Steps to Becoming a BirthWorks Childbirth Educator

Would you like to help women and their families in your community have more positive birth experiences? Become a Childbirth Educator for BirthWorks and receive our high quality training that includes a unique, experiential approach which integrates the mind, body, and spirit. The innovative design of our classes results in participants experiencing personal self-growth, helpful not only in their births, but also in their lives.

People who have taken BirthWorks classes say they have:

Developed more confidence in the birth process and their decision making skills.

Explored the influence of individual beliefs and attitudes on the birth process.

Learned the importance of nutrition, exercise, and the role of the neocortex in labor and birth.

Experienced the impact of pelvic bodywork on their labors and births.

 

The BirthWorks Certification Program is a Three Step Process...

1. Completion of the requirements in the comfort of your own home in a self-study course, sending your prerequisites to your reviewer and receiving feedback.
2. Attendance at a three-day BirthWorks Childbirth Educator Workshop held regionally.
3. Facilitate an 8 week (16 hour) BirthWorks course over a ten-week period.

 

Program enrollment: $395, includes annual BWI membership and 500 pg. Teacher Manual
Workshop: $450
Program length: 2 years from time of enrollment
Total Certification Cost: $845 plus cost of books

 

Required Reading List: Receive 10% off titles in the BWI store with enrollment/membership

1. "Birth Reborn" by Michel Odent
2. "Ended Beginnings" by Claudia Patmos OR "Survivor Moms" by Sperlich and Seng OR "When Survivors Give Birth" by Penny Simkin
3. "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin
4. "Silent Knife" by Nancy Weaver Cohen
5. "Scientification of Love" by Michel Cohen
6. "The Oxytocin Factor" by Kerstin Uvnas Moberg OR "Rediscovering Birth" by Sheila Kitzinger
7. "Birthing in the Spirit" by Cathy Daub
8. A Book on Breastfeeding ("Womanly Art of Breastfeeding", "Nursing Mother's Companion", "The Latch", any other Jack Newman book, etc.)
9. "Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer
10. "Let Birth Be Born Again" by Jean Sutton
11. "Essential Exercises for the Childbirthing Year" by Elizabeth Noble OR "Active Birth" by Janet Balaskas

 

Not Required, But Highly Recommended:

1. "Sit Up and Take Notice" by Pauline Scott
2. "Your Amazing Newborn" by Klaus and Klaus
3. "Birthing Normally" by Gayle Peterson
4. "The Tentaive Pregnancy" by Barbara Katz Rothman
5. "Mothering the Mother" by Klaus et all
6. "The Cesarean Myth" by Mortimer Rosen M.D.
7. "The Cesarean" by Michel Odent MD
8. "The Farmer and the Obstetrician" by Michel Odent MD
9. "Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities" by Henci Goer
10. "Five Standards for Safe Childbearing" by D. Stewart
11. "Creating A Joyful Birth Experience" by Lucia Capacchione & Sandra Bardsley
12. "Gentle Birth Choices" by Barbara Harper
13. "Pushed" by Janet Block

 

Click Here for a list of requirements for the Modified Childbirth Educator Program designed for those who have already certified as a childbirth educator with another organization.

Click Here to register to become a BirthWorks Childbirth Educator.

Click Here for our brochure on the Childbrith Educator Certification Program.

 

Steps to Becoming a BirthWorks Doula

Would you like to help women and their families in your community have more positive birth experiences? Become a Birth Doula for BirthWorks and receive our high quality training that includes a unique, experiential approach which integrates the mind, body, and spirit.

A BirthWorks Doula:

Provides information to help a pregnant woman and her partner develop a birth plan prior to birth.

Provides continuous care for the woman during her labor.

Visits a woman after her birth to help process the birth experience, ensure positive birth memories and to offer assistance with breastfeeding and postpartum adjustments.

Strives to live up to the Ideals of a Birth Works Doula.

Helps a woman to develop self-confidence and to have more trust and faith in her ability to give birth.

 

The BirthWorks Certification Program is a Three Step Process...

1. Submit your Profile of a BirthWorks Doula and completed registration form.
2. Complete your BirthWorks Doula Journal Workbook.
3. Attend a three-day Birth Works Doula Workshop and complete reading and written exercises.
4. Attend two births and obtain evaluations from the mother and a professional member of the birth team for each birth.

 

Click Here to register to become a BirthWorks Birth Doula.

Click Here for our brochure on the Doula Certification Program.

 

Program enrollment: $125, includes annual BWI membership, Doula Journal Workbook, and complimentary copy of "Doulas of Love"
Workshop: $395
Program Length: 18 months from time of enrollment
Total Certification Cost: $520 plus cost of books

 

Required Reading List: Receive 10% off titles in the BWI store with enrollment/membership

1. Doula Journal Workbook (provided at workshop)
2. "Doulas of Love" (provided at workshop)
3. "The Doula Book" by Marshall Klaus
4. "Let Birth Be Born Again" by Jean Sutton
5. "Birthing In the Spirit" by Cathy Daub
6. "Nursing Women Compendium" OR "Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding"
7. "Ended Beginnings" OR "Survivor Mom" OR Breast is Best (DVD)
8. "Birth Reborn" OR "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" OR "The Oxytocin Factor"

 

Discounts!
Workshop
Early Bird 1: $45 off 3 months advance registration
Early Bird 2: $35 off 2 months advance registration
Early Bird 3: $15 off 1 month advance registration
Register with a friend and receive an additional $20 off each workshop registration

 

Program Discounts for Dual Certification
Doulas certified by other national organizations receive 20% off enrollment fee
Educators certified by other national organizations receive 10% off enrollment fee

 

BirthWorks Dual Certification Discount
Enroll in one BirthWorks program and receive $50 off enrollment in second program. (Educators receive 50% off Doula program and vice versa.)

 

The Next Step...Becoming a BirthWorks Trainer

Would you like to become a Birth Works Trainer and teach our Childbirth Education Workshops? Meet women nationwide who wish to become Birth Works Childbirth Educators in their communities?

You Can Become a Trainer By Completing These Three Steps:

1. Join our certification program and achieve status as a Certified Childbirth Educator for Birth Works International CCE(BWI). Click here to read the Requirements for becoming a Childbirth Educator for Birth Works.
2. Gain experience by teaching Birth Works Childbirth Education Classes in your community.
3. Complete the requirements to become a Trainer.

 

BirthWorks Trainers:

Are highly trained women, providing current information in an experiential way, making the impact of learning deeper.

Are compassionate, knowledgeable, and well-trained in facilitation techniques that offer optimal group learning.

Understand birth from cultural perspectives to meet the needs of anyone in the workshop.

Provide a training that integrates the mind, body, and spirit for birth preparation.

 

The BirthWorks Trainer's Workshop

The Birth Works Trainers’ Workshop is designed to provide hands-on experience in leading various segments of the Birth Works Childbirth Education Workshop (CEW).
Participants find this experience very valuable in increasing their level of confidence in preparation for teaching their own workshops. Ample time is devoted to questions and further explanations of various techniques are given as needed. Much attention is given to the importance of and specific techniques used to increase a feeling of safety in a group setting. After the Trainer’s Workshop, participants will co-teach a Birth Works Childbirth Education Workshop with an experienced Birth Works Trainer.