Local or Online Perinatal Classes?

First and foremost, a parent’s decision should not be whether to take a class geared towards perinatal education, but which class should be the selection.   There are unlimited options for learning about the perinatal period – a different style and format to fit every personality.  Independent education is the optimal choice as the instructors are not limited on options and regulated by hospital or practice protocol.  In other words, in an independent course, students should be able to receive the pros and cons to perinatal choices rather than going through a “what to expect” checklist.

A lot of prospective students ask me what the better option is as far as Esali Birth courses – online or local (and don’t forget webinar).  There are also misconceptions about online courses in that they’re not complete.  Well, it really depends on your personal situation and what you’re looking for out of the class, and EB online classes are almost identical to our local course – specifically to allow our students the ability to choose and fit a quality course within their modern lifestyle.

Some of the benefits of a local course include getting to interact with other couples.  You get to hear their thoughts, their wishes, their fears, their experiences, and their questions.  You get a chance to get away for an evening to focus only on you and your baby.  You get to interact with spontaneous discussions that spark interest and thought.  You have instant contact with the instructor for any questions.  You get commentary feedback during videos and you rely less on reading material.  You have the ability to create a bond with other parents who are having children close in age to your child.  The local course also includes the complete online course, so you get the benefits of both – which is also great if you have to miss a class or two during the 10-week series (plus review until you birth your baby).

In an online environment, you have the ability to “attend” class whenever it is convenient for you and your birth partner (and the rest of your family’s schedule).  You can enroll anytime and have instant access to your course – there are no materials that need shipped, no extra costs or downloads necessary for software or materials.  This is a very “green” option for perinatal education – modern technology being utilized for today’s modern parents – while not skimping on quality of content.  (Note: the complete online series is available in a mailable CD format should someone have limited or no internet access on an as-needed basis).  You are able to review course sections multiple times in a self-paced format, and have this available until you birth your baby.  You are granted unlimited phone and e-mail support for any questions which means you may need to write down your questions as they come up, but you’re still able to interact with the instructor.  You may require a little more self-discipline to be sure to go through the course, but all the information is the same in the local course as the online environment.  The main sections include the same “seminars” as the local course, so you even have the option of listening vs. reading everything.  It is not a complete work-book setting; there is a combination of reading, watching videos, listening to seminars, and providing feedback.  There are a few videos that are shown in the local series that are not available in the online format, but alternative options are chosen, and there are a lot of additional videos and supplemental articles available in the online course (which is also one of the benefits of having the online courses available even for local students).  You can also interact with others on the EB Community Forums.  You will need to print any handouts vs. getting them in a packet like in the local course – but all the information is there (and the online course is a lower cost option).  You do have the option of taking the full online series, or attending one or two sections if you’re simply looking for a review or to supplement another course.  We also have a Breastfeeding Basics seminar (included in the standard series) that is available if you’re just looking for breastfeeding information. 

Then, there is the webinar option.  The webinar is a 6-week series covering all the major topics.  We “meet” at a scheduled time weekly through an online conference program and talk w/ a headset (or over the phone).  We go through the same seminars as the local and standard online series and discuss just as we would in a local course, only we are not face-to-face.  Webinar students are also given access to the complete online course as a supplement for the other classes and for review until you birth your baby.  The webinar sort of gives parents the best of both.  You get to interact with other couples and the instructor in real-time, but don’t have to leave your home.  You do need to schedule time weekly to attend, but you have the ability of reducing gas costs and not needing as much time getting to and from class (especially if work is a conflicting issue).  And, just like with the standard online series, you can attend anywhere there is an internet connection – so anyone wanting to take an EB course has the ability.

So how do the various courses add up in terms of cost? 
A local 10-week EB course is $150/couple (plus gas to class each week).  A 6-week webinar series is $125/couple.  The complete online course is $100/couple.  For local and webinar series options we offer a $25 early-registration discount (if registered at least one month prior to the start date).  We offer Military, Single-Mom, and Teen discounts for all our series options as well. 

