"I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." -Ancient Chinese Proverb
I spent the past weekend attending an intense childbirth educator training. Through discussion and interaction within the group, I learned a great deal about birth and discovered a bundle of fun and enticing teaching tools. Now that I am creating my own childbirth classes, I am enjoying the process of deciding not only what to teach but also how to teach. Instead of telling and telling and telling some more, I love figuring out how I can get the class out of their seats, learning through doing. I also hope to instill within women the confidence necessary to trust their bodies as well as their intuition. I remember a moment during my labor when I couldn't seem to progress further. I felt stuck (or rather, my son felt stuck). A few ideas were given to me, but I didn't like any of them, and when I did what my body told me to do, I progressed, and my son was born shortly thereafter. That was not something I learned in my childbirth class, but by emphasizing our natural ability to give birth, women will learn to feel confident enough to understand and to follow what their bodies are telling them. Within our culture, it is hard to believe in our bodies. Apart from how "sexy" women are supposed to be, our bodies don't get much attention. Instead, the focus is on how we can "help" our bodies along. In reality, in most cases, we don't need any help when it comes to birth. But we still have to learn, understand, and believe that to be true.
I hope that my classes enable women and their partners to discover the ideas and techniques that will help them to have their best birth. I hope that my clients will leave with greater confidence and understanding - in birth and in themselves.
