Creative Ways of Making Space for the Baby ~ Part 1 ~

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an experiential workshop designed to inspire & awaken you to new ways of interacting with birth for all midwives, doulas, birth support people and parents to be

The term ‘birthwork’ embraces all the different kinds of work and creative effort that mothers and their support people embark upon through childbearing. It acknowledges that birthworkers everywhere have the natural and necessary impulse to nurture mothers and babies, and share their experiences and wisdom.

This workshop will truly support you if you have ever:

•  experienced frustration when working with a labouring woman and wished you had more skills and knowledge to simply and effectively help her
•  wanted to be able to touch with confidence and tenderness to help someone in pregnancy or birth
•  helped at a difficult birth that you couldn’t quite understand or negotiate
•  been traumatized by a birth experience and wished you had the skills to resolve it
•  wanted to assist a mother in minimizing emotional and physical trauma
•  wanted to add highly effective skills to your birth tool box
•  wanted to empower women & their partners with self-help skills in pregnancy, birth & beyond
•  wanted to be able to connect with and guide a woman you don’t know
•  wished you were able to help change a baby’s position or presentation
•  wanted to understand more about women’s seemingly mysterious pelvic anatomy
•  wanted to know about your own unique pelvic anatomy
•  wanted to reconcile the births of your own children
•  believed that the wellness of mothers and babies is of supreme importance
•  been in awe of a woman’s body through childbearing​

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Day 1
​Wisdom in Action

THE POWER OF TOUCH & TENDERNESS
Explore:
Benefits of touch
Offering comfort & support with touch
The connection between the emotional & the physical
How specific touch can serve as a cue
How to simply relate with each birthing woman

BODY AWARENESS & PREPARATION
Understand:
Pelvic space like never before
How a balanced pelvis affects space
Dynamic anatomy & how it affects the sense of space
How to incorporate body awareness into relaxed preparation
How unique each woman’s body is

BREATHING FOR BIRTH
Experience:
The important connection between body & breath
Utilizing the breath for focus & release of tension
How breath can open the birth space 

Day 2
​Freeing up the Space

BELLY PELVIS BUTT
Marvel at:
The intricate layers of the pelvic floor
The wondrous connected complexity of pelvic anatomy
How alignment & posture affect the pelvic floor How to assist physically ‘letting go’
How the pelvic floor can be a woman’s best friend or worst enemy

ROCKING & ROLLING
Experience:
How to maximise & mobilise pelvic space Sifting with the Reboso – a Mexican shawl used traditionally to soften mother for birth, correct baby’s position before or during birth and more...
Learn what can be done:
When a baby’s head is high at term, posterior, deflexed or asynclitic
When a baby’s presentation is compound or breech
When a baby and/or mother become ‘stuck’ in labour 

Day 3
Viva la Vagina 
​**talking not touching 

VAGINAL WONDER ** 
Consider: 
This mysterious & sacred space What makes the space close/tighten What makes the space open/relaxed

THE INTERNAL SPACE **
Awaken to:
The benefits of vaginal awareness, exploration, relaxation & preparation How to demystify this internal space
How to release tension & trauma
How to introduce it as a beneficial practice

​CLOSING THE SPACE
Considerations after the birth:
Settling & bringing energy back in
Calming the breath
Dealing with energetic & physical discomforts Addressing birth trauma 

For registration and all details regarding dates, venues & ‘what to bring’ follow the clicks on the website www.birthwork.com

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