Former Bradley Method CBEs?

[southerndoula]

Has anyone here chosen to un-affiliate with the Bradley Method and teach a different childbirth method? Can you tell me what the process was like, both in terms of becoming affiliated with another program and in terms of recruiting students without the Bradley name? What program did you chose and why? Class sizes before and after?

I'm thinking of making the switch to... something else, not sure what yet. I want something that will allow me a lot of freedom to incorporate all kinds of techniques, so not a strict curriculum from another method. I think I could build support in the community, since it's not as if Bradley is a household name here. I'd love to hear others' experiences. I'm just not sure Bradley is the right fit for me anymore.

Thanks!

[Charmie981]

I'm not a CBE...I'll preface it with that .

I was thinking, years ago, about becoming a Bradley affiliated instructor, but I was also looking hard at Birthing From Within (BFW). I spoke with a lot of people who had switched from Bradley to BFW and BFW definitely sounded like the best option. Eventually, I chose not to do any particular method and became a midwife instead .

Some of the reasons that I was unsure of Bradley and that others had switched from Bradley:
1. Bradley didn't work for me. I tried every trick in that darn book and it just didn't HELP! I wished I'd had something ELSE to try, even just my own instinct, which I think all of the "instructions" had quelched
2. Bradley affiliation is pricey to maintain because of the yearly dues and because of purchasing the books for students, which then makes your classes more expensive than most.
3. FREEDOM in instruction. I heard from a lot of instructors that with a different method, they felt more free to teach what they found worked for people, even if it wasn't "Bradley."

I encourage you to consider the change. I think when Bradley works for a couple, it's GREAT, but I think there are other ways to cope that Bradley doesn't address, and I think that those methods and techniques are valuable. When I teach classes to homebirth clients, I always teach them to "do what works," even if it's different than what they've heard and read.

[momdzn]

If you are currently affiliated with Bradley, many of the others will discount you on their course. There are many to choose from and many techniques and focuses.
Do you feel the need to be certified with someone? Or are you maybe confident enough to write your own classes, so that you could teach what is needed in your area? If you have the confidence, listen to that voice, it will suit you and your community better.

P.S. I am an ex-Bradley teacher. Didn't have time or money to reaffiliate year after year, when I wasn't teaching.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Southern, as in where? I'm in GA. I taught Bradley until this year. I wanted to get away from the whole idea of a method. My philosophies have changed a lot, and though I'm grateful for the Bradley class I took with my 1st, I think it hindered me in some ways as well. I came away from it feeling like there was a "right" way to do things and a "wrong" way to do things in labor. This is how you relax, this is how you push, etc. I didn't teach that way, after awhile. My teaching style was changing and I decided that if I wasn't into the things Bradley taught anymore, I should teach something else. I still like Bradley, it's just not quite in line w/ my philosophies anymore. Also, I wanted AUTONOMY!

There wasn't a process for me, at least not yet. I just stopped. I renewed this year but am not teaching, b/c I wasn't sure how long it would take to roll out my new class.

Two other teachers and I wrote our own class (www.babystepsonline.net/intuition.htm). We created our own visual aids, created our own guidebook which we published at lulu.com. We wrote the entire class from scratch. We didn't certify elsewhere; we have all trained through the Academy, and 2 of us have trained as doulas with ALACE and DONA. We didn't feel the need to certify.

We're marketing a lot, and it's fun. It's more like our own business, it's OURS. We're working hard and loving it. My Bradley classes ranged from one student to my biggest class of 6 (once). I had maybe 3 classes of 5. I think they probably averaged 3 students. My IB classes so far have had between 2 and 4. So I'm averaging about the same so far.

obviously we're having to build our own name, but we are getting a fabulous response locally. And we're having a blast