I want to be a Childbirth Educator: ALACE, Birth Works, other?

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Hi Ladies,

I'm an LLL Leader now and would love to go further into the world of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding by becoming a childbirth educator.

I'm just not sure which training to do. I'm in Canada so I was *hoping* to find a Canadian organization, but that's not mandatory. We're not far from the US, so a quick two day trip to do the ALACE or Birth Works workshop is certainly not out of the question.

If you have some personal or professional experience with ALACE, Birth Works or another organization, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks!

[SublimeBirthGirl]

The ALACE CBE training is a homestudy, so you could do it easily. I haven't dont it but I did the ALACE doula workshop and LOVED it. I love the organization and their philosophies, and if I were going to do another CBE certification that's probably the one I'd do.

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Thank you Laura! I would love to doula as well, but with two young children and one family car, it just wouldn't work. It'll have to wait a few years. I am very excited about the prospect of childbirth eduation though. It would fit perfectly with our current lifestyle and it would be a job I could actually love. I'm starting some of the required reading now, while I decide which training to take.

[MamaRabbit]

I'm finishing up the CBE (and doula) certification with CBI (Childbirth International). It's completely distance learning, and I love their philosophy of childbirth education. What I like most is that it emphasizes the importance of teaching skills and communication and not just spitting out birth facts to the clients.

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Wonderful! I hadn't heard of them but I will check out the links.

Keep it coming, ladies!

Thanks!

[GrrlyElizabeth]

Another vote for ALACE

Their program is so thorough, and they have no problem with you modifying it to suit your needs and those of your class population. Their reading list is the most comprehensive I've seen, and the binder of materials is huge. I'm really happy I decided to work with them.

And yeah, their doula workshop truly rocks, when you're ready to go that route.

[nimblemama]

ALACE CBE-in-training here, too!

[Rockies5]

I've completed the ALACE CBE training and have been teaching for almost 2 years. and will be attending one of their workshops (labor assisting) in a few weeks. I like their philosophy, the freedoms I have as one of their teachers, and the access to the company. They are truely GRASS ROOTS!!

[courtenay_e]

'Nother vote for ALACE here. Took the doula training, loved it, and am currently working successfully as a doula. Bought the CBE course at the same time and finally started getting into the meat of it recently. I really like that they give us options about what we can teach, how, and when. They're thorough, make sure you really know your stuff, and then expect that you will amend your cyllabus to meet the needs of the demographic you're teaching. To me, that really speaks of their confidence in their product...that they're willing to set their students free once they've given them the tools.

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

It's wonderful to hear from people who are/have actually taking/taken the trainings! Does anyone have a copy of the ALACE requirements for certification? Their website is very vague in this respect. I e-mailed their head office Thursday of last week and haven't heard back yet...

Also very helpful was this chart on the CBI website. It lists the trainings available and compares them. What a great idea! Now I know what other options are available as well. It compares eight different programs!

At the moment, I'm torn between CBI and ALACE. Both seem very comprehensive and reputable and both are distance programs, although I do kind of like the idea of going to a workshop and meeting people face-to-face. I love how CBI has a website for students and is very interactice. I also love how you correspond with a trainer one-on-one, and how once you're certified, you're certified for life and don't have to pay an annual membership fee. And their sample materials look great. The ALACE site is a little vague about requirements. Can anyone tell me about their Continuing Education Units/requirements?

[nimblemama]

Off the top of my head, here are some of the items for certification. To become "provisionally" certified, you need to finish the first 6 modules in the training manual and pass an exam. After that, you can teach and start getting student evaluations (you need 6 for full certification). Also, to fully certify, you must finish the last module, send in a sample audio/visual recording of you teaching, observe a childbirth class or series, and complete the required reading.
It is a lot of work, but there are no timit constraits. For continuing education all I know is that 8 hours of workshops/classes, etc is required and one student evaluation. If you can't attend any workshops, let the office know and they will work out something.
Annual membership fees do apply, which is kind of nice with how CBI does not require them.

[Rockies5]

Fine! let me dog out that stupidly huge manual and give it a look. ALACE doeas have one on one training. You get a mentor and return and discuss all your work with her. They are grass roots as I said and I'm glad they don't spend a ton on their website, but there are several yahoo lists that are pretty busy and the office by phone and you can get a direct line to your mentor.

Certs:
certification is given when you have completed evals from each module and the final exam
work includes a combinatin of written questions (essay and short answer) and cmpleting certain activities.
after completing mod 7 you can request the final exam (you need a local proctor for this)
a score of 85% is required to pass
you then recieve (if you are paid in full and a current member) your provisional certificate to start teaching

Full certification requires the above and evals from 6 couples whom you have taught. CEUs are also required. (the kids are falling apart so I can't look it up) It's between 6-12 per year and they aren't hard to get.

I'd call the office (number on their site) to double check and clairfy these, as I know they just updated everything AFTER I started training.

the hardest part was finding study time

[doulamichelle]

ICEA is international. Go to www.ICEA.org There should be information on certification on the web site michelle

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Thanks so much, Rockies5 (and others!).

Quick question. Do you need to write book reports with ALACE? I just finished The VBAC Companion (trying to read ahead) and I would like to write the report while it's still fresh. I don't know how long it needs to be or what it is they want to know. Thanks!

[brandybehr]

Check out Rosenthal, it is Canadian.

http://www.rosenthalcollege.ca/

[courtenay_e]

No book reports. In each module, though, there are a few questions about what you should have read. So far I haven't come up against anything I couldn't pull out of my files in my head. Not necessarily SIMPLE, but not impossible either...they just want to be sure you've read and understood the material. And, yes, they DO have one on one training/mentorship. Also, the Yahoo groups (CBE and LA)are now run by ALACE and frequented by the trainors/women who work in the office and for the organization...as well as the women who are currently working on the certs. It's a great resource.

[courtenay_e]

Too, the workshop should be available sometime this year. It is NOT required, but is there for extra education if you choose to take it.

[Rockies5]

No book reports BT if you like to write it would be a handy reference for later. It always "cements" things for me what I write a review or report.

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Wonderful! I did just get the email reply from ALACE that I was waiting for, but you've all given the same information anyhow.

I'm just surprised (and kind of sad) that I don't HAVE to attend any births. I really want to and was looking forward to having a reason. : (

[Rockies5]

you dont need to have a reason!!!