THE EBOOK IS FINISHED!
There’s another ebook in the works: Childbirth in a Nutshell. And a new film, too!
I’ve been loving my work as a childbirth educator in Northampton and also in the women’s jail. I’ve been going to lots of births as a doula, and learning so much every time! For example, one mom was really not hearing that “everything is okay, you’re safe, you’re doing great.” I went out on a limb and told her, “Look at me. If anything scary really does happen, I WILL TELL YOU. I promise.” I felt pretty bold saying that, but I’m glad I did, because she finally relaxed into the groove. Everything shifted. We worked together as a team with her wonderful family, and she had the VBAC she really wanted. Now, it’s entirely possible that that magic moment was also the instant that her epidural kicked in, and I deserve zero credit. I’ll have to ask her!
NEW CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR TRAINING COMING IN THE SUMMER!
“Childbirth Education Essentials” workshop in Northampton, MA USA, SUMMER 2013
This unique, intimate one-day workshop for childbirth professionals and students explores what expectant parents and their educators REALLY need to know about pregnancy, birth, cultural/media influences, fear-busting, baby-bonding, and raising healthy happy kids. It’s an immersion in skill-building: teaching experientially, tailoring classes to specific populations, encouraging parents to cultivate deep responsibility, resisting commercial co-optation, and transforming institutions. $150.
Participants may choose to complete the “Start Teaching” packet ($100, available at the workshop) to become Certified Childbirth Educators. This is a very thorough but quick and inexpensive path to certification. CEE is a small, grassroots program, and our CBE’s are encouraged to also explore larger organizations with more infrastructure.
The CEE workshop is offered in Massachusetts and California regularly, and around the world as requested.
Childbirth anthropologist Vicki Elson, MA, CCE, CD has been a doula and childbirth educator in her diverse community for 28 years. For the past 19 years, she has been training childbirth educators for ALACE (Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators), Seattle Midwifery School, the Prison Birth Project, and the Massachusetts Midwives’ Alliance. Her award-winning film, “Laboring Under An Illusion: Mass Media Childbirth vs. The Real Thing” is shown in classrooms, community centers, conferences, and living rooms around the world. Her second film, with the working title “What REALLY Works For Childbirth” is currently in production.
The intense experience of childbirth has the potential to change lives. Vicki believes that gathering with neighbors in a live class is much more helpful than learning about birth from the internet or TV. She is concerned about overuse of obstetrical interventions in some places, and about lack of access to needed interventions in others. She is enthusiastic about distributing useful and accurate information AND easing information overload. Her mission is to prevent trauma, cultivate love, empower women and parents, and have more fun.
More information can be found here at www.birth-media.com.
Vicki Elson, MA, CCE
www.birth-media.com