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Birthing safely in a Technocratic Model
Human physiology hasn’t yet adapted to how we do birth in this culture surrounded by strangers and technology.
This is the education you’re going to need.
There's truly no mystery to birth. It's how humans arrive. It's how most mammals arrive. A little time on the farm will dispel most mysteries about birth. Yet, surprisingly, there remains a great deal of misinformation and a lack of information about how birth unfolds, what makes it safe, what disrupts it and how birth can become enjoyable.
Humans have been arriving much the same way for millennia, however, the conditions under which we birth are cultural. We hope that how we do birth in our culture makes it safer, yet sometimes, how we do birth just makes it more challenging and can increase complications. Humans have never before birthed surrounded with this much technology, these many strangers, injected with so many drugs, measured at every turn, or bombarded with ultrasound waves. About one in three parents finds it a traumatising experience and one in eight ends up with PTSD from the experience. It could be that how we do birth in this culture isn’t as “safe” as we like to think!
Science and research are our friends in this journey towards safer birth experiences. It’s possible to welcome babies into the world and ensure each parent emerges whole and ready for the journey ahead by understanding the physiology of birth, what makes it safer, what interrupts it, and what parents, loved ones, and professionals can do at each step in the process.
A one-day intensive will cover an impressive amount of research-backed information that will expose you to the world of birth behind the matrix. Behind the veil of technology, fear, and the business of birth, you’ll discover what the science actually says that improves maternal and neonatal outcomes.
I can’t recommend this enough. Life changing birth experience which gave me the control back after 2 shit show births, 1 of which broke me. ~ JM
In this workshop, we’ll take a deep dive into topics that will change how you understand birth and how you will approach your own labour. I call it the “ultimate fear-busting” workshop.
Section 1
Is birth safe?
Maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality dropped dramatically in the last century. You’ll discover why maternal mortality was so high to begin with. Why do mothers die today and how does prenatal care and hospital birth impact this outcome? You’ll learn what the leading cause of maternal and neonatal mortality is today and how this impacts you and the choices you make. What we know today about protecting the lives of mothers and babies is quite different than what you’ve been told. It’s about knowing what contributes to worse outcomes and taking preventive actions, problem solving, and getting the right help when warranted.
Section 2
The science of food and supplements
“Take your vitamins for a healthy pregnancy” is a common recommendation. You’ll be surprised by what the research actually says about supplements in pregnancy. Some are good, some are benign, and some are downright dangerous. One of the most commonly prescribed supplements may actually contribute to gestational diabetes, growth restriction, and preterm birth! Healthy mothers need healthy food to grow healthy babies. You’ll learn what the science has proven to be “healthy food”.
Section 3
Pregnancy and prenatal care
It’s widely assumed that every mother needs prenatal care by a health care professional. Pregnancy is an important time to take care of yourself. However, too much of a good thing can actually turn into something harmful. We’ll explore the research regarding prenatal care, testing, treatments, and options that point to a healthier outcome. We talk in-depth about pregnancy wellness from a research-based perspective, including gestational diabetes, group B strep, low iron and anaemia, and the value of ultrasounds. You’ll discover when prenatal care becomes a risk for you and your baby and what you can do to ensure the choices you make are safe, evidence-based, and right for you.
section 4
Preparing for birth
Birth is a chemical process that results in a physical experience! Birth is the result of a finely tuned concert of hormones that is coordinated between the mother and baby and involves brain signals, messages from the placenta, information from the baby’s lungs and more. You’ll learn about the role of progesterone, relaxin, oxytocin, surfactants, prolactin, epinephrine, endorphins, and catecholamines. This is important information as it helps us understand how birth unfolds and to gain insight into those things that interfere with this process, thereby adding risk, and when it’s beneficial to interrupt this process to reduce risk.
