As someone who has had an unplanned Caesarean myself, AND as a doula, I really appreciated how balanced this course is. There's no shaming, no bias, just facts.
I've been a doula for 11 years, and have seen changes occur over time, but there is still a ways to go! This course was a FANTASTIC way to brush up on the latest statistics and to do some well needed continuing education on the current state of VBAC here in the US. Thank you!
During the pregnancy with my first child, for variety of reasons, I didn’t take any birth education classes. My first birth ended up in a c section. I was determined to change variety of things this time – including educating myself and my partner. We took several birth education classes, including this one and a VBAC class at our hospital. I was very glad I took this VBAC class first because it allowed me to spot mis information even at our hospital class and educate for myself. Printed materials are helpful as you can take notes and reference back to the materials later. I recommend taking this class as early as possible in your pregnancy so 1) you have enough time to go through it (it’s self paced so we broke it down into a few weekends so it’s not overwhelming); 2) you can implement the things they recommend (like educating yourself on whether you have the right provider; I did end up switching). I haven’t had my VBAC yet, but I feel informed to go through the process and no matter what the outcome of this birth will be – I know it will be my empowered choice, in large part thanks to this class (and the vbac link podcast, community etc).
The book was great, and videos helped to emphasize what was in the book and add some details. The book reflected a lot of the research and statistics I had read in my own research, and added additional information I didn’t know. I found the testamonials, statistics, and the birthing sections most helpful. I was also able to use the fear clearing exercises and their podcast/blog online, which I think were instrumental to getting my VBA2C! Mind-body connection is so important!
This course was so helpful, especially with helping to educate my husband on the safety of VBACs, as he had previously been nervous about my choice. We watched all the videos already, but will also be reviewing the workbook again right before birth. Highly recommend!