25. What’s Next For Into the Wonder Birth?
Where was my blog post last Friday? Where was your weekly email?
I’ve been working on something new that I am so excited to share with you! More on that in a minute… I feel like I’m in a particularly busy season of life right now. (Are there any not busy seasons of life?) I’ve got little kids, I’m supporting births in person, and I’ve been working on my new special project. I am not a good multi-tasker. My business goals have always been to be low volume, to serve fewer people really deeply rather than a ton of people more shallowly, if that’s even a word. I typically take two birth clients a month (fewer than most full-time doulas), and that works well for me and allows me a good balance between work and family and me. For May though, I took on three clients, and they’ve been keeping me busy. I’ve been doing my weekly blog post for almost 6 months straight, but out of necessity, I took a break last week and realized the world didn’t stop spinning! So now I’m going to take a more purposeful hiatus, so I can do what I like best: lots of focused deep work on one thing at a time, and right now, beyond my in-person clients, that’s my special new project!
So what is it?
For a while now, I’ve wanted to work with more clients, but taking on more in-person clients and all that being on-call entails doesn’t fit with what I’m wanting at this stage in my life. So I started thinking: how can I prepare people for birth without being there to support them during birth? I thought about offering the prenatal portion of my in-person birth support to people, but that didn’t seem like enough. When I prep with my in-person clients, we all know that I’m going to be there during the birth, so we prepare with that in mind. I knew this offering had to be more substantial. I thought about creating a really extensive pre-recorded birth prep class, but that didn’t feel quite right either. Birth prep is so personal, and one of the things I love most about my work is getting to actually work with people one-on-one. I like deeply listening to and understanding people, who they are, where they’ve been, and what they want for their journey. That’s the most powerful part for me, so I knew a pre-recorded class wouldn’t have that component.
I realized that this needed to be a more in-depth program that would help people physically, mentally, and emotionally prepare to navigate every layer of their birth experience. Going through my program needed to be an experience in and of itself, an opportunity to strength the bond between birther and partner, for both people to look deeply at their own experiences and skills, and to practice together the strategies they want to have on their journey. And through that, my program Radical Birth Prep was born! I’ve been hard at work on it for the past month, and I expect it will be months more before it’s ready, so hopefully a fall 2024 release!
What is Radical Birth Prep?
It’s a comprehensive program to get you and your partner ready for birth (and postpartum!) with a focus on the mental skills you’ll need to handle whatever comes up. There’s so much uncertainty and unpredictability in birth (and in life honestly), and I designed this program to prepare you to take it all in stride, together. Through my in-person doula work, I’ve seen how the prep work we do ahead of time has paid off in birth, and I’ve also seen things I wish we had covered, so this program is really robust in terms of preparing you and your partner with the knowledge and skills I want you to have plus the skills that I bring into the labor room with my in-person clients.
What’s the format of Radical Birth Prep?
It’s a 14 week program. Each module is designed to be completed over the course of a week and includes a video lesson, workbook, and activities. Because I want to work directly with clients, there are two 1:1 sessions with me and then 5 Voxer check ins throughout the program where you leave me a voice memo with updates and I respond. To get the most out of it, I highly recommend that you start in the middle of your pregnancy, around 20-22 weeks, and spend one week on each module working through the lesson and activities with your partner.
Who is this for?
It’s for anyone planning a vaginal birth in a hospital, but it’s especially for anyone who has a lot of anxiety around birth and/or anyone who’s had had a traumatic or challenging birth experience before. I also think it’s fantastic for people who want to have an incredibly transformative birth experience with their partner and are dedicated to preparing for it as a team. These are the people I feel my program will make the most difference for.
How is this different from a typical birth class?
Because this is a 14 week program, it requires a lot more work from you than a weekend or day long class, and it goes much more in-depth than a typical class. You’re preparing deeply for birth with your partner, but you’re also reflecting on who you are as a person, how you manage stress and challenges, and how you can prepare for the unknown. These are not passive videos to consume; this is a comprehensive program that requires personal introspection and practicing new skills, so that you can go confidently into the unknown of birth and early parenthood. You get to work one on one with me through virtual meetings and Voxer chats, so that I can help you prepare for your specific journey. Though the curriculum is extensive, I break it down step-by-step so that you know exactly what to do and when to do it. That’s a huge piece of it — there is so much information out there about birth, but I guide you through my specific process of preparing mind, body, and heart with a clear plan so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
How can you find out more about this program?
I’ll release more details as I get closer to launch. I’m really hoping to have it ready for the first round of clients in the fall of 2024!
So where can you find me during my blog hiatus?
Follow me on Instagram if you haven’t already! I’ll be posting updates about my program and all the birthy things.