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helping parents relax and follow their own path
from pregnancy to grandparenting
Home birth & water birth
training
Is this you?
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Do you want to support parents-to-be, and give them information about their birth choices?
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Perhaps you are a doula, pregnancy yoga teacher, hypnobirthing teacher, or antenatal teacher, or would like to be?
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Do you feel a lack of knowledge or confidence when talking to your clients about home birth and/or water birth, especially if they have complicating factors? Or feel you might be out of date?
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Does the idea of home birth, or water birth, freak you out? Perhaps you don’t have experience yourself of home birth or water birth?
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Or maybe you love home birth and/or water birth, and want to spread the word?
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Would you like to expand your services and earn more money by offering interactive and interesting antenatal activities?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, then this course is for you!
Most antenatal teachers, doulas, pregnancy yoga teachers, hypnobirthing practitioners have not had a home birth or water birth, so it is understandable if you have questions, or lack confidence in talking about this with your clients.
Your training may have covered home birth and water birth, but this training will give you the depth and breadth to answer your clients questions with confidence. When I had doula clients expecting twins I did some specific training on twins. When you are confident and knowledgeable, your credibility and standing grows.
It is especially suitable for people who already run antenatal or postnatal classes who would like to have something else to offer their clients, but also works well for people wanting to start a new business, or want to set up a local home birth group, or pool hire.
Discounts are available if you want to set up a local home birth group, or you volunteer as a lay person on an Maternity Voices Partnership group (MVP), or you are just interested in home birth, but do not have a related business.
Why doesn't the baby drown?
Is home birth safe for first timers?
What pain relief is available?
What are the reasons for transfers from home to hospital?
In an emergency will the midwife puncture the pool?
Can I still have a home birth or water birth if...?
This training will help you answer all these more tricky questions, with confidence.
You can attend the whole day, or just the morning (home birth) or afternoon (waterbirth).
I am an experienced antenatal teacher and doula. I have a particular interest in supporting people planning a vbac, and almost half my doula clients had hbacs (home birth after caesarean).
What does the training cover?
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Safety: look at the research on overall safety of home birth and waterbirth; how we measure safety; safety of baby and woman/birthing person on the day (monitoring, midwives’ equipment, emergencies, transfers).
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Benefits: look at the research comparing outcomes; how home birth/water birth impacts on birth; why people chose home birth/water birth, and what they love about it.
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Practicalities: what parents-to-be need to get ready for a home birth and/or a waterbirth; choosing a pool; setting up/packing away;
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Expectations: how does it feel to give birth at home/in water; how to book; what happens beforehand; what happens on the day; what the midwives do/don’t do; late pregnancy/birth curve balls.
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Complex situations: can I have a home birth/water birth if ..., including common higher risk groups: vbac, GBS, gestational diabetes, big baby, older mum, assisted pregnancy, breech, twins.
What does the training involve?
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Pre course reading.
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Training, in person or online, with experienced doula and antenatal teacher, adult learning facilitator, and parenting practitioner.
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Training is one day; 9.00-4.30. You can also chose to do half a day and do the morning session on home birth 9.00-12.30 or the afternoon session on waterbirth 1.00-4.30.
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Additional option to add on training to run home birth and/or waterbirth workshops for families.
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Follow up support.
Home birth and water birth activities & workshops
This training will give you all the knowledge and confidence you need to discuss home birth and/or waterbirth with your clients.
There is an option to add on self-directed training and downloadable resources to run activities with individual clients or groups as part of your existing services, such as card sorts, quizzes, and discussion prompts, and the structure and resources for standalone home birth and waterbirth workshops antenatal workshops, bringing you additional income, and attracting more clients your way. If they attend the workshop(s) first, they get to know how great you are, and sign up to other services. If they are already doing your classes, then you are giving them more opportunities to work with you.
I have delivered the workshops over several years. They can be done as separate, or combined.
"We attended the home birth workshop run by Cathy and found it informative and relaxed. We went on to have a successful home birth and felt confident doing so."
Waterbirth after fourth-degree tear
This is an article I co-wrote with a doula client and Dianne Garland, for The Practising Midwife magazine. Di is a world expert midwife in waterbirth. We consulted with Dianne to discuss my clients options, after having a fourth degree tear with her first baby. After discussing all the options with Di, and her doctor and midwife, my client had a powerful, and supported, waterbirth at home.
"Being in the warm water allowed my perineum to soften and stretch, encouraging her head to be born slowly. I think the lack of gravity was my saving grace – had I been on land, with gravity pulling baby down, she might have been born a lot quicker and so increased my chance of tearing. I remember thinking even the 'ring of fire' wasn’t that bad, probably because I was in water!’"
Home birth is my jam
Home birth rocks!
I have seen how birth unfolds differently at home, compared to a medical setting. Home birth is amazing for birthing people and babies. It is awesome for fathers and other partners. It is wonderful for midwives.
I have been a doula for over ten years, attending mostly home water births, including some transfers.
I had four out of my five children at home. I used water a pain relief for all of five. I hired a birth pool for two of them, and one was born in the water (pictured above).
I hired out birth pools to local people for a number of years. I have attended water birth training with world expert Dianne Garland, and co-wrote an article with her for The Practising Midwife magazine (on water birth after a previous 4th degree tear).
I have run antenatal classes and specific workshops on home birth, water birth, vbac, hbac, birth skills, pregnancy relaxation, visualisation for birth, and breastfeeding. I have a free online hbac course (home birth after caesarean) which approximately 10 people per month sign up for.
I have almost twenty years of supporting parents-to-be prepare to meet their babies, including running a home birth group, a facing birth again group, sitting on the Maternity Services Liaison Committee (now called Maternity Voices Partnerships) and chairing it for two years. I worked as a Consultant Facilitator for national charity Best Beginnings, delivering training on their app Baby Buddy to midwives, health visitors, and children’s centre staff. I managed a Sure Start children’s centre for over seven years.
Over the years I have supported hundreds of families to plan home births and water births. Home birth is not for everybody, but it is an option worth considering.
