Saturday, November 16, 2013

on becoming a childbirth educator

After the birth of my first son, Jay, in 2004 I was hooked on natural childbirth.  I loved giving birth to my sweet little man.  It was hard work and worth every minute of it.  It was a relatively short labor for a first time mom, 11 1/2 hours.  I had a very supportive birth team made up of my midwife, her assistant who literally held my hand for hours helping me relax and, of course, my wonderful husband.  I remember thinking as my due date got closer that this was going to be the hardest work of my life and I felt confident that I could do it.  I never doubted myself.  I am lucky to have come from a family and married into a family where birth is normal.  Doubts were never put into my head of whether or not my body could birth my baby.  I only heard stories of joy and acceptance of the process.  Sure I was told it hurt but never that it was something to fear or medicate.  We took classes and prepared as much as we could for the event and it was the most awesome thing I have ever done, giving birth.   Hunter was then born in 2006 and Tyler in 2008.  I had my life-long friend, Rachelle, who is a doula attend Tyler's birth and I found that having a doula, even at a home birth, was the best thing ever!  She was great!  She knew when and where to rub before I even asked, she had oils ready when I felt sick or having a rough time through transition.  It was a great birth.  It was then I really started thinking about wanting to get involved in the birth community.  I wanted to be a doula but I knew that it was not a good time in my family with three little ones to try to pursue it.  I was lucky and able to attend my sister's birth and two of Rachelle's.  The fire burned deep inside as I saw these strong, capable women birth their babies and I loved it!  In 2011 I was pregnant with my 4th baby at the same time a friend was pregnant with her 1st baby.  She was traveling about 45 minutes away to take a childbirth class because our little town does not offer anything but a hospital class.  This got me thinking.  I love birth.  I love sharing what I know and my own experiences.  I should become a childbirth educator!  So I did in 2012.  Along the way I learned about Birth Boot Camp and am currently studying to switch "camps" and become a BBC instructor in Spring 2014.  I am so excited about teaching.  I just love being part of a couple's journey to becoming a family.  I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity to teach and impact women's births and their lives forever.  But really, it doesn't have anything to do with me, it has to do with women, their husbands, and their babies, they deserve the best start in life.  Each woman matters and their birth matters.