How It Went

Remember how I was going to become an Informed Beginnings birth educator?  Well, I took the plunge and I'm so glad I did!  

In Chicago I participated in the very first Informed Beginnings New Educators Training and it was incredible!  We met in the cutest mama/baby shop and it was super cozy and inviting.  

They had all kinds of neat wraps and cloth diapers, etc.

But that was all just the icing on the cake.  What was really awesome was this group of 4 other ladies who are also becoming birth educators (2 of which were also already doulas)

And Deb, our incredibly fun and EXTREMELY experienced and knowledgable instructor!    She has taught a comprehensive birth course over 80 times to couples looking to be informed about birth.  She SO generously passed onto us 3 packed days worth of her personal tips, tricks, advice, as well as tons of education and facts so that we can also each teach couples about birth.  

The course that she has taught, and we will all be certified to teach, is not a wimpy course by any means!  It is for couples serious about learning about their options and making the best choices for themselves for pregnancy, birth, nursing, newborn care, and more.  It is seriously, really, really great stuff!  The standard course I will be certified to give is 24 hours!  (But it can be customized to meet a couple's individual needs)

There were all kinds of neat demos, like how to teach couples massage techniques for pregnancy and labor, techniques for relief of back pain during labor, demonstrations of different positions that can be used to adjust baby's position during labor (like the one below), and much, much more.

We also learned how to: put together a course, games and activities, how to help a mom learn to nurse, how to help couples with communication, etc

But these three days were just the tip of the iceberg in our training.  The real work is still ahead and I plan to focus on it while we're in Ohio.  I have to read a bunch of books and write reports on them, observe a birth course, breastfeeding course, and nursing support group, complete a VERY long and involved study guide, visit 2 hospitals, complete various exercises, prepare a detailed course outline, and hopefully observe a birth.  Then, I need to also teach my first rounds of my course, which could be done here or in Brazil.

Since coming to Coshocton 2 1/2 weeks ago I'm so excited to see the many awesome doors that have opened up for me to not just get these requirements done, but to get involved in the community.  I contacted the woman who teaches birth classes at the local hospital and she has been SO nice and helpful!  I will get to observe her classes and she also put me in contact with a midwife and we'll see where that leads!  There is also going to be a community baby shower and she asked me to share a little about the situation in Brazil so I will not only get to attend, but also speak!  How neat!  

I can see already how God is guiding me through this process to complete my certification and, more importantly, to grow and learn in this area.  I have NO IDEA what this is all going to look like in Brazil ministry wise, but I'm taking a step of faith and I can't wait to find out!  I can't wait to see what women God is going to bring into my life to build relationships with during this important time in their lives.