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Empowerment lies at the heart of birth professionals’ work and is one of the primary goals in supporting expectant and new parents. Empowering means instilling confidence, fostering autonomy, and equipping individuals with the tools to make decisions about their birthing and parenting experiences. Empowering expectant and new parents is about letting them feel seen, heard, and engaged—trusting they have the knowledge, strength, and autonomy to navigate the challenges of childbirth and early parenthood. However, sometimes empowerment misses the mark and bears pitfalls. Empowerment takes more than encouraging and informing; it’s about cultivating internal authority and ownership. That’s precisely what Transformational Birth Support Coaching helps individuals undergoing childbearing feel.
In 2006, after a decade of practicing as a labor doula and while training as a transformational life coach, I realized that transformative prenatal coaching must be the foundation of successful labor doula support. I understood that the coaching principles and strategies can be a game-changer when integrated into birth support practice. This understanding, which I almost missed due to lack of training, became the cornerstone of my career. Since then, I’ve developed an innovative framework for prenatal and postpartum coaching that has helped many students and me achieve impact, satisfaction, and increased income. Dedicated to doulas’ success, I want to shout and invite all doulas and childbirth educators to join me and learn how to practice transformational prenatal and postpartum coaching. However, since doulas and childbirth educators are traditionally called “Labor coaches,” I am continuously called to clarify the following: What’s the difference between a labor coach and a transformational birth support coach?
Pregnancy and childbirth are incredibly transformative experiences. Unfortunately, our culture has reduced the conversation about this utmost transformation to one topic: labor pain. Whether on social media, in moms’ groups, or on the playground, individuals undergoing their childbearing years’ discussions focus solely on fear and coping with labor pain. This narrow focus can make them preoccupied with deciding whether to take an epidural. It doesn’t help much that their guides, birth support professionals, also tend to distinguish between “Natural/Unmedicated Birth” and “Medicated Birth.” The first option is often idealized, whereas the latter is viewed less favorably. These common attitudes can result in birth givers feeling negative emotions such as disappointment or failure if they choose to take an epidural.Since the decision to use pain relief during labor is a personal choice that has emotional and social implications, I suggest helping expectant individuals to navigate this “Epidural Dilemma” with transformational prenatal coaching,
Matrescence (pronounced ma tres ens) is a term referring to a transformative period of identity-shifting experienced by a woman during her transition into motherhood. “The psychological birth of a mother, similar to adolescence, involves hormonal and identity shifting.
Transformation is a change from which there is no going back. When transforming, our everyday strategies and behavior patterns must be revisited and adjusted to to facilitate a smooth and empowering transformation. This simple observation is the origin of the Transformational Birth Support Coaching framework.
There’s no turning back from parenthood. It’s a transformation from being someone’s child to being someone’s parent, a change that shapes the rest of your life. It is becoming the designated adult accountable for someone else’s life. For first-time birth givers, this means transforming from someone who has been given life to someone who is giving life, which involves a physical transformation of the body, mind, and social status. This profound transformation is well described by the term “Matrescence.”
As a pioneer doula, I had to get clients while initiating and engaging in PR campaigns and giving many interviews to spread the concept of hiring a doula. Over the past 24 years, I have overcome my reluctance to engage in enrollment conversations to enroll potential clients, and now I have a thriving doula practice. I gained confidence by consistently showing up for my potential clients. Over the past seven years, I have been working as a doula trainer and have founded a new approach to birth support known as Transformational Birth and Postpartum Coaching. I am deeply committed to helping my students acquire clients and build successful practices. Although ‘doula’ is a term in the dictionary and a well-known support figure, the most asked question in the Facebook group I lead, “The Aspiring and Thriving Doula” is “How do I find Clients? I gathered a few strategies to get clients which I teach at my doula training and transformational birth support coaching course. And you’re invited to join my mentoring sessions. Find how at the bottom of this blog post.
Birth Support professionals are committed to providing essential care and support to pregnant individuals and new parents, helping them navigate the challenges of bringing new life into the world. Pregnancy and postpartum are times of heightened emotions and vulnerability. Amid the current political unrest, the transparent fabric of hope and optimism that subconsciously led our clients to conceive has been interrupted. Staying hopeful and optimistic is less intuitive and demands intentional practice and awareness. At this time, birth support pros must help their clients to repair it. We must expand our skills to facilitate something beyond proper maternal care; we need to coach to evoke hopefulness and optimism. Transformational Birth Support Coaching Strategies are the path to this type of support.
Halloween always makes me think about the spooky creatures individuals are troubled by, such as labor pain, cesarean, irreversible body changes, and dying at birth. The fear of labor pain is a common challenge among expectant persons. After all, the process of childbirth has been for centuries described as one of the most intense, physically demanding, and painful experiences a woman can go through. This perspective overshadows the excitement and joy of bringing a new life into the world. In this blog post, we’ll explore the fear of labor pain as a spooky thought and discuss ways to conquer it, ensuring a more positive and empowered birthing experience.
Birth support pros have been led for decades to believe that informational and emotional support can reduce induction rates. This notion has been supported by certifying organizations, including Lamaze and DONA, and many others. Yet, induction rates have been on the rise since the ARRIVE study. So why are couples educated and informed about inductions, and the rates keep increasing? The common understanding is that decreasing labor induction rates belong to the broader discussion about couples’ informed consent. However, decreasing labor induction rates can be achieved only when we address expectant couples’ beliefs and ongoing need for reassurance of their and their babies health. Addressing the mindset and predetermined beliefs is achieved by Transformational Prenatal Coaching and not by informational and emotional support as previously thought by birth support pros.
Preventing birth trauma is a much-desired goal, no less than preventing maternal death and reducing cesarean rates. As we have known for many years, birth trauma doesn’t necessarily tie to the unfolding of childbirth but instead relates to how birth givers were treated and how they feel they performed during their birth. Prenatal coaching can increase individuals’ performance levels and empower them to expect patient-centered and respectful care, reducing exposure to birth trauma.
Every January, I experience a dramatic increase in aspiring doulas’ inquiries, requesting a 20-minute discovery session with me, and …registrations. As a result, every January, I feel called to inspire doulas to fulfill not only their passion but their professional success by claiming their thriving practice. As a doula trainer and coach, I’m committed to helping doulas elevate their status as a professional community and their individual financial and professional success.
These are my three points of inspiration for doulas as we welcome 2023:
Lead your clients to achieve the results they hired you for
Use strategies that empower both you and your clients
Establish a viable and successful practice by focusing primarily on verbal coaching prenatally and in the postpartum period.
