What you need to know to be a successful childbirth educator
Getting ready for the birth of a baby involves plenty of unknowns, especially if it will be the first time. Although some folks decide to "go with the flow" of the healthcare system, most people have a need for some form of preparation. While doulas (childbirth assistants) can offer some education, prenatal visits are not generally long enough to cover more than the very basics. A dedicated time and space for discovering one's personal philosophies around the birth of a child and parenting is a more ideal setup. Enter: the childbirth educator, a person trained to facilitate these special learning experiences. Since you likely already agree with this purpose and scope, let's explore what it takes to really be a successful childbirth educator!
At HelloBirth, we believe the best option is to start with a training program that includes and is structured around the curriculum you will be teaching. For instance Lamaze educators go through a rigorous process to become certified, but then have to figure out which topics, class pacing and materials they're going to use, either by purchasing someone else's or creating their own. In contrast, HelloBirth provides everything you need to teach your own classes, including student materials, a hypnobirthing audio library, slides, and a 100+ page teacher's guide.
To that end, the most important part of how to be a successful childbirth educator is having a lesson plan!
A lot of us working in the birth, postpartum or reproductive health space do not have a teaching background, so this makes having a high-quality, solid lesson plan all the more important. Holding knowledge and having teaching skills are two very different things. The HelloBirth instructor training provides both in-depth background knowledge to set the stage and will also walk you through the entire curriculum. We teach the principles of good teaching, give you time to practice teach the material, and send you off with a solid plan for getting ready to lead your own classes.
The next step towards success as a childbirth educator: practice, practice, practice!
As we share with our HelloBirth trainees, after you've chosen a training program that provides a fully developed curriculum, you'll want to practice it a few times out loud in real time, preferably in front of an audience. Even if it's your dog or your smart phone with the video rolling, going through the material out loud will give you a chance to feel out the pacing, develop your teaching voice, and test out the technology you'll be using to keep your classes flowing and maintain engagement with your participants.
The next step is to prepare your classroom
Whether your classes will be held in person or over Zoom, take time to think about what your learning environment feels like for the participants. Simple things like playing music over the computer or using a ring light to brighten up your face can make a big difference in the level of engagement during virtual classes. In a classroom, make sure the comfort of your participants is top-of-mind. Easy access to a restroom, water cooler, and a range of seating options are all pretty important for pregnant students, especially if your classes run any longer than an hour or so!
The final but most important step is to make a plan for sustainability as a successful childbirth educator
Start thinking about what your expenses over the next few years will be. Make sure that your registration rate is set properly so that your take-home pay will make your gig as a childbirth educator successful for a long time to come!
At HelloBirth we believe we are stronger together in community. If you're weighing your options and considering Hypnobabies vs HypnoBirthing, we hope you'll give HelloBirth a look. We are growing more confident as the months go by in our materials and methods because we have more and more data to reflect on from our pregnant participants! They are so thrilled with the inclusiveness of the class materials and with the results they are getting out of their birth experiences! We are so happy to hear the feedback and we are only going to get better and stronger from here, hopefully with YOU as you learn how to be a successful childbirth educator!