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If you are interested in a childbirth education class, you might find yourself sorting through many different curriculums: Hypnobirthing, Lamaze, Bradley Method, Evidence-Based Birth, and of course, Birthing From Within. In order to help you choose the best class for you, it's helpful to do a little research on each one. Read on for an outline of my 4 week class. Different curriculum comparison chart is near the bottom!
History
Birthing From Within was born from the work done by Pam England, a midwife and childbirth educator. Pam knew a lot about birth, but that didn't change the fact that she experienced a hospital transfer and an unwanted cesarean for her first birth in 1982. She spent the next decade looking for alternative ways to teach childbirth education that helped parents-to-be face their fears and the uncertainty of birth. After many years of teaching, she compiled her best ideas into a book published in 1998.
One caveat to the original book is that some of the information now is quite dated. Unsurprisingly, the language is not inclusive. Additionally, Pam has some glaring biases that come up in the book. She has a lot to say about ultrasounds as well as epidural use. While she does make some good points, a balanced perspective is missing. Definitely still worth the read, but feel free to skim over some of the sections that don't hold up against the test of time.
Since then, Pam's work has only grown and transformed. There are now Birthing From Within facilitators and mentors all over the country. In 2020, a longtime student of Pam's, Britta Bushnell, published Transformed By Birth. It is a natural sequel to the original, with updated ideas about gender identity and mythology in modern life. Again, the emphasis is on an inner journey of personal change - rather than learning and memorizing all of the information possible about birth.
Throughout both books, there is an emphasis on using maps of labor that are unlike the most common ones you seen in modern life. Rather than a cervical dilation wheel, which only tells us how many centimeters the cervix is open, we are invited to explore the image of the labyrinth which winds unexpectedly toward the center. We are called to balance modern knowing (hello, Dr. Google) with inner knowing. I personally find that this approach works well for people who love information, but find that it isn't giving them what they hoped: calm, a sense of understanding, and the ability to make decisions that feel good to them.
Philosophy
Sometimes, curriculums have a bias of avoiding intervention (e.g., Bradley Method) and there is unspoken judgement: if you succumb to intervention, it is your fault for not having the mental acuity to face hard things. Often, in the birth world this is oversimplified and reductive: "they had a repeat cesarean because they were scared / didn't go to enough therapy /didn't face their fears about the first birth." These ways of thinking tend to blame birthing people when things go wrong, rather than acknowledging the hard truth that sometimes there are complications in birth. Birth is a lot like a labyrinth that twists and turns, sometimes unexpectedly.
I want to be very clear. I fully acknowledge that birth is an unknowable mystery. A threshold. A right of passage. I do not ever implicitly or explicitly teach that people can avoid unavoidable complications but just exploring their subconscious enough. Western medicine is sometimes life-saving, and I am thankful for it. There is space to both acknowledge the power of Western medicine and call into question the over-medicalization of birth. That said, I also find that teaching people a whole mess of facts prepares them about 15% for their birth experience.
There are also some curriculums and books (e.g., Orgasmic Birth, Hypnobirthing) that advertise pain free, or nearly pain-free birth. These programs insist that if you just learn and practice certain breathing techniques, you won't have to feel pain in labor. You can probably guess why these curriculums are popular. Many people are very interested in a pain-free birth.
I have been to a lot of births, and each one has been an intense physical and emotional experience. People who have planned cesareans or planned epidurals experience intensity, too. There is no risk-free, pain-free way to meet your baby.
I do believe that a teeny tiny percentage of people might experience birth as pleasurable. I personally haven't met anyone like that yet. I have met a lot of people who experience their birth as hard, painful, AND satisfying work. Birthing From Within does not shy away from people's fear around pain or intervention. Instead, we talk about it and face it head-on together. It is ok to be scared. In fact, worry is the work of pregnancy, and the right amount of worry is going to motivate you to prepare for labor and life with a baby.
So What is it Though?
Birthing From Within takes a balanced approach. Yes, participants learn about the stages of labor and what to expect from each one. They also explore what their own expectations and assumptions are about labor. Pregnant people and their support person reflect on cultural norms, their own birth stories, and how all of it affects their understanding of birth.
Birthing From Within is famous for "ice contractions." This is when each person holds an ice cube in their hand and then practices different coping methods and breathing techniques. Ice doesn't feel the same as contractions, obviously, but it does give us some discomfort to bump up against. What happens inside your head when you are uncomfortable and you try to breathe? That is very helpful information to know prior to labor starting!
Perhaps the most valuable piece of Birthing From Within is that it gives everyone a shared language to talk about many different coping mechanisms and explicitly teaches resiliency. We never aim for perfection in anything during class and the entire approach is based in harm reduction.
You're overwhelmed by the idea of a birth center to hospital transfer? We talk about the small things you can do to bring that fear more into the light and face it.
Scared of Cesareans? We face those, too. Here is what a typical 4 weeks series looks like with me:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
Signs of Labor | Active Labor | Interventions | Postpartum Planning |
Early Labor | Pushing | Advocacy | Newborn 101 |
Breathing Techniques | Comfort Measures | Breathing Techniques | Closing Ritual |
Labyrinths | Gates of Labor | Facing Tigers | Story of Inanna |
Birthing From Within is a safe space to ask a lot of questions. You already know so much more about birth than you are giving yourself credit for. You already have great coping skills. You already know how to be a not-perfect, good-enough parent. We spend time in class shining a light on those skills and shoring them up for the coming challenges ahead.
How Does Birthing From Within Compare to Other Classes?
Best for… | Biggest Criticism | Breathwork | Hands-on | Discussion | Resiliency Training | Focus on Partner | |
Hypnobirthing 1989 | Regular meditators looking to take their yoga skills to the next level for an unmedicated birth | Doesn’t prepare you for if / when meditation isn’t working (e.g., induction) | Very High | High | Low | Low | Low |
Evidence Based Birth 2012 | Lovers of data planning for any and all possible outcomes for birth | Heavy emphasis on information can be dry or hard to remember in the moment | Low | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Lamaze 1960 | Hands on learners who enjoy visuals and alternative methods | Hard to find in person classes in the Chicago area | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | High |
Bradley “Husband- Based Coaching” 1947 | Couples that are all in together and don’t want a doula | Very traditional and puts a lot of pressure on partner | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | Very High |
Birthing From Within 1998 | All types of learners, especially who want to grow and change through birth | Not enough emphasis on all the possible interventions of labor and birth | High | High | Medium | High | High |
Remember that there is no one right class. Ultimately, each class type will have a fair amount of overlap in terms of basic birth information. I usually counsel my clients to consider what they are hoping to get out of a class.
Community? You'll want a bigger class closer to home and definitely in person.
Lots and lots of information? If you want to memorize facts to prepare for birth, consider taking one of the denser classes.
Concrete skills? Take a class that focuses on breathwork and hands-on practice
If you want lots of coping skills and mindsets, information balanced with reflection, community, and preparation for both birth and postpartum, then Birthing From Within is the right course for you!
