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Childbirth Education
I integrate personalized childbirth education classes into my prenatal visits. The following are some of the topics we may cover:
• Basic anatomy & physiology for birth
• Transformative aspects of pregnancy: focusing on emotional as well as physical changes.
• Comfort Measures for Common Complaints
• Wise Nutrition for Pregnancy
• Normal Baby Growth Patterns
• Personal Responsibility and Decision Making: Making informed choices, including the birth setting, midwife or doctor care, birth assistants, and natural childbirth
• Process of Birth: Focusing on how the baby is born and how the mother and her birth team can work with the process for an easier labor and delivery. We teach about birth as a mother/baby centered process, with tools for all members of the birth team, including breathing and relaxation, variation in birth position, vocalization, and sensitive support.
• Creating Your Birth: parents learn what they can do to improve the chances of having the birth they want. Parents will create their own birth plans.
• Signs of Impending Labor
• Breathing & Relaxation
• Phases & Stages of Labor
• Birth Videos
• Role Playing
• Difficult Births: Discussion of the "scary" aspects of birth, including fear of pain and death. We contrast "variations of normal" with true medical crises. Parents learn useful problem-solving tools to overcome fear-based biases. We explore avoiding the complications that might beset a pregnant woman who has suffered past personal trauma.
• Positive visualization for birth
• Homebirth Supplies for Land or Water Birth
• Non-Emergency and Emergency Back-up Plans
• Postpartum Care
• Breastfeeding
• Newborn care
• Community Building and Support System
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