I have many instances in mind that I could easily cover relating to society's warped ideas about birth.  My favorite recent example involved a former doula client.  She is a veterinarian who specializes in internal medicine and consulting.  When she came for her last massage she had to share with me a story about another vet asking if she thought a large breed middle aged momma dog (advanced maternal doggy age!) would benefit from an elective scheduled CS!!  My lady about flipped out.  She basically read the riot act instead recommending that mother nature's plan for birth would be a better option.  The dog owner and vet caring for the dog had both had cesarean births and seemed comfortable considering medically managing even the dog -Yikes!  Happily momma dog did great. It boggles the mind that our culture  has come to this.  I could write forever on the subject.

I sit here laughing to myself that I am writing material that will appear on the same site as Teri's.  In general, I don't enjoy writing and feel that my finished product is mediocre at best.  Yet, I am more passionate about the subject of normal birth than just about anything else on earth which makes writing for PfB very exciting.  As I mentioned earlier, I also do have some anxiety associated with public speaking, yet here I am on my path pursuing PfB childbirth educator certification.  Add in the third situation where I find myself doing postpartum doula work (after my own postpartum experience that was dominated by anxiety, a colicky baby and profound sleep deprivation) and there you the trifecta of life's ironies: the non writer who easily becomes passionate about writing when inspired by the subject at hand, the anxious public speaker pushing herself through a program leading to a career involved with public speaking, and the new mom who was herself anxious now helping other new Moms have positive experiences. Seeing a trend here?  Passion can override obstacles! So, I encourage you not to let any obstacles dissuade you from pursuing your dream. The saying goes that a mind is a terrible thing to waste but I feel strongly that wasted passion is an even sadder thing.

 

The universe seemed to be sending me some not so subtle hints aimed at redirecting my vocational energies recently.  I have attended births as a doula off and on for 12 years.  As much as I love doula work, the on call aspect and crazy hours required are not my cup of tea. So, I have struggled with the decision to keep on with doula work or to call it quits.  I am a massage therapist and suddenly found myself getting calls from more women seeking prenatal massage than I was used to.  Several times over the course of months I experienced the same scenario.  Delightful women, who, once on the table would start to chat about their pregnancies and soon into our conversation mention that they really were hoping to have a normal natural birth. Then, each of them asked if I had any suggestions for them to help in reaching that goal. Did I have any suggestions??!!  Following their appointments I chatted with all of these women at length, so very happy that they had asked the question that lights me up like a Christmas tree.  I collected their e-mail addresses and sent them all my favorite gems of info (Lamaze care practices, suggestions for books to read...).  All of these women followed up after their births to thank me for my time and sharing, and to let me know what great births they had experienced.  It was then that I realized that I needed to put my public speaking fear aside and take the steps to getting certified to teach childbirth.  Teaching would keep my involved in the realm of the birth work I love while allowing me to not feel the drain of being on call etc.

 

How I wish I could reach every woman who has a desire to learn about normal birth. I'm concocting in my head a vision of an informative talk that I will give at one of the local public libraries.  A date and time has been set for December for me to hold this hour and a half long class.  I would like to focus on the Lamaze care practices and Mom and baby center individualized care. I will display and recommend a number of my favorite books: The Lamaze Guide to Giving Birth with Confidence, The Birth Partner, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Heart and Hands: a Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, and Ina May's Guide to Birth. There are so many great video resources out there that it actually makes choosing one for this event a bit difficult. The two videos that top my list so far are Lamaze's Everyday Miracles (8 minutes), and  Open Minds to Birth (Vida Health Communications, 26 minutes). I have seen other videos that I love, but these in my opinion have the greatest overall appeal.  Both videos feature women who are empowered through support and education to trust their bodies.  The Open Minds video makes a point of showing the unpredictability of birth showing three women navigating very gracefully the uncertain path of labor.

 

 My focus has shifted for a time away from the Lamaze study guide to preparations to host a PfB training.  It will so nice to finally meet Teri in person after months of almost addictive daily visits to her fantastic blog. A great group of passioante women is shaping up and it promises to be a wonderful 3 days.  Two weeks and counting!    

Years of being so involved and engrossed in all aspects of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and breastfeeding had me feeling that I knew quite a lot already. Yet, the Lamaze study guide has impressed me with a wealth of new information worth its weight in gold.  It is evident that an astounding amount of work went into its making.  Learning styles and a variety of resources for further study are listed for each topic covered.  So, in addition to the 700 of so pages of the most informative and useful information I have ever come across, there are more resources presented should you desire to delve deeper into any area of interest.  As much as I love technology and computers, I am old fashioned in my love for flagging pages with post it tags and also for highlighting favorite information for future reference.  So, I went the route of using the Kinko's discount card and having the study guide printed up and put into binders.  If that is not your style, the provided Lamaze study guide CD certainly is handy and portable.

