Childbirth Choices :: Choosing Childbirth Education
Hospital Education | Independent Education | Childbirth Education Organizations | TBN Childbirth Educators
We have provided a brief summary of the philosophies of each of these professional childbirth education organizations for your consideration. In our area, each of these organizations is represented by at least one educator. Explore this section, and each organization’s official website, for information and insight on each childbirth education organization. Also, keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list of all childbirth education organizations, so you may also need to research other organizations. Hopefully, this information will allow you to choose the most appropriate childbirth class for you and your family.
Birthing from Within
Birthing from Within (BFW) is a philosophy of childbirth preparation that was developed by midwife Pam England for her own classes in New Mexico. These classes are described as “extra-ordinary,” and include many unexpected and surprising turns, designed to help you prepare for the unexpected in childbirth and parenting. BFW calls its facilitators “mentors,” rather than educators, believing that they assist parents in discovering the knowledge that already exists within themselves.
Key elements of BFW philosophy include (excerpted from the Birthing from Within website):
- “Birthing From Within Mentors believe that childbirth is a profound rite of passage, not a medical event (even when medical care is part of the birth).
- We teach parents the power of birthing-in-awareness, even when their birth experience is not what they had anticipated. We create a safe, nurturing class environment which will invite parents to discover their personal strength and wisdom. We balance practical, useful information with introspective, multi-sensory experiences.
- We teach about birth from four perspectives: mother, father, baby and culture.
- We help parents build a pain-coping mindset so they may fully participate in birth’s rite of passage.
- We know that Birthing From Within classes are not the end, but the beginning, of a parent’s journey.”
BFW classes differ from many other childbirth classes in their emphasis on the parent’s journey of self-discovery and lack of emphasis on teaching obstetrical information. These classes may include making “birth art” and teach a wide variety of mindfulness-based pain coping techniques. This method of birth preparation is not “outcome-focused,” meaning that the goal of the class is not to promote any particular way of giving birth.
According to the BFW website,
“Highlights of What You Will Learn:
- Create a birth space (wherever you are) that will help you open in labor
- Build a pain-coping mindset through proven concentration and mindfulness practices
- Embrace the wise and compassionate use of drugs and epidurals
- “Lose it” in labor
- Push your baby out
- Welcome your new baby
- Feed and care for your newborn
- Prepare for a gentle and mindful transition to parenthood
- Reclaim the spirituality of birth”
Birthing from Within classes are typically six weeks long, meeting for a total of twelve hours.
For more information, visit Birthing From Within
BirthWorks
According to the BirthWorks website, “Birth Works® embodies the philosophy of developing a woman’s self confidence, trust and faith in her ability to give birth. It is the goal of our Childbirth classes and Childbirth Educator Certification Program to promote safe and loving birth experiences through education, introspection and confident action.”
BirthWorks considers itself a “process, not a method,” and is typically offered as a 10-week series of classes, which couples are encouraged to take early in their pregnancy, or even before they become pregnant.
BirthWorks Philosophy (reprinted from www.birthworks.com)
- Women’s bodies are designed to give birth. The knowledge about how to give birth already exists inside every woman.
- A woman will labor the best where ever she feels the safest and most secure. For some that may be a hospital. For others it may mean at home or in an alternative birthing center.
- The nutrition of a pregnant woman has a great impact on the health of her baby from its life as a fetus through adulthood.
- Breastmilk provides optimum nutrition for the newborn baby.
- Birth is one of the greatest challenges life has to offer. It provides an opportunity for personal growth.
- While a cesarean may be necessary at times, the current rate is too high. In most cases, VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) is a safer alternative to routine repeat cesareans.
- Birth Works® is a process, not a method.
- Birth Works® seeks to facilitate a woman’s or a couple’s personal process in childbearing, and not to impart a preconceived method of labor and birth. There is no one right way to give birth. Each birth is unique.
- A woman in labor deserves an environment in which her privacy, autonomy and emotional security is protected, and her mobility is encouraged.
- Expectant parents should participate in decisions regarding the judicious use of obstetrical medications and procedures.
