My experience of being a Doula during COVID-19. Part 4: Teaching in-person Childbirth Education
I’ve been teaching in-person childbirth education at the hospital where I work since July. Our department quickly decided that with the right precautions in place in-person education was a safe option and that for some expectant parents it was the best option.
Education can be the key to a better outcome for mom and baby, and we wanted Childbirth Education to be accessable to all expectant parents. The response has been overwhelmingly positive; moms who have spent most of their pregnancy without the emotional support of family and friends are relieved to suddenly be with other expecting mothers who have been going through the same experiences, and dad’s who have not be able to go to doctors appointments are so thankful to be invited into this space and are eagerly soaking up all the information they can.
After my last class I sat in my car for a few minutes processing all the gratitude that the parents had expressed to me. The fathers had been particularly thankful, coming up to me after class and telling me that they finally feel involved in the pregnancy and like they have the skills to support their partner. During class the dads were eagerly raising their hands to answer questions and I noticed most of them were taking notes. This is not the norm. In a normal class most dad’s can often seem a little less interested (there’s always exceptions) and I have to work hard to get them involved in the conversation. But in all the classes I’ve taught during COVID dads are eager to be involved. I’ve learned a lot since July; how to design my classes so that they are still interactive but also allow for social distancing at all times, I’ve had to do extra research on COVID and pregnancy so that I am prepared to answer any questions that parents may have, and I’ve learned that these classes need extra space and time for parents to just connect with each other and discuss their unique and shared experience of being pregnant during 2020.
On my drive home from my last class I started thinking about offering group in-person education classes through my business. I tried to ignore the thought; I am busy enough and I was honestly nervous about organizing a class on my own right now. But the more I thought about the positive impact these classes had on my students the more I realized that I needed to take the leap to safely offer In-Person Childbirth Education to my community. I am very happy and proud to announce that I will be offering an Empowered Childbirth Education all day Workshop at Lily Montessori in Belmar on Sunday Nov 29 from 9-4pm. Space is extremely limited so if you are interested in attending please visit . Please email any questions to philomenabirth@gmail.com
