Childbirth Education Classes

Margy has been an ICEA Childbirth Educator since 1995. She taught for the Willamette Valley Medical Center Birthing Center from 1999 to 2008, serving over a thousand expectant families. Her independent classes are based on the ICEA philosophy of "freedom of choice based on knowledge of alternatives".

Individual and group classes will be tailored to meet the needs and desires of her students, including the following possible subjects:

  • Preparing physically and emotionally for labor and birth
  • The normal process of labor and birth (and its common variations)
  • Comfort Techniques for labor and birth
    1. Creating an environment that encourages normal labor
    2. Relaxation, focus, and breathing techniques
    3. Touch and massage
    4. Positions for comfort and labor progress
    5. “Tools” like a bath, shower, birth ball, birth stool, ice pack, or heating pad
    6. Nourishment
    7. Affirmations, Support, and Witness- the role of the partner
  • Appropriate use of medical technologies, including pain-relieving medications and cesarean surgery
  • Postpartum recovery and new parenthood- getting off to a good start
  • Breastfeeding- everything from getting a good latch to dealing with growth spurts to nursing the older baby!

Classes vary in length according to students’ needs. Some possibilities include:

  • 3-hour private review
  • One day (8 hours) group class, 2 to 5 families
  • Four weeks, 3 hours per week, semi-private class (2 families)
  • Six weeks, 2 hours per week, 4 to 5 families

Please contact Margy for more information.