Go Read this Great Article!

Feb 5, 2012--edited to remove all mention of and links to the birth organization I cannot in good conscience support in any way, including the very mention of their name.  This organization has failed to make good on many promises, many of which are financial, and has behaved appaulingly unprofessionally in many ways.

As I have announced somewhat here on this blog and more officially to clients and friends, I am now a (link removed from post so as not to drive traffic to their scam of a site) Educator.

Recently, I started my first (edited) class.  I have a student couple who has made the decision to birth at home with their first baby.  A rarity, but a wise choice.  One I wish I had had the smarts to make with my firstborn. (Not that I regret my decision of hospital birth--I just did not know enough to choose and be comfortable with home birth back then.)

If home birth is not initially scoffed at and completely thrown aside, the scenario all-too-often goes like this: a mom-to-be states, "I'm not entirely comfortable with home birth.  I'll have this baby in the hospital, and if all goes well, we can consider out-of-hospital birth in the future;" little knowing that the choice of hospital birth will often lead her to the conclusion that she or her baby would have been in trouble at least, and would have died at worst--had she not given birth in said hospital.

Indeed, it is this faulty premise that feeds the illusion of the need to birth in a hospital in order to have a safe birth.  Mom encounters problems in labor and birth while in hospital, and incorrectly assumes that had she been at home, she would have experienced these same complications.  Ask any birth junky: the common quip from women after such an experience is: ". . . And thank GOD we were in the hospital, or . . . (insert dangerous and/or life-threatening scenario here). . . would have happened, and . . . (insert individual's name and horrific outcome here)!"  The faulty logic is that birth = danger, while in fact, very often it is birthing in the hospital that causes the problems encountered in birth: the iatrogenic complications (that is, problems arising as a result of medical intervention, not the actual birthing process).  Yes, hospitals are good for some births, and yes, major abdominal surgery is life-saving in some instances, but this does not mean that the hospital is the safest place to birth for most women.

If you are reading this and it makes sense, I am preaching to the choir.  For any readers who wonder, "Where is she getting these crazy correlations?!", I would truly love to spend a few hours on this post and give all the statistical data to back up what I've said in the above paragraphs, but alas, I have four young children, a teething and needy seven-month-old asleep on my chest as I type, and I need to start dinner, finish laundry, and otherwise continue cleaning and preparing for my next class.  So I regret to say that the above statements will have to suffice as a teaser and a challenge for anyone not convinced of the normalcy of birth.

Since having joined (name withheld) Birth, I have regained an excitement about teaching the essentials of a safe and satisfying birth.  I have also absolutely enjoyed the never-before-experienced sense of community with my sisters in birth: fellow birth educators, doulas and midwives (to name a few) within the (name withheld) Birth community.  This great bunch of birth workers have challenged me, encouraged me and constantly bring new and interesting information my way.  I am LOVING my affiliation with (name withheld) Birth!  (Incidentally, what I loved--and still do--was  the community, which is still alive and well after a mass exodus of most of the educators who had originally joined the org.  The business, as it stands, is a blight to the birthing community.)

Today, one of my colleagues posted an older article by Mothering Magazine entitled: "You Want to Give Birth Where?", stating that the couple had been clients of hers and students of one of our fellow Brio educators (while she was under a previous certification).  This article is a good read: one that chronicles how an intelligent, mainstream couple came to the oft-assumed "brave" and "out-there" decision to birth at home.  (Interesting note: the dad/baby pictured with the article is not the dad/baby of the article: my colleague states that he and his wife were much more mainstream.  I mention this as an aside to encourage you to read the actual article and put aside any conclusions drawn upon seeing the picture.)  Enjoy the read!

Bradley Final: One Step Closer to the End!

This afternoon, the girls and I made our once-every-few-months pilgrimage to the post office, where (among other things) I sent my final exam off to CA for the powers that be to grade. Finished all 21 pages of it this morning at 2:30 a.m. and mailed it off as soon as we could get out the door today (2 hours to do so--why we only make it to the P.O. every few months--so many things to mail, and none of them ready).

Bradley gives a month to complete the exam, and today marks exactly one month since they sent it to me. I probably could have waited a few more days, but I wanted this thing DONE. Every evening that I haven't worked on it has been not-as-enjoyable because I am putting it off.

