Tuesday, June 22, 2010

How do you Birth From Within?

My dear friend Lindsey is the new Birthing From Within childbirth mentor in town. She went to her training this spring and is offering her first class this July. Before she attended her Birthing From Within training, she trained with me as apprentice and has been working as Doula for the last couple of years. She has a son, Gabriel, that just turned one, who was born at the Birth Cottage. This may be her first class, but she knows her stuff. I wish she was teaching last summer when I was pregnant, because I flew out to California to be able to take a Birthing From Within childbirth class. That's how amazing these classes are!!

Its hard to explain what makes Birthing From Within so amazing, so special and so helpful. In my class, I took this summer, my mentor, helped Peter and I draw out some of our fears to be able to work on them and clear them, so they wouldn't mess me up in labor. Usually, whatever you are most hoping to avoid, are most afraid of, happens in labor, it manifests as the grand life lesson. In my class, I realized that I had worked through all my fears of transferring to the hospital for a needed cesarean birth. I could handle that. I knew if that happened, it was for the sake of the baby and I had done everything I could. But if I were to transfer to the hospital for a long labor, because I was tired and couldn't handle the pain anymore, THAT was my worst fear. To not be able to hack the pain, me the childbirth educator and Doula. I would be mortified if I had to get an epidural. I couldn't even think of that possibility I was so afraid. But through Birthing From Within, I was able to work through my fears and when my birth began, I wasn't afraid of anything. I knew I could handle anything that came my way.

Birthing From Within is unlike other childbirth classes. In other childbirth classes, you learn a lot of INFORMATION. The phases of labor, how your pelvis works, etc. But INFORMATION will not help you birth your baby. In labor, you only have your internal resources to help you. If you have not cultivated any internal resources, then you will be up sh*t creek when your labor starts.

Are you pregnant and in need of cultivating some internal resources? Take Lindsey's class this July! Here is some information about her class. You can find out more here.

Attention All Tallahassee Mamas!
I am offering Tallahassee mamas a one time DEEP discount on my Birthing From Within childbirth class. I am starting up a six week class beginning the second week of July on Thursday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 pm that will be meeting at The Birth Cottage. I have two open spaces I need to fill NOW and I am only asking a nominal fee to cover expenses. Please spread the word and have all mamas contact me at 850-339-2606 or lindsey@motherrisingbirth.com. This is an amazing opportunity especially for first time parents with a tight budget. Tell your friends! Neighbors! Coworkers!

In my Birthing From Within classes, you will learn how to:

* Experience birth as a rite of passage
* Eat a sound diet (pregnancy and breastfeeding)
* Open your body-mind before and during labor with self-hypnosis and visualizations
* Build confidence in yourself and your partner
* Ask questions and make decisions in labor
* Protect your birth space
* Tame your "Birth Tigers"TM
* Push your baby out
* Welcome your baby
* Recover and plan postpartum
* Care for and feed your newborn
* Give birth from within during a Cesarean, while using pain medication, or with medical support.

...and much more!

Your BIRTHING FROM WITHIN Classes will be:

*
a balance of practical, useful information and creative, experiential exercises.
*
personalized to your needs and interests.
*
not narrowly focused on a particular type of birth
*
stimulating, lively discussions and interesting exercises
* learning, not just about birth, but also about yourselves!

Our classes really do prepare you to birth from within.

3 comments:

  1. You are sooo right. My biggest fear was a c-section. Yet, I felt during my entire pregnancy that Lucia would be birthed that way. I remember reading in my Birthing From Within book that you STILL give birth to your child and to yourself as a mother even if it was not vaginal. My reservations were that I wanted to labor naturally. Funny how I got both. What would you say about that? A premonition coming true and also being given the experience of labor up until the last minute? Definitely my life lesson.

    <3

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  2. That is very interesting! I too had a gut feeling that Penelope would for sure be a water-birth baby. However, I didn't see our nursing difficulties coming AT ALL.

    Yes, it is true, you absolutely still gave birth. That is why BFW advocates saying cesarean birth as opposed to a c-section. It brings powerful description to the word, conveying that you did, in fact, still give birth.

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  3. Birthing From Within was my personal bible when I was pregnant back in 2000. I walked out of my OB/GYN's office and never looked back at him after he answered my questions regarding the birthing process. His answers SUCKED. I found a midwife who worked out of the local hospital, and proceeded to have the most awesome birth experience I could imagine. No drugs needed (I never said NEVER, but turned out I didn't need them at all), birthed in this cool table that shifted into a chair position, and was hyperaware of everything going on. Loved the experience and BFW gave me a great foundation to believe I could do it the way I wanted and not feel at the mercy of someone who didn't have me in mind.

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