So with an online Esali Birth course, it isn’t like reading through various bits of information on the internet.  This is not a “Google” education!  You’re getting a walk-through of perinatal education – the important information, and the same information as with our independent local course option.  It is the face-to-face connection that differs, and every parent varies on what their personal needs are.  Some moms are not comfortable learning in a small group setting.  Some moms need the one on one attention of phone and e-mail conversations.  Some dads are more likely to attend if they don’t have to sit in a small group setting as well.  Many parents have schedule conflicts that either don’t permit them to take local courses, or only give them the option of a crash course or hospital-based series lacking quality and content.  Don’t miss out on quality education because of cost, location, or limited “methods” in your area.  You have options right here, and we would love to help you begin your journey to a beautiful birth experience!  Check out our free sample course at EB Online.

Esali Birth: Philosophy… not a Method

What is Esali?  More importantly, what is Esali Birth?

I get this question All.The.Time!  In fact, it is one of my favorite questions to answer.  Why?  Because I am able to explain so much about the importance of perinatal education when someone asks me this question.  I can dispell myths about childbirth, and talk about the important choices parents will be making throughout this short time period.  It is really a question that has a never ending answer, so sometimes it is a little difficult to adequately describe to those inquiring. 

Esali is Italian for “exhale.”  It is simple.  It is relaxing.  It is effective.  It is a combination of perspective and physiology.  It is a positive approach to a beautiful time in your life and a way of looking differently about the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experience.  Esali Birth is a perinatal and birth philosophy.  Start calling this a “Childbirth Method,” and you’ve instantly downgraded the quality of education and importance of an Esali Birth course.  Anyone can have a baby, but unless you’re taking a responsible role and actively creating your perinatal experience, not everyone can have a healthy birth experience.  Yes, there are many instances where birth is not perfect, and birth is not meant to be perfect.  Like pooping, it is really just another natural bodily function that has a variety of outcomes and small yet significant ways it can be changed.  Only this particular function has a lasting impact on your life, your baby’s life, your partner’s life, and any other person connceted to that child.

Childbirth (as in the actual act of birth) is not the most important focus in an EB class.  Do many parents sign up for a class because they want to learn how to birth a child?  Yes… but, we quickly switch their focus to more important matters.  Your body knows how to birth your baby, you need no instruction.  What IS important, is EVERYTHING that surrounds that birth.  You will beautifully birth IF you make choices that allow you to do so.  We teach you these choices and provide the information for what also happens when you don’t make these choices.  If you’re not making choices to allow your body to do what it was biologically meant to do, then you may need a little instruction in childbirth.  Only, that would not be biological childbirth – that would be managed childbirth – and then the cycle is repeated for women not trusting their bodies, men having such an influence on birth decisions, and more medical interventions becoming necessary. 

Esali Birth is PERINATAL education.  Yes, it is very important to call it PERINATAL education because it is so much more than just childbirth. 

We discuss selecting a care provider and birth location.  We talk about your options and talk about the differences.  We talk about the history of the birth industry and how it has affected birthing practices.  We talk about pros and cons to medically managed birth, and pros and cons to biological birth.  We provide an array of information that women early in their pregnancies (or even before) can utilize.  We have many students taking classes at the end of their pregnancies, but encourage taking a course as early as possible because this provides you with the most time to develop a healthy birth philosophy and make any necessary changes to create a positive perinatal experience.

We talk about pregnancy and how your body changes.  We avoid discussing “what to expect” traditions, and stress how much influence you have on your physical and emotional health during pregnancy.  We go in depth on nutrition and how this affects your pregnancy, your developing baby, your birth, and postpartum.  We talk about cravings and how to listen to your physical body and emotions.  We talk about intimacy during pregnancy and how this can  affect your birth experience.

We discuss comfort measures – naturally.  We talk about the hormones important to labor and birth and how these affect your birth experience.  We discuss the optimal setting for these hormones to efficiently work, and talk about ways they are affected when birth goes off course.  We discuss the importance of a birth team and how each individual will affect your experience.  We discuss ways that you can talk to your birth team and give them a role during or after the birth.  We talk about the physiology of a contraction, how your cervix dilates, and how the baby moves through the birth canal. 

We stress the importance of instinctive labor and choosing a provider and birth location that supports instinctive biological birth.

