do you enjoy being a CBE?

[starbound25]

I know a lot of people look into doing this, I would like to hear from women who are practicing CBE's

how often do you do classes?
how rewarding is it?
how much are you charging/making on average?

thank you so much, cant wait for responses

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I LOVE it. I've been teaching almost 3 years, first Bradley and now my own classes. I teach continuously, usually 1-2 classes at a time though later in the year I'll have 3 going at once. It can be very frustrating and even heartbreaking at times, because I care so much about my students and I want them to have perfect births, healthy babies, everything they envision, and it's so sad for me when it doesn't happen. You have to be able to find emotional distance from their decisions and experiences, without being emotionally distanced from them. It can be hard!

My Bradley classes cost $325. My current class is 9 weeks and it is $275. I am teaching two classes now with 4 couples. I've had some 5 and 6 couple classes, and some 1-2, and had to cancel because no one signed up. it's somewhat erratic and you definitely don't often get rich teaching childbirth classes. But it's a GREAT job. If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd still be teaching.

[Veritaserum]

Originally Posted by starbound25

how often do you do classes?

I teach 1-2 class series per two month period with 3-5 couples in each one. I've taught 28 couples this year.

Originally Posted by starbound25

how rewarding is it?

It is rewarding. It can be emotionally draining at times because hospitals in my area aren't typically keen on supporting a truly natural birth so it's frustrating when I see my students run into unsupportive situations. At the end of the day, though, this is one thing I feel like I can do to help women have better, more positive birth experiences.

Originally Posted by starbound25

how much are you charging/making on average?

I charge $285 for a 6-week class. After materials I'm making around $200 per couple, but I usually have 1-2 couples per 2 month window that need a reduced rate. I teach Hypnobabies.

[Om Girl]

• I teach a weekend class once a month
• It is so unbelievably rewarding, I just attended my first birth with a couple from my CBE class.
• I work in a hospital setting, so I get paid $25.00/hr. Students are charged $45.00 for the series, but we don't turn anyone away due to payment inability.

[MamaRabbit]

I love teaching CBE, even more than being a doula at the moment. RIght now it fits my schedule so much better. (Well, not right now, I'm taking time off for obvious reasons!)

I teach a private class about 4x a year. It's 6 classes, 3hr each. I charge a little more than the local hospital classes. I also fill in for the hospital classes as needed. I co-teach with a couple other CBEs.

Is it rewarding? Usually. Depends on the clients and how willing they are to learn and get involved in the class. Private classes are much more fun.