Holding Space in Space

This is a professional development container to discuss the present and ongoing challenges to adapting postpartum doula support to the virtual sphere.

In this class we will cover adapting your practice and supporting families virtually and how to “show up” (even when you’re not allowed to.) There will be space for: How to set up virtual doula space and the tools you need to do so, how to ground yourself in this spacey container and feel confident doing so and turning your doula bag into a doula basket and why.

We’ll cover Postpartum Planning in the virtual space (it’s more important than EVER) including Nourishment & Meal Planning - Sibling Prep - Physical Healing - Mental Health in a crisis - Infant Care & Infant Feeding - Galvanizing Rings of Support - Referrals and Resources - Advocacy -

We will also dive into Postpartum Support in the virtual space including Active Listening and emotional support - Informational Support - Physical healing and comfort - How to do demos (and when not to) - Partner Support - Bolstering self care rituals - What actually is holding space - Cooking together - Grounding and nervous system regulation - Boundaries and containers of care

Improv for Birthworkers

As birthworkers we need to be agile, flexible, collaborative, creative, innovative, nonjudgemental and resilient. That’s a tall order. This immersive hands-on class speaks to the increasing diversity of skill-set we need to do our jobs and do them well. Improvisation provides people a practice in building the tools to make them better listeners. It instills an increased openness to new thoughts and ideas and builds confidence, empathy and understanding.

Creating a fun and physical learning environment, Erica and Laura take their backgrounds as performers and improvisers and teach birthworkers how to come out of their shells and increase their ability to hold space, understand and laugh their way through birthworker life. We develop storytelling capabilities that will boost your branding, practices and exercises that increase agility and thinking on your feet and games that increase your ability to respond to curveballs, to better manage change, and to bounce back from a stressful or traumatic experience..

Learn as we take the basics of comedy improvisation (“yes and”, ready to fail, risk taking, being in the moment and commitment) and apply them to the field of birth work for a exciting, fun and expansive new look at how to be a sacred space holder. Book more clients by increasing your communication and interviewing skills, being comfortable giving your spiel on the fly and welcoming humor into your work. You’ve never taken a class this fun!

Postpartum for Birth Doulas

ONLINE OFFERING OF THIS CLASS COMING SOON!

Maximizing the Power of Your Post Birth Visit

By providing a postpartum shift you have to opportunity to set the families you serve up for a successful postpartum journey, no matter the outcome of their birth. By applying these tips, techniques and tools you can take your included postpartum shift to the next level by supporting families in a deep and nourishing way.

We’ll include many suggestions of how to enrich your postpartum gifts as each family is always different in what they need. Fostering your knowledge of what a family needs after birth can only strengthen your approach to your services as a whole. Encouraging your clients to develop and grow in their confidence as new parents can enhance and strengthen your quality of service therefore increasing your clientele, improving your word of mouth referrals and enriching your overall value as a doula.