Teaching Active Birth ©

Module 4: a 2 day intensive with Janet Balaskas

Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st October 2010

Registration 9.00am
9.30am - 5.00pm on both days
Cost: £295

Active Birth can be taught as a stand alone workshop, or as part of a birth education class or course. This course will provide plenty of practical skills for either possibility. Active Birth teaching effectively empowers women and their partners for natural birthing in a way that is practical, popular and good fun.

If you are planning to teach Active Birth as a workshop or as part of an existing course

You will learn about how to structure sessions and make good use of teaching aids such as a pelvis and doll and practical sessions, to demonstrate the benefits and physiology of the birth process.

For midwives and doulas
The course is also invaluable for midwives who teach parentcraft, trained birth educators, doulas, or midwives seeking to improve their clinical experience. There will be a section of the course dedicated to reviewing your practise with other midwives in the group. A certificate of attendance will be awarded.

In some cases experienced participants can apply to take this module instead of Module 1 when undertaking our full training to be a certified Associate of the Active Birth Centre. This course is only for qualified birth professionals. It is essential to include brief information about your training and current work with your application.

More about the course:
The powerhouse of instinct and the genetic blueprint for birthing is millions of generations old and universal. During the two days of this course you will learn how to awaken this inner source of power in pregnant women by teaching and learning from the intelligence of the body.
You will learn how to provide women with the key to successful birthing and learn about the latest discoveries in birth physiology. This is about embodied learning with a pragmatic approach and is not an academic course (which is why it works!).

You will be learning how to demonstrate the physiology of birth and the common sense and logic of this approach to women and their partners in a clear, simple and practical way. This will empower them to diminish disturbing outside influences and learn how surrender to the involuntary and instinctive nature of the birth process.

In particular, common misunderstandings about instinctual postures, movements, release of sound and spontaneous breathing in the second stage will be explained. Janet will demonstrate her unique way of guiding women to work with and surrender to the power of the uterus when giving birth.

The workshop ends with facilitating the all important physiological responses in the first hour after birth when first contact between mother and baby leads to the expulsion of the placenta.

Discovering the principles of an Active Birth will enable your clients to have greater confidence and trust in their bodies and therefore to be actively in charge during labour and birth.

The course will include:

• Practical skills for teaching birth physiology and anatomy

• Using teaching aids for Active Birth

• Hormones and the environment for birth

• Learning the shapes, movements and sounds of labour and birth
 
• The involuntary nature of second stage  - exploring the birth reflex
 
• Issues of squatting and optimal birth positions - challenging common misunderstandings

• The all important interactions between mother and baby in the first hour after birth

• Working with couples

• Leading exciting groups - the dynamic of one to many

What people say about “Teaching Active Birth”

“The course was really helpful. I plan to incorporate the new teaching skills and insights we learnt into my birth preparation classes.”

“The emphasis on ‘body learning’ was great.”

“Really invigorating, showing an alternative slant on teaching preparation for birth that is truly inspiring.”

“A very enjoyable 2 day workshop - pitched at the right level and sufficiently diverse to stay interesting all the time.”

“Nothing was missing from this workshop. It has been fantastic. You are an inspiration Janet and I enjoyed every minute.”

“This course has given me confidence and clarity about the birth process and skills to get the continuum of it all across to couples.”

“This has taught me how to get down on the floor and demonstrate the ‘logic’ of natural birth, rather than switching people off by being too evangelical.”

“I feel much clearer about how to present the information and excited too about how this work makes a difference to peoples’ lives.”

“These 2 days have clarified and confirmed my intuition that women don’t need ‘head’ knowledge, rather bodily understanding of how birth happens.”

“This course has inspired me to teach couples without conforming to traditional teaching methods.”

“I learned how to engage students in practical ways of ‘active’ learning and group participation.”

“I loved the course. The atmosphere, the venue and the participants. It is reassuring to be in a place that is here to promote normal birth.”

“I especially liked the tips about using visual and sound imagery to get the reality of being at a birth through to male partners.”

“The course has made the haystack of information into a manageable bundle.”

“Very thorough and informative on how to structure classes for couples.”

“I was given a deeper understanding as well as a new vocabulary to express and communicate Active Birth principles.”

To book this course:

This course is at post graduate level and is only for birth professionals.
Booking should be made online. Click this link to book BOOK ONLINE
Queries by mail only to:
jbbookings@activebirthcentre.com

© The title and content of this professional training are copyright to Janet Balaskas who originated the workshop and coined the phrase 'Active Birth', and are not available for use by other professional trainings.