See,Do,Teach

Wow...I'm emotional today. Have you ever held unrealistic expectations of yourself? I do that way too often!:) My history as a student is average. Until now I always associated this fact with not being very interested in the subjects I've studied. Then I picked up 'Spiritual Midwifery' by Ina May Gaskin...and I found my interest. Where I struggle is communicating the information I've read. Words I really hate saying because..The problem with that is...I'm a Childbirth Educator! So instead of focusing all my attention on reading the latest studies and then forgetting what I read...I think I'll start researching teaching techniques, study techniques, learning styles and found out how I can best share all the information with my classes. I really don't want to say PowerPoint, but I can see how useful this type of presentation would be when teaching a subject like let's say...ahem...Pain Medications Used in Childbirth...

Last night was the third week in my six week prenatal series. I have to admit, that I am nervous teaching about pain medications to begin with, so when you add the local anesthetist, and his expecting wife to my class, I'm borderline frantic! I ended up asking him a lot of questions..as did other parents. I am the first one to say "I don't know" if I don't know the answer to a question. So, on the whole I was okay with the way the class proceeded. I felt disappointed that all the preparation I had done, had vanished into thin air. I was definitely stuttering, trying to find my words, never mind whole sentences.

The doctor and his wife stayed after class and gave me some very important feedback, that I will definitely use in my future classes. Lucky for me, I've had the opportunity to befriend these individuals. In fact, at my first series he was a speaker, which gave me the opportunity to watch the specialist present on the subject. After class he said "In the medical world we have a saying 'See, Do, Teach' you skipped the DO and went straight to teaching." After thinking about what he said I figure the closest I'll ever get to "doing" an epidural, is demanding that I be able to stay by my clients side if they choose to have an epidural. In the past I have always been made to leave the room. Then of course I have to relate this new medical rule to natural childbirth...

See-other women give birth. Do-it with strength, trust, time, and support. Teach-our daughters the wisdom of their bodies.