- A woman’s beliefs influence her birth. Exploring beliefs heightens self-awareness, serving as a catalyst for positive change.
- The emotions of a birthing woman have profound effects on the birth outcome.
- Women must be allowed to express all their birth related feelings.
Classes typically include the following topics:
- Beliefs and attitudes about pregnancy, birth & postpartum
- The safety of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
- Healing past emotional pain in preparation for birth
- Physical and emotional aspects of labor and birth
- The importance of nutrition, exercise and pelvic body work
- Developing confidence in decision-making skills
- How to take more responsibility for birth
- Choosing a birth team and writing a birth plan
- Physical and psychological interventions in birth
- Factors which influence the safety of birth
- Current information about risks and benefits of medical interventions
- Ways to avoid unnecessary cesareans
- Your personal strengths and resources for birth
- Human values training and character development
- Trusting our bodies and the energy of the birth process
- Personal support and comfort measures for labor and birth
- Discussion of post partum care, breastfeeding and infant nutrition
For more information, visit BirthWorks
The Bradley Method
The Bradley Method, also referred to as “Husband-Coached Childbirth,” focuses on preparing women to give birth without any medication. These classes are quite long, lasting for twelve weeks beginning in the fifth month of pregnancy, and are kept small to allow for individual attention. The Bradley Method emphasizes the importance of relaxation and deep abdominal breathing as the key to coping with labor. The role of the husband as birth partner is stressed, and much of the class is devoted to preparing him for actively supporting the laboring woman. In addition, the classes devote a lot of time to proper nutrition, exercise for birth fitness, and avoiding medical interventions.
According to the website, the course content is as follows:
- Class 1: Introduction to The Bradley Method
- Class 2: Nutrition in Pregnancy
- Class 3: Pregnancy
- Class 4: The Coach’s Role
- Class 5: Introduction to First Stage Labor
- Class 6: Introduction to Second Stage Labor
- Class 7: Planning Your Birth
- Class 8: Variations and Complications/ Postpartum Preparation
- Class 9: Advanced First Stage Techniques
- Class 10: Advanced Second Stage Techniques
- Class 11: Being a Great Coach/ Are You Ready?
- Class 12: Preparing for Your New Family
For more information, visit Bradley Birth
Hypnobabies
The Hypnobabies objective is to help couples to overcome any fears or negativity they may have pertaining to birth, so that they can give birth to their babies without the need for drugs by using self-hypnosis pain elimination skills.
According to Susan McClutchey, a local Hypnobabies instructor, “Couples don’t need to believe in their ability to achieve a truly comfortable birth at the start of the class, they simply need to be open to the possibility and willing to learn how to achieve it.” Hypnobabies teaches the same medical hypnosis techniques used by people who undergo surgery without any anesthetic besides hypnosis. The technique, as taught by Hypnobabies, is called “Eyes Open” childbirth hypnosis because it seeks to keep moms completely awake and fully mobile, while still deeply in hypnosis.
As McClutchey writes, “Hypnobabies allows mothers to experience all the power of birthing without the discomfort commonly associated with unmedicated childbirth.” In addition to hypnosis instruction, Hypnobabies classes also include the following topics:
- the physiology and stages of birthing,
- prenatal nutrition and exercises,
- staying healthy and low-risk,
- optimal fetal positioning,
- minimizing or avoiding perineal tearing,
- birthing positions and methods to facilitate a faster, more comfortable birth at all stages
- consumer issues and options for birthing,
- working with your caregiver to achieve the birth you want,
- releasing fears surrounding pregnancy, birth or parenting, and
- bonding with your baby even before the birth.
Hypnobabies class sessions are 5 weeks long, with one 3-hour class each week. Students also practice their hypnosis skills between class sessions, and continue to practice daily until their child arrives.
