From the WBWC Blog:

Childbirth Classes

This time…A Refresher Childbirth Education Class at WBWC

Davenne Essif (ICEA-trained Childbirth Educator) is excited to be offering a new refresher birth class at the birth center, starting in August. This class is ideal for couples expecting their second or subsequent child and planning for a low-intervention birth. We will review the many topics covered in first-time birth classes as well as explore a range of comfort measures, breath and mindfulness practices, and relaxation exercises to help boost your physical and emotional well-being during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Parents will be encouraged to share their past birth experiences as well as their hopes for this new birth, and each class will be tailored to participants’ needs, expectations, and interests. The next class will be held Sunday, August 18th, 4:30-7:30pm $75 per mom/couple To register, contact Davenne: (423) 486-5339 or joyfulmamasnc@gmail.com The possible class outline includes: What was your last birth like? What are your hopes for this new birth? Rhythm, Ritual, Relaxation Comfort Measures During Pregnancy Massage Techniques Overview of Labor (Stages and Phases) Trust and Safety Signs It’s Time to Head to Your Birthing Place Intensity Practice Interventions and Choices Possible Challenges of Labor and Possible Solutions Movement in Birth and Pushing Positions Review of Newborn Signs and Signals (based on H.U.G. Your Baby®) Postpartum Comfort Measures and Breastfeeding Sibling Prep Davenne holds a Ph.D. in art history from UNC where her research explored visual cultural constructions of modern motherhood. When she herself became a mother in 2017, she knew she wanted to join other birth professionals in the Triangle, supporting parents in our community as they navigate the transformative events of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Davenne has trained with the International Childbirth Education Association, Calm Birth®, and Hypnobabies® Chilbirth Hypnosis and is working on her certification with H.U.G. Your Baby® and the ICEA doula-training program.

The Power of Calm Birth® and Calm Mother®

by Joanne Dahill CD(DONA) LMBT and Davenne Essif CBE (ICEA-trained) & Doula trainee (ICEA) Next class meets Sunday, August 25, 12:30-6:00 PM To register, contact Joanne: Phone: (919) 698-9110Email: journeyofmotherhood@gmail.com A steady sense of peace may be difficult to find during pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. Rather than connecting to one’s own inner resources and inherent strength, moms, dads, and partners may find themselves struggling with feelings of fear, doubt, and uncertainty. This is the reason birth professionals Joanne Dahill and Davenne Essif are excited to offer Calm Birth Prenatal Meditation for Conscious Childbirth at WBWC. While acknowledging fear and stress as a normal part of life, the empowering mind-body practices taught in Calm Birth, and its postpartum counterpart Calm Mother, help moms and their partners move through and past these negative emotions, transforming suffering into ease and harmony. Progressive muscle relaxation, energy breath, and healing breath come together to form a very powerful set of tools for expectant, birthing, and new parents. Calm Birth student, WBWC client, Katherine Rowe shares, “At some point…I found myself enjoying the simplicity and deep significance of Calm Birth. Womb Breathing brings me into my own body and into the present moment. I used it a lot in the early phase. I had 2 long nights of regular but not extremely strong contractions. They were intense enough to need something to help me through them, but I knew I was not yet in active labor. I used Womb Breathing for strength and endurance.” The three central practices of Calm Birth—The Practice of Opening, Womb Breathing, and Giving and Receiving—each have a unique focus, respectively guiding moms and partners to relax their muscles and release tension, to breathe in vital energy for themselves and their babies, and to transform negative feelings, energy, and other kinds of suffering into peace and healing. Each of these practices combines ancient meditation wisdom with successful mind-body methods developed at the Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. If you have the opportunity to take a class with Joanne or Davenne, you will learn to connect with yourself, your partner, and your baby as you deepen your sense of awareness, your connection with your breath, your ability to return to or remain calm, and your innate capacity for healing self and others. Reflecting on his experience, dad M.W. remembers that the healing practice of Giving and Receiving gave … Read More

New Class For WBWC Parents-To-Be

We are thrilled to be offering a new class for WBWC families having their first baby or first birth center birth! Great Expectations: Preparing for Your Birth Center Birth will cover topics including birth center routines, normal variations of labor, how to prepare at home, what to do in early labor, and more! The class is taught by 2 WBWC nurses who are also WBWC moms. There will be birth stories from WBWC parents, discussion, and plenty of time to get all your questions answered! First class: June 9, 4-6 PM in the Living Room (3rd Floor) Cost: $10/couple (free with Medicaid or Tricare) Class will be offered the 2nd Sunday of every month Register at https://ncbirthcenter.org/classes/register/ *This is a supplement to a childbirth course, NOT a comprehensive birthing class*

Do You Still Need Childbirth Classes in 2018?

by Nancy Albrecht, RN, BSN, MA On Sunday, March 11, Maureen Darcey and I and 200 other family, friends, and associates in the birth community gathered to honor the life of Svea Oster. She was a doula, home birth attendant, childbirth educator, and fierce advocate for maternal-child health for over 40 years. At the Celebration, many women and men spoke about the impact on their lives of their childbirth class experience with Svea. She gave them insight into birthing and parenting and a support network that many still rely upon today. I took Svea’s class 30 years ago with my fourth child, even though my husband and I had taken Lamaze classes three other times and I was a childbirth educator myself. I wasn’t sure I had much to learn, but she helped me turn inward to fully nurture that baby and that birth. Maureen and her husband took childbirth classes with each of their three babies, even though she was a midwife and they had both trained as Bradley childbirth educators; her husband wanted to connect with other dads. My husband became more excited and interested in the experience during Svea’s class. Peter says, “Svea was serenely confident in every woman’s ability to birth a healthy baby safely, with little or no intervention.” A childbirth educator with that kind of confidence inspires all the parents in the class with invaluable lessons and creates lasting bonds between families. Childbirth education in the United States developed in the 1970’s as a grassroots movement to give parents the knowledge and support they needed to be active participants in giving birth rather than being delivered by doctors. “The movement grew out of the realization that you didn’t have to be zonked out on drugs during labor, and that you could have someone you love in the delivery room with you,” says Henci Goer, a Lamaze International resident expert and the author of several books on childbirth.1 In 2012, according to the Listening to Mothers Survey III, 59 percent of first-time mothers took some type of childbirth class. Alternatively, 97 percent of all mothers used the Internet as a primary source, with up to 60 percent considering pregnancy and childbirth websites to be “very important sources”.2 More parents now rely on the Internet than a certified childbirth educator to learn about pregnancy and birth. Parents may feel that childbirth classes take too much time … Read More