section 5
Understanding oxytocin
Oxytocin is a hormone that is made in the brain and is called ‘the love hormone’. This amazing hormone helps us to fall in love, trust others, calm our minds and hearts, digest our food, enjoy sex, and birth a baby. You’ll learn how it acts as a hormone and as a neuro-transmitter. Synthetic oxytocin that comes in an IV bag is chemically identical to the hormone of love that is made by our hypothalamus, but acts very differently in the human body. You’ll learn how to optimise this wonderful hormone to help it live up to the meaning of its Greek origin: “quick birth”.
section 6
Things to know before labour starts
Our technocratic model of birth places a great deal of significance on the cervix. What is it about this bit of tissue at the entrance to the uterus that gets medical folks wanting to check it so often? We’ll talk about the function of the cervix and what kind of information it can provide along with the research on the usefulness of that information. Those who are birthing after trauma will find this an empowering segment. We’ll also talk about the amniotic sac, amniotic fluid, and what it means when the water breaks before labour. And no discussion about birth would be complete without talking about poop. Everybody poops, including babies. What does the research say about meconium and when is it a concern? You’ll learn what you can do to lessen the potential for meconium becoming an issue.
section 7
Labour begins
The big moment is here. We’ll discuss the cascade of hormones that begins and completes the process of moving the baby from the womb to the waiting arms of its mother. And here we talk about all the scary things that can happen in birth and what the research says about the likelihood, the risks, the causes, strategies for prevention, and paths for solution and resolution.
how to assess dilation without vaginal exams
failure to progress
failed induction
shoulder dystocia
meconium in the water
cord around the neck
section 8
The baby arrives
Now that baby is here, we continue to explore the ongoing chemical process that transitions the baby to breathing air, bonds mother to baby, expels the placenta, and prevents the mother from haemorrhaging. There are numerous built-in safety mechanisms for both mother and baby and understanding what these are and ensuring they are not sabotaged is one way of ensuring a safer birth experience. You’ll learn how the baby transitions from foetal respiration where the placenta does the work, to pulmonary respiration, where the lungs do the work. You will be introduced to neonatal resuscitation (only an introduction as this will not include any in-depth instructions or training). You’ll learn what the research says about the timing of cord clamping. For those who will be birthing outside a hospital, you’ll learn what the science says about safe management of the birth of the placenta as well as the role of oxytocin in preventing haemorrhage, along with other evidence-based strategies for haemorrhage prevention.
“This course gave me the confidence and reassurance in the birth process as a whole, which lead to having a beautiful, healthy and successful home birth. I gained so much scientific and practical knowledge to feel informed on my rights and safe in my body. I recommend every pregnant woman and their partner attend this course”. ~ Jess
At the end of this workshop, you can expect to feel empowered, excited, equipped, and ready to make scientifically-sound choices for you and your baby. This is the ideal workshop for those who are planning a birth after a previous traumatic experience. It helps to explain many of the routines and rituals of a technocratic birth that can interrupt the hormonal cascade of birth, oftentimes, contributing to the cascade of interventions. It dispels myths, particularly those that speak to the technocratic model as being the safest approach to all births. It lifts the veil and shows you what is behind the matrix. You’ll discover a process that has filled this planet with billions of people and you’ll discover what makes it safer and what puts you and your baby at risk - and how to take action to lessen those risks.
This science-based workshop provides a certificate of completion for those birth professionals who would like to count it towards their continuing education.
This one day intensive is available in-person for groups of 8 - 14 persons.
"This workshop is invaluable! Billie masterfully pulls back the veil on institutional obstetrics, guiding her participants to see beyond the matrix of common birth practice, while equipping mothers with real science/evidence/tools to pursue healthy, resilient, peace-filled birth experiences free of trauma and coercion. Billie provides an informed and visionary framework of knowledge, experience and support that restores women to their innate power in their birthing journey. I have been recommending this workshop to my pregnant friends as a critical piece of prenatal preparation; this investment will bear much good fruit for families seeking a more holistic approach to birth." ~ Bonnie L. Canada