Community Doula
& Preconception Course
18 Week Class
Hours in Class: 96 Tuition: $1,850.00 (plus $50 non-refundable registration/class supplies fee) 2024 Dates Location: Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawai'i title 0
ACCELERATED COURSE title 1
Winter 2023 WINTER 2024,
JANUARY-MAY January 10 to May 8, 2024 (18 Weeks) Wednesday mornings, from 9:00 to 1:00 Plus 2 weekend workshops: Heal Your Own Birth Workshop February 10 & 11, from 9:00 to 4:30 Energy Workshop April 13 & 14, from 9:00 to 4:30 Summer courses
ACCELERATED COURSES June 10 to July 19 2024 Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 1:00 Plus 2 weekend workshops Heal Your Own Birth June 21 & 22 9:00 - 4:30 Energy Workshop July 12 & 13 9:00 - 4:30 FALL 2024, AUGUST - DECEMBER
August 9 to December 13, 2024 (18 WEEKS) Friday mornings, from 9:00 to 1:00 Plus 2 weekend workshops: Heal Your Own Birth Workshop September 6 & 7, from 9:00 to 4:30 Energy Workshop November 8 & 9, from 9:00 to 4:30 |
Doula training prepares you to:
This Sacred Birthing Doula Course will share the joy and wonder of birth through stories and years of experience. Because this wisdom is inside us, this course reawakens your knowing about this amazing passage, and empowers you to be trusted by parents.
By re-experiencing your own birth, you will discover how your whole life is modeled from what happened at your birth. By seeing this yourself, you will KNOW that every baby is conscious at birth. And from this place, your presence as a doula can transform birth. Be a birthing sister.
Uncover your inner birth wisdom to take part in this new paradigm of birth. By becoming a Community Doula, you help birthing mamas and families, and are an integral part of our birthing community. Synopsis & class outline
There is innate awareness and birth wisdom in all our souls. This community doula course will help you, a Birthing Sister, get in touch with the knowledge that is already there waiting to be discovered. It is a personal journey to discover inner wisdom and knowledge that can be accessed when being with women and families in birth. It is a journey that embodies the spiritual as well as the physical and emotional places of conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Birthing Sisters represents love, compassion, and trust in both the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine that has been a part of the deep wisdom and knowledge that has been overlooked but not forgotten. We will be revealing this lost knowledge and beginning to change the emphasis of fear and pain around birthing to one of joy, pleasure and the pure power that is birth. This journey to becoming a Birthing Sister/Community Doula, includes becoming aware of your own birth and the impact this has on your life. How does your own birth influence your work as a doula? The journey also includes looking back at how you were parented, as this will influence how you apply your personal wisdom and knowledge to each birthing situation. How you were mothered will influence how you in turn mother others, be that your own children or a woman in labor and during the postpartum time. This Sacred Birthing Community Doula course will prepare you to bring love, guidance, and teamwork with nature and spirit back to childbirth. We will share and honor the birth stories of babies in many different birth environments. And, as we access our deepest knowing around birthing, the innate and pristine wonder of birth will be reclaimed. Course Outline The Sacred Birthing Doula course, created and presented by Barbara Essman, is a 92 hour experiential training program that prepares individuals inside and out to be present for the welcoming of babies to earth. Through group discussion, personal inquiry, and a variety of creative projects, Barbara walks the class through the curriculum so that each student arrives with the full understanding of what it means to be born and what is needed to insure that each baby has the opportunity to enter this world unharmed. Articles and films are also included to spark discussion and raise issues. The first five weeks of this course are the foundation, starting with the core values of Sacred Birthing and exploring Sacred Birthing Insights. Then discovering who you are and gaining an inner knowing of the beauty of you. This will allow you to be fully present with pregnant families, unencumbered with the past, fully present in the now, and ready to take the journey into the future. Session 1 – Introduction In this first session, students are introduced to the Sacred Birthing Vision of soft birth practices and the core principles that inform a sacred birth. We answer the questions ‘What is a doula?’ and ‘What makes a Sacred Birthing Doula different from other doulas?’ Birthing history from ancient times to present is introduced and the beginning of connecting with Spirit. Session 2 – The Sacred Birthing Insights Some of the Sacred Birthing Insights will be explored in depth through discussion, art work and creative writing. These insights form the foundation for understanding the Sacred Birthing philosophy. Here are examples of these Insights; “First, do no harm”, “All birth is sacred” and “The baby’s soul is a conscious creator and participant in conception and birth.” Students can take these insights into their lives, their work and into the pregnancies and labors that they support. We will explore the realm of the unseen helpers. Session 3 – Food for the Soul and Body K Nourishment for pre-pregnant, pregnant and lactating mothers is the focus of this session. It takes more than food to care for a pregnant mom. We will also explore what she is “eating” emotional. Help take care of her by taking care of yourself. You are a role model. We’ll discuss how you nourish and care for yourself through exercise, food, quiet time, etc. Body kinesiology is introduced as a technique