We talk about every stage of labor from the first braxton hicks, through prelabor, and to involution during postpartum.  We discuss common medically managed routines such as vaginal exams, contraction timing, and dilation and effacement – and talk about the pros and cons to each of these.  We take a lot of time talking about the physical and emotional signposts of labor and ways that the birth partner can recognize, and assist with, the various stages of labor.  We do multiple labor rehearsals practicing various positive positions and birth partner assistance techniques, discussing the pros and cons for each.

We discuss MULTIPLE ways of reacting to the sensations of labor and birth.  We practice a different relaxation technique every night knowing that we are not a cookie cutter method of childbirth, and stress the importance of practice, practice, practice (and good birth choices) if parents want to achieve a certain level of pain-free birth.  We want our parents to have a variety of resources at their fingertips.  We discuss how effective the 3 R’s of childbirth are for mothers (Rythm, Ritual, Relaxation), and the importance of instinctive labor for handling labor sensations. 

We stress that the choices made during pregnancy directly affect the ability to biologically birth as well as affect the sensations a mother will experience, so we focus on providing information to allow our mothers to make these choices.  It is good practice for mothers to choose a birth location supportive of biological birth, and then using techniques to deal with labor sensations, rather than focusing so much attention on relaxation methods that when they experience something other than a low-pain birth they feel like a failure.  Along the same lines, we discuss best techniques for developing a birth guide, but stress the importance of making the same decisions about birth team and birth location first and then using a birth guide for the last little bit of information.  In EB’s eyes, relaxation and birth guides (though important in many situations) are not the first focus and should not be thought of as a way to a pleasant birth experience. 

Form follows function - in the end, we really don’t care what the birth looked like or even much how it felt – we care about the experience – and an amazing experience is created when a mother is enabled to biologically birth and be actively involved in the choices throughout.  Ask any women 1 year later how she feels about her birth.  Once she’s had time to reflect on her experience, she isn’t dealing with new mommy tasks and postpartum hormones, and she’s had a while to think about what happened.  Ask her and see what she remembers most about her experience.  I would bet the majority of the time it is “this was done to me” “this nurse did this” “this provider did this” ”I had to have this”  “I was allowed to do such and such” “they wouldn’t let me” “we didn’t have to argu”  “they wouldn’t let me have my baby” “they followed my birth guide” “I got my VBAC” “I was able to immediately breastfeed…etc.” She’ll talk less about the pain she may have experienced than what happened due to her birth team and birth location selections.   

We discuss common routines and variations to biological birth and the pros and cons and affects of each.  We talk about common medical interventions, the pros, cons, and affects these have on the birth and postpartum.  We discuss cesarean section, the affects this has on the mother and baby, and ways to make this type of birth more pleasant should the need arise.  We talk about unassisted birth and unplanned birth situations and how those present can help.  We talk about recovery and differences between recoveries with medically managed and biological births.  We talk about perinatal loss and expectations for if this rare event should occur.

We talk about perinatal support within your family and how a trained professional (doula) can help with each phase of the perinatal period.  We discuss postpartum, physical and emotional changes, and expectations.  We talk a lot about breastfeeding and discuss newborn routines and newborn care.  We talk about babywearing, co-sleeping, and various other tips and techniques for adjusting to life with a new baby.

We take time to discuss fears, answer questions, and talk about class member’s experiences.  We show videos, ask questions, provide “assignments” and weekly tasks.  We bond and learn with and from each other.  We take time to review all the course material in a variety of ways – my favorite being the EB just breathe board game.  We talk outside of class and create a connection that allows students to know they have someone to come to when they have questions, concerns, or just want a professional opinion.

We provide an online learning environment for distance education, and also as a supplement to our local courses until our mamas birth their babies (which are also available for enrollment at any time).  This provides time for parents to review between classes and after they’ve finished their course as well as quality perinatal education for mamas who don’t have a course near them, or want the option of learning with Esali Birth.

Additionally, we train individuals to become Esali Birth Specialists.  Currently we have distance education training for Educators and Breastfeeding Counselors (and significant discount opportunities available until the end of 2011).  Interested?  Check us out at http://www.esalibirth.com/specialisttraining.

What do YOU think Esali Birth is?  Is this just another “childbirth method?”