| FAQ’s
1. How does the Preparing for Birth & Parenting
Course differ from the antenatal classes at the hospital?
The Preparing for Birth & Parenting Course explores more aspects
of pregnancy and birth than the standard hospital classes; including
active birth principles, breastfeeding education, early parenting
and baby care sessions. Facilitated by an Independent
Childbirth Educator, informed choice is promoted through the
provision of unbiased, evidence based information. BirthWise views
birth as a normal and natural process, and the learning environment
is relaxed, friendly and fun!
2. How does the structure of the sessions
differ to typical antenatal classes?
The main difference is the style of teaching/learning and the structure.
Many hospital antenatal classes consist of couples sitting passively
and listening, reminiscent of school days. However most people learn
best by doing as a Chinese proverb explains perfectly; Tell me and
I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
Once information is given (shown, listened to, read) you can further
one’s learning by asking them to apply this knowledge by ‘doing’
something. Providing activities, presenting challenges, problems
or choices helps couples begin to think about applying this knowledge
and helps to build confidence in the process. Having these opportunities
within the sessions helps to integrate the information, the scenarios,
the choices, and the likely consequences, whilst respecting the
individuals and couples’ personal values.
3. How does the educator’s approach
differ to others?
Kristin: “No educator or facilitator can teach women or couples
everything about late pregnancy, labour, birth and babies. However
I truly strive to empower them to take responsibility for their
learning by providing the most up to date, unbiased and evidence
based information and also motivating them to seek out further information
for themselves.
I really encourage them to have the confidence to question what
might be considered "standard practice" and instead seek
out what is “best practice”, for them and their baby.
The fact is women don't need to learn how to give birth. I make
this very clear in the sessions and confirm that my aim throughout
the sessions is to convince their brains that their bodies can already
do this!
I also see it as my responsibility to provide sufficient education
to empower couples to deal with the many obstacles that are placed
along the way to this very natural process. I need to educate them
about their options but I always bring it back to the basic understanding
how their body works best and the natural design of labour. Labour
makes sense - it's clever, it's sophisticated and it works at its
best when you leave it alone.
I aim for women to go away feeling good about their bodies, confident
in their body’s abilities and empowered with the ability to
ask questions. Over the years as obstetric policies are becoming
increasingly more about litigation risk than about managing a normal
process, there is more and more to educate, to equip couples with
sufficient information to ask the right questions and to appropriately
question what has become ‘standard practice’. What I'm
teaching couples is to be instinctive rather than telling them what
to do at any given time.
The very fact that women are booked in hospital classes so late
in their pregnancy "just in case they forget things" reinforces
the notion that women have to learn to give birth, and of course
they don't! I encourage women to start their ‘learning’,
questioning and journey early on so there is ample time to build
confidence around these choices. The ‘learning’ is about
their body’s ability and power, and the ‘learning’
is about the birth of a trusting relationship with their body.
The BirthWise sessions (classes,
courses and workshops) are suitable from 20 weeks as I believe
if couples come along earlier, they still get the opportunity to
apply what is being learnt - and perhaps even make changes. This
is part of the learning journey, discovering their options, the
likely consequences of their choices (see Choosing
Your Caregiver pdf) and their rights – it is not uncommon
for some couples change from obstetric care to a family birth centre
at 32 weeks after learning about the ‘system’ and current
childbirth culture. This example shows how it also important to
boost the confidence and negotiation skills of the couple.
Something I truly believe most hospital classes fail to do is to
prepare women for the emotional intensity of labour. This is an
intrinsic part of childbirth and to skip this because the emotional
responses to labour and birth are ‘too variable’ does
the pregnant woman a huge disservice. I aim to honour this aspect
of birthing, as its significance and influence on the experience
cannot be understated.
I often describe labour using the marathon analogy: it's like running
a marathon which is hard enough, but then having people suddenly
putting things in your path like electronic monitoring, time frames
or restrictions, questions, instructions, offers of pain relief,
attitudes, fears, procedures, routines etc - sometimes quite unexpectedly
– amplifies the challenge considerably!
Having supported women to birth within the current system, one
women told me how shocked she was at how quickly she could see her
labour being taken over by the medical model - and how disempowering
this could be. She knew enough to say ‘no’ to the offers
or suggestions, but she certainly felt the pressure to conform at
times.
It is challenge to devise a program that covers birth skills and
parenting skills equally. Experience and research would suggest
that the birth outcome has significant impact on relationships,
self-esteem, sexuality and breastfeeding success. In other words,
the birth does matter and we should do what we can to assist all
women to have the best possible birth.”
4. What if we can’t attend all of the sessions over the period
of the course?
Perhaps consider the private
consultations as an alternative. Many couples understand that
priorities will change once the baby is born and therefore begin
to put this into practise by shuffling their work and lifestyle
commitments to ensure full attendance at the course. Any handouts
that are not received are given out at the next session. |
This
Course will help you:
Includes:
“The
course was perfect, I liked everything! There was so much
to learn, and the workbook is fantastic – I refer to
it often. Learning all the choices we had around our birth
was important to us”. 
“Kristin
thanks so much for your time, your stories, your wisdom and
your empowering prenatal sessions! You’ve been priceless
to both of us in this wonderful experience. Keep bringing
those beautiful babies into the world and keep helping to
bring out our inner goddess'. You are doing an amazing job!”
“It
wouldn’t have been the magical experience it was without
the knowledge and confidence gained from these sessions. We
found the course prepared us really well for the reality of
labour and birth.” 