for getting in touch with our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Session 4 – Parenting and your Birth Stories How you were parented affects how you will in turn mother a mother. Parenting is an essential component of your doula role. Your birth story is your foundation and begins to shape who you are. Each birth story is important. We’ll learn to listen with love and compassion to each story including your own. Session 5 – Heal Your Own Birth This 2-day workshop gives you the opportunity to see your birth story in action and take responsibility for healing what needs to be healed and celebrating what needs to be celebrated about the day you were born. There will be time for integration and discussion as well as a re-experiencing of the birth itself. The next two weeks are a time to explore the divine in all of us – masculine and feminine – and reaching for the highest alliance with the divine spirit within. Session 6 – The Divine Feminine We will explore the 13 archetypes of women, women at her full power, the heart beat of the womb and reclaiming the divine feminine. We will discuss the concept of the Divine Feminine and connect with the divine nature of the mother. Session 7 – The Divine Masculine as Father The divine male seeks balance within himself with respect to the archetypes of warrior, magician, lover and king. A father’s role during preconception, conception, pregnancy, birth and beyond is very important and all aspects are explored. We will explore the questions “How do we support men? The next five weeks will take us deeply into exploring birth from the physical, emotional and spiritual levels. In this exploration the phrase "remember the baby" will be repeated often. Session 8 – Pregnancy Care This class begins with self and a ritual of dedication of living a sacred life. We will explore the journey of the unborn soul through pregnancy and the rapid growth of motherbaby physically, emotionally and spiritually Session 9 – Prenatal Care In this class we will explore prenatal care for the pregnant family which includes understanding this care from the Western medical model and the more traditional midwifery sacred model. We will learn about the hormones of birthing that grow with her pregnant body and ho these changing hormones affect her life, pregnancy, labor and birt Session 10 – Soft Birth Practices and the Birthing Environment In this class we will gain a clearer understanding of the art of listening and the vital importance of the environment. We will also explore the amazing human brain and help the neo-cortex take a backseat to the ancient brain where birthing unfolds softly as we explore soft birth practices. Session 11 - The Doula's Role in Labor and Birth- Being and Doing. Being with the birthing mother fully, ready to listen and open to each moment with love is an essential part of the doula's role. In this class we will explore the doing part of being a doula as we remember the flow of normal labor and birth. Session 12 - The Medical Model vs. Sacred Technology Working hand-in-hand with the medical and midwifery/sacred model of birthing we will revisit MAP sessions and body kinesiology, learn about ultrasounds, monitors and tools of allopathic medicine to provide the best possible outcomes for all involved. In this class we will gain understanding of the epidural, the risks and benefits for mother, baby and father. The next two classes will take us back to self as we explore a time to grieve and the energy that surrounds us all the time. Session 13 - A Time to Grieve When the family experiences a pregnancy loss through miscarriage, abortion, still birth or death after the birth, the doula can help and be more effective if she has taken tome to understand her own grief. Session 14 - Energy Workshop This two day workshop will help participants extend their energy work and move into the importance of holding space for birth. The next three weeks are the after-care parts of this course - caring for the family postpartum and caring for the doula. Session 15– Postpartum Support We will learn about the minutes, hours, and days after the baby arrives and supporting the postpartum family. This will include loving the new Mamma body and baby whispering. Interaction and communication with a newborn must be done with the utmost care to preserve the soul's integrity and uphold the baby's full potential. Session 16 - Postpartum Support Continued In this class we will discover how birth trauma continues into the postpartum time and the doula's role in guiding the family. This class will include a discussion of The Evolved Nest. Session 17 - Caring For The Family Becoming a mother and father - how a doula can ease this transition. In this class we will explore the magical first hours after birth and being with motherbaby as they fall in love and begin the breastfeeding journey. We will learn basic anatomy of the breast and what the doula can do to support the choices the new family makes. We will also examine parenting in age of screens and smart phones. Session 18 - Celebration - Creating a Community of Doulas caring for families Community doulas carry the responsibility of preserving the rituals surrounding birth, including blessings way and placenta rituals. Suggesting, creating and encouraging these rituals with parents-to-be can enhance the birth experience for all involved and lead to bonding and friendship that will last a lifetime. Support for new parents is the goal. We will also explore the business of being a doula and meeting families for the first time. These are some thoughts about how the course will unfold. This unfolding, like birth, is unpredictable and may lead to some very surprising side trips. Come with an openness to witness your own birthing process as you step into the honor and joy of being with pregnant families through pregnancy, labor, birth and beyond. |