Lamaze Childbirth Education
If that is your expectation of a childbirth class, you really don’t want to come to these classes! What’s different? We move, we interact, we joke, we learn, and we don’t subscribe to the theory that effective childbirth classes have to be BORING.
Why am I so against the basic classroom model of teacher-lecturing-up-front? As a childbirth educator, my goal is to facilitate learning by offering evidence-based information and experiential practice; I’ll bring the “food for thought,” and you bring the “plate.” You load up on the things that sound appealing, and maybe try a bite or two of something new. Through group discussion, interaction, activity, and sharing, we have fun, and guess what? We learn! And we aren’t bored to tears, looking at the clock, exploring the stages of numbness on our fannies.
Here are a few other reasons why I avoid the dull schoolmarm ways during our time together:
· In order to learn, think, or create, a learner must have an emotional connection. Why am I here? How will this help me have my baby? How does this apply to ME?
· Thinking and learning are solidified by movement. Doodling, eye movements, talking to yourself or your neighbor, and writing things down, are all movements that help us understand, retain, and utilize our new-found knowledge.
· Einstein said, “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” In a time when we are already so information-overloaded, childbirth education shouldn’t just be one more (boring) thing. Let’s face it, the topics covered in class can easily be learned in a good book, so why attend at all? For the experience that anchors the thinking and learning part, and helps complete the circuit.
Lamaze is the oldest name in childbirth education, but did you know, Lamaze is no longer about breathing? Today's Lamaze helps build confidence in the process of normal birth and provides the tools women need in order to make the informed decision which are right for their birth, their baby, and their family. Six simple ways to have a safer and healthier birth:
-Let labor begin on its own
-Walk, move around, and change positions throughout labor
-Bring a loved one, friend, or doula for continuous support
-Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary
-Avoid giving birth on your back, and follow your body’s urges to push
-Keep your baby with you – it’s best for you, your baby, and breastfeeding
Class fees are $100. All your support people are welcome to come. If you are a doula client, you are eligible for a discount! Refresher classes, private classes, weekend classes, and sibling preparation classes are also available. Just because a class is full doesn't mean you are left out in the cold! I can offer private classes for those who may be crunched for time or on bedrest. I also know of other instructors in the area that may have openings. Once in a while, I can squeeze an additional couple into a series and even offer a make-up of what was missed. Before you give up hope, please contact me and I can help you learn your class options! Everyone should be able to attend an independent childbirth education class, regardless of their finances. If cost may be a factor for you, please contact me so we can talk about reduced fees or other class options.
Classes are offered every 6 weeks. Call or email to find out which class is right for you.
Birth Doula Services
Having a baby is not an event to be taken lightly. To see the impact this day has on families, just ask your grandma or neighbor or grocery clerk and listen to what she remembers about the act of becoming a mother. As your doula, I want to help create memories of this birth that you can look back on for decades and feel gratified, satisfied, and snuggly about -- the kind of memories that keep us warm when we get old.
I listen to women, and I want to know how you envision your birth. I am not here to impose my ideas of what birth should be like. I will provide the evidence-based information, and as your individual choices unfold, you can make the decisions that are best for your family. I will bring my heart and hands to support the expectant family, and you and your partner can move through what works and what might be better as you walk this path. I will bring my knowledge of the emotional needs of a laboring woman, while you bring confidence in your body and baby’s amazing ability to coordinate efforts towards birth.
Optimally, meaning if there is enough time, I like to meet with a family two times before birth in order to sketch out the kind of experience they are hoping for. Once labor begins, I can meet with a family at their home to labor longer (in accordance with their healthcare practitioner’s advice), or I can meet with them at the hospital. I stay with the family, supporting both mother and partner, until the baby has been born. Generally I snap a few photos, help the new baby breastfeed, see that mom and partner get some food and drink, before I leave the new family safely tucked away in comfort and peace.
Please call me to discuss fees for this service.
Bellycasting
Bellycasting is a way to remember your beautiful baby belly! Often families hang them in the baby's nursery, and they enjoy taking pictures of their new baby laying inside the cast -- to see their little one's first home. I come to your house with all the supplies needed to cast your breasts and belly. I can offer suggestions on how to further preserve and hang your cast. This can be fun for the whole family, and it is also a great baby shower activity (modest means can be taken if mom wishes others to help in this project). Mom, or any resident artist, can decorate the cast, or it can be left as it is.
Casting fees are $75/session. A session lasts about 90 minutes. The only thing you provide is an impressive belly, and perhaps a few helping hands, if you wish (although not necessary). Belly casts are best done close to the due date, between 8 and 9 months.
Getting Started with Breastfeeding
Do you feel like you need a little more breastfeeding informaton? I also offer breastfeeding classes, 2.5 hours in length, for moms and their partners (if they wish). What this class includes:
How milk is made
How to nurse comfortably
Positioning baby at the breast
Learning what’s normal and what’s not normal
Where to get community help
How partners can help
Taking care of yourself and your baby
Pumping and returning to work
Resources
Cost of this class is $45. Many handouts included. This information is covered in my childbirth classes, so there is not need to take this class if you already are planning to take those. Doula clients receive this information as part of our prenatal visits.
The Baby's Here! Now What?
This class is designed for those parents who want more hints, tips, and information about how to care for their newborns. Provided will be everything you ever needed to know to survive the “fourth trimester,” including:
Soothing your newborn
Feeding habits
Developmental sleeping stages
Bonding with your baby
Baby-wearing ideas
Basic newborn care
Mothering and Fathering
Taking care of YOU
Community resources for new parents
Class fees are $60 for 2 2-hour sessions, where mom, baby, and partner are welcome. Doula clients will get some of this information, but not in as great of detail. If doula clients want this class, the cost is reduced.
Postpartum Doula Services
Postpartum work is done on a selective basis depending on what my doula and class schedule allows. Sometimes parents need additional support after a baby's born. As a postpartum doula I can help with breastfeeding, baby-soothing, and building parents' confidence in their ability as the main caretakers of their new baby. Other things I do are light laundry, light kitchen help, tending the baby while mom takes a shower, and attending medical appointments with families. My fees for this service are $18 per hour, with a minimum of 4 scheduled hours (either in a row or altogether). In the event that a mother is sick or hospitalized, I have had experience caring for newborn babies while their mothers healed. It is important to note, a postpartum doula's job is to mother the mother so she can mother her baby; postpartum doulas are different than baby-sitters.