For the first few weeks I had it, I barely did anything with it. I seriously found it intimidating. Nine sections, seven of which have 10 or more essay questions each, the eighth section being 88 vocabulary words needing definitions (I've always been bad at defining words). The final section was possibly the easiest. A few weeks ago, I sat down to do the first few essay questions and got really bogged down. It was another week or more before I picked it up again. Those first four sections probably took me 1 1/2 to 2 hours each to complete. As I got more into it, it went faster, and last night, I believe I completed the last 3 sections, plus did proof-reading and formatting for the whole thing in about 5 hours (had to wait till class was over, so it extended into the morning).
Total time put in is probably 15 to 20 hours. One thing that helped immensely is that I called to clarify a few things and found out something that really took the pressure off. See, the beginning of the exam has a part where you have to sign and say on the honor system that you had no help from anything (book, person, whatever) in completing the exam. I found this confusing, because in the couple times that I had taken up the exam to complete another portion, I found that I could answer some of the previous questions I had already answered, either better or with more clarification. I knew this had to be because of something I'd read in the teacher's manual, student workbook or another book I'd read since I'd last picked up the exam, so I wasn't sure how I should answer these questions, because at some point, I had learned MOST of the stuff I was answering FROM A BOOK! (Yes, I am a very literal person, if you do not already know.)

So I wondered how they could both allow me a whole month to complete the exam (assuming that I am working on it little by little) yet not have any "help" from learning or being reminded of anything in that time. Let me be clear: I did not think that I was allowed to sit down with the exam and have a book with me to reference as I answered questions, or google something whilst I typed away in Word, but it seemed hazy as to what I wasn't allowed to do. I knew it needed to be my answers, but many of my answers are not truly "mine" because I've reviewed the material so much by now. My impression from some of the message boards I'd read is that most people went through and answered all the questions they could answer easily and then came back to the harder stuff later. I assumed this was because they needed to do a little more research on those topics, etc. It sounded like a reasonable plan to me, until I experienced what it meant to come back to the questions after some time away. It quickly overwhelmed me.

Since every time I came back to the exam, I felt like I had a better understanding of many questions I had previously answered (and that without purposely going to do research on those questions), I began to feel VERY overwhelmed with how thorough and detailed I could be with this exam.

Last week, I ran into a question on which I needed clarification: wasn't too sure what they were asking. So I called and while I was asking, I clarified what exactly the honor system required. She explained that I was not allowed to go look something up specifically, even if I knew where to find the answer. However, she said they could not stop me from teaching my series while I completed the exam, and if I came across things in preparing for classes, I was welcome to use the information I'd read. Is it me, or is that a little confusing? I would never have assumed such a thing. Seems like splitting hairs to me. It did help clarify my predicament: the things that I'd had a hazy answer for almost jumped out at me when I would prepare for classes. Not that I'd gone and researched something specifically, but in my "research" (yes, I do that for every class I teach) of what I was to teach that week, I found a great deal of info. that I would not have paid as much attention to if I had not remembered a question on the exam to which it spoke. And it just kinda felt like cheating.

But anyway, I was very comforted to know that they did not necessarily expect me to have a thorough or detailed answer for every question. They wanted me to answer from what is in my head, without ruling out that new things can come in there if I am currently teaching/learning more about birth (yet not because I'm studying for the exam--it really gets into motives, doesn't it? Eesh. Too hazy for me.). This greatly helped my anxiety about answering questions: I was expected to answer them to the best of my ability NOW. I was not expected to kill myself "finding" the answers, nor to limit my answers if I HAD learned more (inadvertently, that is, and that is KEY to taking the pressure off). When I hung up, I tried to wrap my mind around what the honor system required of me. I decided to treat the exam like a student that I would only have for one week, and would never have contact with again: they only get what I know off the top of my head. I do not have the luxury of saying, "Let me look into that and get back with you." (Thank God--I cannot imagine how many pages the exam would've ended up being if I were allowed/expected to do that.)

As it turned out, I think I may have come back and answered ten or less questions with more clarification or detail than I had before (usually after preparing for or teaching another class!). And here I had wanted to put off finishing the exam because I wanted to "learn" all I could before I answered all those questions. Who knew I was allowed to learn along the way?

Glad it's done. What a relief. And last night marked the half-way point in our current series. It's going well. Have 2 great students. We had one other student, but it just wasn't working for her to come to class, as her husband was not able to attend with her, and often needed her to help him with his commitments on class night. I'm bummed we couldn't have found a night that worked well for all four of us. It would have been great to have them in class, too.

Both students from last series have now given birth, and both without medication (and from what they've expressed to me, happily so!). I'm glad they're pleased, and proud of them for preparing for an unmedicated birth. Doing so is no small task.

God willing, in another 6 weeks I will have completed all the requirements to wrap up my provisional affiliation w/Bradley. I'm so excited to have come this far! God has been so faithful to bring us to this point.

WhooHooo! First Series is O V E R

Last Tuesday, I wrapped up my first 12-week series of Bradley classes. Though this has been a harrowing 12 weeks, I am really surprised to find on this end that it went SO fast.

I heard from the Academy today that my first provisional series has processed and been accepted, which is a relief, since I had heard of a few other provisional teachers who are still provisional even after teaching four series. It made me wonder: "Am I not taking this seriously enough?" So I asked and they said I "did a good job" with my series.

