Birthing From Within Classes
Mother Birth Waves offers Birthing From Within classes that provide you with all the practical information needed to give birth at home or in the hospital. These well-balanced classes go further by supporting your exploration of the emotional and psychological experience of birth. This modality goes beyond childbirth education, encompassing the realm of childbirth preparation. Birthing From Within seeks to prepare families for birth and parenting on all levels: psychologically, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally.
- Learn and practice ways of coping with the intensity of labor
- Connect with your partner and learn how to give or receive support
- Understand the stages of labor and how birth works
- Explore how to prepare and protect your birth place at home or hospital
- Discover how to ask questions and give consent
- Share your hopes and concerns with other parents
- Know what to expect during the postpartum period
- Celebrate birth as a rite of passage
Birthing From Within’s Guiding Principles
- Childbirth is a profound rite of passage, not a medical event (even when medical care is part of the birth).
- The essence of childbirth preparation is self-discovery, not assimilating obstetric information. The teacher (mentor) is "midwife" to the parents' discovery process, not the expert from whom wisdom flows.
- Childbirth preparation is a continually evolving process (for parents and teachers), not a static structure of techniques and knowledge.
- Parents' individual needs and differences determine class content.
- Active, creative self-expression is critical to childbirth preparation. The purpose of childbirth preparation is to prepare mothers to give birth-in-awareness, not to achieve a specific birth outcome.
- Pregnancy and birth outcome are influenced by a variety of factors, but can't be controlled by planning.
- In order to help parents mobilize their coping resources, it is critical for childbirth classes to acknowledge that unexpected, unwelcome events may happen during labor.
- Parents deserve support for any birth option which might be right for them (whether it be drugs, cesarean, home birth, or bottle-feeding).
- Pain is an inevitable part of childbirth, yet much can be done to ease suffering.
- Pain-coping practices work best when integrated into daily life, rather than "dusted off" for labor.
- Fathers and birth partners help best as birth guardians or loving partners, not as coaches; they also need support.
- For parents, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum is a time of continuous learning and adjustment; holistic support and education should be available throughout that period.
- Childbirth preparation is also parent preparation.