While I have enjoyed all of the information in the study guide, certain topics have grabbed my attention more than others. The six care practices are simple yet brilliant at the same time: labor begins on its own, freedom of movement throughout labor, continuous labor support, no routine interventions, spontaneous pushing in upright or gravity neutral positions,  no separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunities for breastfeeding. Can you imagine how birth would be reshaped if all births followed these practices?  I am currently about three fourths of the way through the study guide.  Some of my favorite study guide readings along the way have been about:

the cultural aspects of birth in our country (the “spoiling” of the often excited new Moms feelings about her pregnancy, only to insidiously replace excitement with fear)

 the “myth” of gestational diabetes

prenatal testing (and its use, misuse, unreliability and emotional implications)

information for educators aimed at helping parents experiencing a pregnancy carrying a baby with a predicted health challenge or threatened or actual loss of pregnancy or newborn

examining our current staff centered and tradition based maternity care system

routes of addressing this tradition based system and who to contact within the hospital system to most effectively initiate change

Over and over the wonderful message that birth is normal rings through in everything I read which causes me to positively bubble over with excitement!

By far my biggest concern with pursuing the PfB program was the student teaching requirement. Over the years I have slowly seen improvements in a formerly crippling public speaking anxiety issue that plagued me.  Interestingly, as my frustration has mounted over the years with the the birth climate, my public speaking anxiety has diminished.  Now my concerns regarding speaking anxiety are minimized.  I feel confident that my passion for birth will carry me on my way.  My only other concern was the long wait to take the certification exam.  I signed up with Lamaze in May, my training won't be until November which leaves me waiting until April to take the test.  Upon delving into the program I'm realizing that the time spent in the steps to certification is actually a positive aspect.  In essence, the time spent certifying allows you to “gestate” and evolve into your role as an educator.

 

Choosing Lamaze certification over other organizations was an easy decision. I have always been the type who wants to do something my best, or not at all.  Through the years when I would hear other Lamaze educators boast of the superiority of Lamaze I would wonder  how one program could be that much better than others. My research into all of the routes of certification  made it clear to me that Lamaze offered the most comprehensive, most recognized and respected program.  The Lamaze course of study is comprehensive beyond my expectations. The six Lamaze care practices that promote, support and protect normal birth are outstanding.  I was already using these care practices as a framework for educating my doula clients but to embark into a program that is centered on these brilliant, common sense evidence based concepts is amazing.

 

Upon looking into the Lamaze options for educator training, I discovered Passion for Birth.  I checked out Teri's PfB website and was sold!  Teri's approach to education and her motto of “stomping out boring childbirth classes” is a perfect fit for me.  Wouldn't everyone prefer to prepare for birth and parenting in an engaging fun way?! In my thinking it all makes perfect sense.  Material will be better assimilated and understood, the relaxed fun environment decreases fear and increases the whole relaxation response and level of comfort and confidence. Teri's method of teaching creates a wealth of  ah-ha moments.  If you haven't checked out her site and blog yet, you need to.  I love my daily dose of Teri blog.   I plan to “borrow” from many of her great resources, ideas and teaching strategies from her site.  I  feel that approaching pregnancy, birth and postpartum from a positive, supported and fun point of view helps get new parents into a frame of mind where they can feel more positive and confident from the very start. 

My name is Loree Scheyli and I am a birth addict!  My own birth experience was a bit of a disappointment.  I was thrilled with my son, but shocked to discover the way in which hospital births are managed.  A few years later I heard for the first time about the concept of doulas and started down the path of soaking up as much information as I could concerning all things related to birth. Birth work wasn't my first career.  I studied to be a dental hygienist. Needless to say, the excitement and challenges involved in attending births made my dental work less and less appealing.  Eventually, I left my dental work to attend massage school and to be more involved with birth.  I have attended birth off and on for 12 years.  It has been wonderful to see doulas gain acceptance.  Sadly though, the challenges of being a good  doula are daunting and trying to help women birth normally just seems to grow more difficult over time.

 

Why become a CB educator? Because knowledge is power! Too often I have met women later in their pregnancies as their doula.  Often they have attended childbirth education classes that were sadly lacking in quality. In a nutshell women don't know what they don't know.  I see becoming a childbirth educator as a way to help women and their partners have the best birth experiences possible.  Ingredients I feel are essential to a great childbirth series include: evidence based information, knowledge of all options, and most of all a focus on boosting confidence in birth.  Sharing this information in an interactive, engaging way, all the while oozing a passion for the subject at hand can't help but increase the chances that women will feel more excited about birth as well as allowing for true learning and understanding for students. Also, the research, decision making and advocacy skills learned in class go on to serve parents well over and over throughout the years as their children grow.

 

We had an overwhelming response for our invitation for people to blog about their path to become a childbirth educator!  The committee had a tough time deciding but we have selected our first (and there will be more from those who applied) blogger who is Loree from Tucson!  She also is hosting a seminar there in November so you will get her perspective on a couple angles.  

I will let her introduce herself this week!