This I find a little funny, because though I have filled out an evaluation form after teaching each class, there really is no way for them to know if I'm doing well or not. From my perspective, I think it went fairly well for it being my first time through the material in a teaching role and my first time teaching, period and, well, I hate to say it, but this played a huge role in how it went: me being in my first trimester for most of the series. Yes, I do believe I could have done better, yet I do not think I did a bad job or a disservice to my students because of the pregnancy.

There were challenges, to be sure. And I had to tweak things so that my feedback from the Academy was generally good. Still very much believe what I've said in the past: this company does not have good business sense. So many things could be done better, and you'd think they'd have this running like a well-oiled machine after all these years, but not so much.

Casey taught with me most classes. By "taught" I should clarify that he was present and free to interject at any time, which was mostly in regard to his perspective as a coach. I found his presense to be very helpful on several levels. Though it worked well in this particular class for him to be there for most classes, and I really believe it is great to have a couple teach together, I don't think I can expect this for every series. After all, he is my childcare, and it is a lot to ask for him to set aside one evening a week to be there. He just doesn't have the kind of passion for birth that I do :). (Though some may argue this point, because he is more passionate than most men would be, since he knows more than most women do about birth.) I think we'll settle on him being in class for specific times where coaches can do Q&A, etc.

So glad to be done with this series, and excited about my students' upcoming births.

Next series will begin on Feb. 23 (Ed note: changed the start date to 3/17). I need to get going on advertising. Didn't do a bit of it last class, but I feel comfortable "promoting" my classes now that I'm not so much a newbie.

Our First Series is in Full Swing!

Looking at my last post, I realize I need to post all the great suggestions I got from people on what makes a good Bradley teacher.

But that will have to wait. I'm just here to give an update on how our Bradley series is going. We are two weeks into the twelve-week series. Casey is teaching with me (we had not planned to do that every time, but it has worked out well, and I really think he adds a dimension that is helpful for the coaches, so we'll probably stick with it).

We have 2 couples for this first class, and though we are allowed to have four times that amount, I am so grateful to have ANYONE at all! It is my goal to transfer information and confidence enough that our students will finish the series ready to take on the challenge of giving birth naturally and glad that they took the class.

So far, the classes have gone well. I could stand to be a little better at teaching, but that will come with time and familiarity with the lesson plans. Between preparing the lessons and doing the evaluations after class, I feel as though I am not doing much besides Bradley and my usual duties during the week (which I'm not saying is small--just that I'm not finding time for much outside that). One of my biggest struggles is that there is no way I can fit the entirity of the lesson in two hours, and it is hard to decide exactly what topics I should try to cover in more detail. It's all important stuff, but it's very important that we stay punctual. After all, these are prego women and their hubbies on a work night.

One fortunate side effect of having these weekly classes is that our home stays company-ready much better than when we were having people over less regularly. I have a feeling my hubby will become a big proponent of my teaching a series constantly throughout the year for this reason. He does love a clean house.

This week, we are looking at pregnancy, and it just so happens that I got my Birth Atlas and Growing Uterus Charts today. These will come in handy when talking about fertilization and the changes mom's body goes through in the months of pregnancy. I am so pleased with these charts. If you want a good deal on these things, contact me. I just saved $100 or more.

My pelvis should arrive by class 4 (also a great deal, as pelvises go), and I am excited to start using this priceless visual aid. I hope it will be a powerful tool to show the practicality behind things like not lying on your back in labor, that the bony structure is not a fixed unit, but a combination of bone and cartilage that moves and flexes, how walking helps open the inlet of the pelvis, and how changing position even in the pushing stage helps the baby make important turns and movements. The pelvis model helps me understand these things better, and I hope to use it often in class to demonstrate a host of things.

Bradley Students, I Need Your Help!

My Bradley series will begin in a little over a week. So far, I have one couple signed up. It is not a big class, but I am NOT complaining--the other two provisional affiliates have less students than I do, so I am counting my blessings!

It is very important that I do my best in this endeavor of Bradley teaching. That's where I could use your help. I am mostly directing this question to people who have taken Bradley classes, but I am happy to take suggestions from anyone, if you are willing to make them!

Is there anything that stands out to you about the Bradley class(es) you took that you found very helpful or wish had been done differently? It could be about the class or the teacher(s).

My hope is that I can get a few suggestions to tweak my classes to be more and more helpful for my students. No detail is too small. Even if it is that the thermostat was too high, or the floor too hard.

Please comment! Your two cents are appreciated!

Bradley Class Starts Next Week

I'm teaching the Bradley 12-week series beginning Tuesday, October 27th at 7 p.m. in my home.

Women who are due with a baby after mid-January are encouraged to enroll.

In an oversimplified nutshell, these classes will inform couples on such things as how birth works and how to work with it.

It is my firm belief that any woman (barring physical abnormality) can give birth naturally. Natural childbirth is not about being tough; it's about being educated, prepared and supported.

By attending this 12-week series and applying what is learned, students will have the tools they'll need in order to "give birth," rather than "be delivered."

Please contact me for more information or to enroll in the upcoming series.