Home and Birth
Center Childbirth Education Series
These classes are taught
by: Penny Simkin or one of her teaching partners: Sandy Szalay
or April Bolding
Fee: $200 per
couple. $30 non-refundable deposit at time of
registration, with balance due on the first night of
class.
Reading Materials:
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn; The Birth
Partner; and handouts (Both books are included with
the class fee)
(A video of an out of
hospital birth or another relevant topic will be shown
at most classes)
Schedule of Class
Dates
To sign up, call (206)
325-1419 or e-mail us at
info@pennysimkin.com
Class 1
- Introductions: Names
and other information
- Discussion: Long
term impact of the birth experience on a woman and
family
- Decisions to make:
Baby’s doctor; Water birth; Choice of support team
(family, friends, doula); infant feeding, etc.
- Review of anatomy
- The 3 Rs of coping
with childbirth stress: Relaxation, Rhythm, and
Ritual
- Comfort Measures:
Conditioning exercises: Relaxation; slow breathing
Class 2
- The events of late
pregnancy leading to birth: for mother, fetus, and
placenta
- Prematurity (the
“unfinished pregnancy”)
- How to know when
you’re in labor: the signs to look for
- What happens during
labor: the stages of labor
- Comfort Measures:
More on relaxation (partner’s role) and slow
breathing; intro to light breathing for relaxation
and for mastery.
Class 3
- The emotions of
labor, the emotional needs of the woman, and how the
partner and others can meet her needs.
- Prenatal perineal
massage to reduce the chance of a tear at birth.
- Comfort Measures:
More on relaxation; massage; light breathing;
positions and movements for labor; visualizations.
Class 4
- Emotions of labor
(cont.)
- Transfer to the
hospital: reasons and what to expect
- Medical
interventions: induction of labor; electronic fetal
monitoring; intravenous fluids and medications
(epidural); vacuum extractor, forceps; cesarean
delivery.
- Setting priorities
for care. Bottom line: Healthy Mother and Baby
- Comfort Measures:
Back labor techniques; techniques and positions for
pushing
Class 5
- Transfer to the
hospital (cont.)
- Postpartum
adjustment
- Comfort Measures:
Review of all learned comfort measures and labor
progress techniques
Class 6
- The newborn and
breastfeeding
- Role play/rehearsal
of all labor techniques in a simulated labor
Reunion
(Scheduled after all
babies are born)
- Potluck meal
- Birth stories
- Group picture of all
babies and families
|
The Birth Partner, 3rd Edition
A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and Other Labor
Companions
 The
definitive guide to helping a woman have a healthy and
emotionally fulfilling childbirth experience. The third
edition includes all the information that husbands, partners,
relatives, friends, and doulas have relied on for nearly two
decades and has been updated to include:
-Expanded information on "the 3Rs" (Relaxation, Rhythm, and
Ritual) for coping with the pain and unpredictability of labor;
-Non-drug techniques to relieve pain and
enhance the woman's sense of well-being;
-Up-to-date information on medications, tests,
technologies, and interventions, and how, when, and why they are
used;
-Information about the rapidly
increasing rate of both first and repeat cesarean deliveries;
-More about the growing popularity of
doulas, and the increasing presence of other partners and supporters
in the birth room. |
