Childbirth Education Week - Your Classes Are Missing a Critical Component
So your clients are missing out….
Don’t take it personally - we’re all doing our best and are doing this work with the best of intentions. Just as evidence evolves and you learn something fascinating that will benefit your clients you looks for ways to weave the new information into your classes. Hopefully some of this blog might inspire you to add some more tools to your teaching toolkit and your client’s labor toolkit without every training as a GentleBirth Instructor.
GentleBirth is the Future of Childbirth Education - and that future is here.
As a fellow birth professional you might be thinking that this is a bold statement to make – if you’re a GentleBirth parent you’ve already experienced the benefits. There are probably hundreds of birth preparation programs and approaches around the world and no doubt all of those educators feel their program is the best program for their community. I don’t doubt that for a minute. I am fortunate to know some of the best, brightest and most passionate childbirth educators in the world who are making a difference in their community and will continue to do so. But don’t you sometimes wish you could climb into a client’s pocket and support them in labor (especially if you’re not already a doula). The GentleBirth App is like having their childbirth educator and personal cheerleader and uplifter in their pocket - every day during their pregnancy and birth experience.
The GentleBirth approach is going to help you support your clients in an even more profound way long after they leave your class. So you’re probably wondering how I can make such a big claim? What makes me think that what we’re doing at GentleBirth is such a game changer while also predicting that my approach will influence childbirth education around the world significantly in the coming years?
Let me explain.
Childbirth education is traditionally thought of as a way to facilitate adult learning about labor, birth and initiation of breastfeeding – it helps parents empower themselves with information and feel more confident about what’s ahead…make informed decisions etc etc. I think most of us all agree on a similar traditional definition.
But there is a huge need for childbirth education to evolve with the science of pain education. The neuromatrix theory of pain proposes that pain is a multidimensional experience influenced by physical, cognitive and emotional events. Data suggests that when learners (parents) have basic 'pain literacy' through an educational intervention we can empower parents to intentionally 'hack' pain processing networks of the brain in labor to reduce the need for analgesics. For birthing people with a strong desire for a physiological, low intervention birth it is essential that childbirth educators have an understanding of the neuroscience of pain that can easily be conveyed and understood by parents in birth preparation classes. How cool is it for parents to understand more about how their brain’s process information and how they can hack their own body/brain to reduce pain? Mindfulness training plays a big part in this.
The Brain & Birth Preparation
Here’s a couple of facts to understand about the brain (stay with me – it’ll also help you understand your clients behavior better too).
Fact 1 - Early experiences good or bad are wired into the architecture of our brains. Those experiences positive or negative influenced our brain structure and the strength of those connections. Our brains are plastic the term is called neuroplasticity (think Play-Doh to keep it simple). Our environment changes the structure of our brain and like it or not many of us inherited some not great brain structures based on how we were raised and other environmental factors such as nutrition and stress.
Fact 2 - Our brain structure can also be changed by what we think and how often we think it (habits of thought). Interestingly the brain doesn’t differentiate between negative thoughts or positive ones it just increases the blood flow to that area and increases connections like little country roads that eventually become an amazing network of highways….so all of these new connections build out that area of ‘real estate’ in your brain. This is not about telling parents to just think happy clappy thoughts all day and all will be well. Intentional brain activity such as mindfulness and focus training is shown to change the structure of the brain in positive ways in the areas of the brain associated with executive functioning. Moms brain is changing in pregnancy due to hormones so why not change it in a way that benefits her and her baby (and likely her relationship with her partner too)?
Executive what? And what has any of this got to do with childbirth education?
Executive functioning is also known as executive control includes a number of cognitive processes such as planning, organization, initiating appropriate behavior while inhibiting inappropriate behavior. (Executive functioning has left the building after a few too many vodkas or when you’re really stressed….) When did you ever make a good decision when you were stressed?
When parents practice even short meditative practices they are literally growing that part of their brain. We think nothing of the importance of physical fitness in pregnancy – I bet you talk about it in your classes. I believe it’s time to put just as much emphasis on mental fitness and brain training for birth and beyond.
Why does this matter you’re wondering? Why not leave brain science to brain surgeons?
Let’s look at why it matters to those parents you teach in your classes and why it should matter to you.
6 Benefits of Brain Training with the GentleBirth App
All of this brain ‘exercise’ causes growth in the frontal lobe of the brain (executive functioning area) – so mom’s brain is thicker in that area. How can that be helpful? Well, it’ll make it much easier to make informed decisions. You know that BRAIN technique we all teach? Asking for Benefits, Risks etc is a great communication tool but understanding the information provided can be very difficult when the executive functioning is turned off….how often do you hear from parents describing their labor experience “I couldn’t think straight”….or after baby is born Mom says something like – “I don’t know what I was thinking”…..that’s because she wasn’t thinking…….B.R.A.I.N so much more effective when mom/partner can access that executive functioning area – and they can’t get there when they’re stressed. Which brings me to point 2.
The fear center of the brain that causes that cascade of adrenaline and stress for parents during birth - the amygdala - shrinks with brain training! That part of the brain shrinks as the executive functioning area grows! I so appreciate the body positive movement but the amygdala is the one part of the body I want to encourage moms to ‘get skinny’. That means introducing a new ‘diet’ of tools to slim down that amygdala (we have to stop feeding it fear!). How cool is that! So back to point 1 – they are able to use all of the tools/techniques they learned in class! It doesn’t all just “fly out the window”.
Parents find it easier to regulate their emotions during the hormonal rollercoaster that is pregnancy and new parenting (this is well documented in research).
Growing the executive functioning area means growing the muscle of focus (a handy dandy skill for an unmedicated birth you might be thinking).
For bonus points when this part of the brain is developed it ‘talks’ to other parts of the brain more efficiently through the connectome which is like a highway of brain connections… (the microbiome is so passé) and reduces pain perception. (Yet another way mindful moms find it easier to make informed decisions during stressful events).
A healthy fit trained brain changes parents’ relationship with stress – but it’s not a stress reduction tool per se it just helps parents turn down the volume on the 24 hr DJ in their head that’s playing an old negative soundtrack of “I’m not good enough….not strong enough….cool enough” (you know how that tune goes). Relaxation techniques are wonderful too but mindfulness training affects the brain and body in more positive ways. We haven’t even touched on PND and the protective factors that mindfulness brings…and how it can impact the baby’s brain - before AND after birth.
Now can you see why I am so in love with brain science and childbirth education and why I can say without a doubt that the world needs GentleBirth more than ever.
No matter what kind of childbirth educator you are or what classes you teach the GentleBirth App will support your clients through the emotional journey of pregnancy, birth and the first year of parenting (email team@gentlebirth.com with your website I’ll set you up with a free subscription so you can demo the app in your classes and use it yourself).
How will you begin to weave this information into your classes?
Happy Childbirth Education Week!
Tracy