, giving you to the tools and wisdom to navigate birth and postpartum, specifically the stages of labor & breastfeeding with a holistic, natural approach.
A Four Part Childbirth Education Series that prepares the mind, body, and spirit for a euphoric, empowering experience.
https://thesierraco.com/childbirth-course
for the primal & naturally conscious woman.
A space where badass autonomous women find the wisdom and resources to help them navigate their next phase of womanhood
