Getting Started in Childbirth Ed.

[QueeTheBean]

Hoping someone can offer their 2 cents . . .

For the past 5 years, I have wanted to start training to become a certified childbirth educator. I am as sure as I can be that this is what I want to do with my life. Still, I am holding myself back from taking the first steps--I am scared, frankly.

• Scared of choosing the "wrong" program.
• Scared of what comes after certification--how will I get clients?
• Scared of the financial investment I'll be making and hoping it will pay off.
• Scared of things that I haven’t even considered yet—are there other questions I should be asking—what else do I need to do, to know, to ask?

In the positive column

• My husband is supportive--he'd be willing to take the risk using some of our saving to pay for certification & whatever startup costs I'd have.
• I am not looking to make tons of money from this—I just want to teach and earn a little bit to help out with our expenses.
• I have the time—I only work part time right now & my kids are in school all day.
• I have been coordinating & teaching breastfeeding classes for several years
  to see if I like teaching—and I do! The attendees usually give me good feedback & I feel great after teaching.

—

I want to find a mentor in my area to hash out some of my questions & fears. The midwife practice that delivered my kids would be a good place to start, but I am worried that they . . . I don’t know how to word this . . . might think that I am trying to get a job with THEM and/or somehow compete with their business (I know that sounds weird, it isn’t coming our right) OR, and this plays off a bit of a self confidence problem I have—that they may secretly think I would suck as a CBE and would feel awkward giving me any kind of advice.

Finally, if I do find a mentor, what do I do? Ask for an appointment? Take her out to lunch? What is appropriate? Do I pay her?

[Animal_Lady]

I have been looking into different CBE programs too, and the two that stood out to me the most were Birthing From Within and BirthWorks. BFW actually assigns you a mentor. They might be the way for you to go. Their website is a bit of a maze, and the prices and fees are confusing, but I haven't gotten any further than that. I think you sould look into them: http://birthingfromwithin.com/professionals

And just have a frank and open discussion with the midwife. Tell her your concerns, why you think you would be good as a CBE, why you want to be a CBE. See what she has to suggest. The worse that she could say is that she can't help you.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Originally Posted by QueeTheBean

• Scared of choosing the "wrong" program.
• Scared of what comes after certification--how will I get clients?
• Scared of the financial investment I'll be making and hoping it will pay off.
• Scared of things that I haven’t even considered yet—are there other questions I should be asking—what else do I need to do, to know, to ask?

In the positive column

• My husband is supportive--he'd be willing to take the risk using some of our saving to pay for certification & whatever startup costs I'd have.
• I am not looking to make tons of money from this—I just want to teach and earn a little bit to help out with our expenses.
• I have the time—I only work part time right now & my kids are in school all day.
• I have been coordinating & teaching breastfeeding classes for several years
  to see if I like teaching—and I do! The attendees usually give me good feedback & I feel great after teaching.

—

I want to find a mentor in my area to hash out some of my questions & fears. The midwife practice that delivered my kids would be a good place to start, but I am worried that they . . . I don’t know how to word this . . . might think that I am trying to get a job with THEM and/or somehow compete with their business (I know that sounds weird, it isn’t coming our right) OR, and this plays off a bit of a self confidence problem I have—that they may secretly think I would suck as a CBE and would feel awkward giving me any kind of advice.

Finally, if I do find a mentor, what do I do? Ask for an appointment? Take her out to lunch? What is appropriate? Do I pay her?

I started off with a "method" and if I had it to do over, I'd go with a more generic program like ALACE or Lamaze. Your views as you teach are bound to shift, and those programs, where you write your own classes, give you much more flexibility. You can always change what you're teaching.

You get clients by marketing. You treat it like what it is: a business. You network, advertise, etc. just like you would with any business. It's not instantaneous. YOu'll have classes canceled, you'll teach tiny classes with one couple or two. Things will pick up, you just keep going. You'll never get rich teaching childbirth classes, so it's good that's not your plan!

Figure out which program appels to you, & take a teacher to lunch.

[Sarahfina]

I am a Birthing From Within mentor from western Canada and I just wanted to let you know that I have found BFW to be incredable. I did my training last March and it was really amazing- this is a very rich, dynamic and unique approach to childbirth preparation & parent preparation that really honors the rite of passage that birth is for women & their partners. Yes the website is a bit tricky to navigate and the prices/options a bit hard to comprehend because there are a few choice for payment (all at once, in portions etc) but it is a very comprehensive program. Besides the intensive initial workshop, a huge amount of class planning supplies are given to you, you are assigned a mentor, there are monthly conference calls on relevent topics, and there is an excellent forum for mentors to talk amoungst themselves. The BFW staff are all very helpful and any time I've had a question I've generally gotten a same-day responce.

If you are looking for something flexable, Birthing From Within is a great option because it provides you a framework for your classes, but you will, to a large extent, choose how you present the content you wish to teach. Parents love this too, as the classes can be very parent led in terms of what THEY want to learn.

As for how to get clients, its like the previous poster said. Its a business and you must advertise and it takes time time time....but its worth it!! If not financially innitially, then in richness of spirit....good luck on your path- although i suspect i am far from you (thus no lunch out to chat!) you could likely find a BFW mentor in your area- they are all listed on the website!! I'm sure any of our mentors would be happy to chat with you!


PM if you have further questions!

Blessings,

Sarahfina

[Tammydoula]

When I was looking for a CBE program to train with I was attracted to Bradley, except that I could never get a clear feeling on their views on doulas (since I am a doula I don't want to teach a program that isn't absolutely cool with them)! Instead I went with Lamaze - none of the funky breathing techniques, just teaches about natural normal childbirth - a view very much needed in my area! I love teaching Lamaze!

[ldsapmom]

I chose Lamaze and went through Passion for Birth (Lamaze doesn't train its onw teachers -- there are approved organizations that do the training -- like DONA and doulas). I loved that I only had to pay peices at a time -- initially to sign up for the program and get the supplies -- maybe $200? Then the training seminar, about $300? And those were a year apart, so it was not all the money at once. Then I will pay when I take the exam, maybe another 150-300? I am guessing here, I don't know specifics. Needless to say, I didn't have to slap down a lot of money at once.

I love the PfB program. I am currently teaching )the curriculum I created!) for a midwifery office.

If this is your desire, don't listen to that little voice trying to undermine your confidence or bringing up all the what-if's -- take the chance and go with it. You are having this desire for a reason. Follow through .

[QueeTheBean]

Originally Posted by ldsapmom

If this is your desire, don't listen to that little voice trying to undermine your confidence or bringing up all the what-if's -- take the chance and go with it. You are having this desire for a reason. Follow through .

Thanks for that--that was really nice to hear.

Thanks to everyone for your replies--it means a lot to me to have all of your experiences to consider. I have already looked into a few of the programs, and will take the time to examine the others, as well. Hopefully, it will become clear to me after I have seen all the programs.