Although women without a birth partner can use the program very successfully, it is designed to be most effective with the help of a fully trained birth partner. The sessions prepare birth partners to play an important role in the births of their babies using hypnosis. Together, couples learn how and why hypnosis works during birthing, and how to create natural anesthesia using “only” the power of their own minds. They also participate in a full birth rehearsal practice session so they can really see their skills in action, and know just how to use them when the big day comes. Hypnobabies couples tend to find that the hypnosis practice leads to more restful sleep, a more comfortable pregnancy, and helps them to look forward to their birth with confident joy and not trepidation.
To insure that Hypnobabies couples receive only the best instruction, prospective instructors are required to be experienced in childbirth and hypnosis before becoming eligible to train as a certified Hypnobabies instructor.
For more information, visit Hypnobabies
ICEA
The International Childbirth Education Association’s philosophy is “Freedom of Choice based on knowledge of alternatives in family-centered maternity and newborn care.” ICEA philosophy-based courses are comprehensive and may be taught over several weeks, as weekend intensives, or as private in-home courses. ICEA emphasizes thorough, up-to-date, and evidence-based education and subsequent respect for the consumer's decisions and preferences during labor and birth. Alternatives to medical intervention must be explored along with the benefits and risks of medical intervention.
This philosophy (and any philosophy not centered around achieving a particular birth outcome) is supported by a systematic review on the relationship between the use of labor analgesia (epidurals and narcotics) and maternal satisfaction, which concluded that pain relief does not play a major role in overall maternal satisfaction with the childbirth experience. Factors associated with increased maternal satisfaction were the quality of the relationship with the caregiver (does your caregiver support and respect you?) and the amount of participation by the expectant woman in decision-making during labor and delivery. Maternal dissatisfaction with birth is a risk factor for breastfeeding and bonding problems and postpartum depression.
ICEA courses should, at a minimum, include the following topics:
- Normal physiological and emotional patterns of pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum
- Common variations on these usual patterns
- Labor coping skills
- Maternal and infant nutrition, including breastfeeding
- Common medical interventions and procedures during labor and birth, and their alternatives
Also, advocacy of the following concepts should be evident:
- The pregnant patients rights and responsibilities for making informed choices
- Legal rights and informed consent
- Effective communication and negotiation with other members of the health care circle
- Breastfeeding as the preferred means of promoting infant nutrition
- Promotion of pregnancy and birth as a significant and life changing event
- Parent-infant bonding
- Avoidance of routine medical intervention, with the use of evidence-based medical treatment should complications arise.
For more information, visit ICEA
Lamaze
Many people associate the word “lamaze” with any childbirth education class, but Lamaze International is actually just one of many organizations providing childbirth education. Today’s Lamaze classes are quite different from the ones of a generation ago, which focused upon various methods of breathing and relaxation. Today’s Lamaze education celebrates a philosophy that birth is normal, natural, and healthy and, with knowledge and skills, women can birth with confidence and joy.
The Lamaze Philosophy of Birth
- Birth is normal, natural, and healthy.
- The experience of birth profoundly affects women and their families.
- Women’s inner wisdom guides them through birth.
- Women’s confidence and ability to give birth is either enhanced or diminished by the care provider and place of birth.
- Women have the right to give birth free from routine medical interventions.
- Birth can safely take place in birth centers and homes.
- Childbirth education empowers women to make informed choices in health care, to assume responsibility for their health and to trust their inner wisdom.
What is covered in Lamaze classes?
- Normal labor, birth and early postpartum
- Positioning to facilitate the normal progress of labor and birth
- Massage techniques to ease the pain of labor and to enhance relaxation
- Comfort measures, such as hydrotherapy, the use of heat, cold and pressure
- Relaxation skills to use during labor and after pregnancy to relieve stress
- Labor support advice for the partner and the professional doula
- Communication skills between the pregnant woman and her partner, and with members of the healthcare team
- Problems that could occur during labor and birth
- Guidance for the pregnant woman to make informed decisions about anesthesia and medical procedures
- Breastfeeding and the early postpartum period
- Healthy lifestyles for pregnancy and postpartum period
The Lamaze-certified childbirth educator credential (LCCE) identifies an educator who has passed a rigorous examination in childbirth education and who supports the Lamaze Philosophy of Birth.
For more information, visit Lamaze