Kim James, Certified Birth Doula

"When you know better you do better." — Maya Angelou

"Childbirth education empowers women to make informed choices in health care, to assume responsibility for their health, and to trust their inner wisdom". - Lamaze International

"The joy and personal growth that can result from successfully meeting challenging experiences has been described as 'flow experiences'...such experiences are generally better understood in athletics than in childbirth because the public understands athletic events to be character building and an effort or a struggle that requires skill, practice, and concentration and is not without pain  -- From Nichols and Humernick, 2000. 

Women who are satisfied with their birth experiences often describe a sense of personal accomplishment and mastery (Simkin, 1991), a flow experience.   The foundation for this flow experience begins with good childbirth education.

•  Skills, tools and tricks for coping with labor pain.

•  How the birth environment can enhance or detract from your ability to cope.

•  The factors that can make pain seem less intense and more manageable.

•  How to manage fear, stress and anxiety for childbirth and parenting challenges.

•  How to talk to your health care providers to get the answers you need to make great decisions.

•  When medical tools and procedures enhance a woman's and baby's health and when they do not.

•  How to effectively use pain medications for maximum satisfaction and effectiveness.

•  The role your baby plays during labor.

•  Facilitating your baby's rotations into the optimal position for labor and birth.

•  Healthy pregnancy exercises and nutrition decisions.

•  Skills for postpartum communication and harmony with your partner.

•  Skills for breastfeeding.

•  Skills for newborn care.