Would you like more information about the benefits of having a doula for your pregnancy and birth?
Contact crysta@cyberdoulas.com or karli@cyberdoulas.com or kimberly@cyberdoulas.com!


Friday, December 13, 2013

Birth Doula Training

Cyber Doulas is excited to announce we will be hosting a DONA Doula training April 25-27.

in MINOT, ND

Completion of this workshop will provide you with the knowledge and tools to become a doula in our area, and set you on the path to becoming certified through DONA International.

Topics covered will include:

  • Anatomy and Physiology of Childbirth
  • The Stages of Labour
  • Labour – a Physical and Emotional Process
  • Common Medical Interventions in Childbirth
  • Labour Support Techniques – How to Help a Woman in Labour
  • Hands-on Practice of Comfort Measures
  • Listening and Communication Skills
  • Pre and Post-natal Visits – What a Doula Covers when Meeting with a Client
  • Breastfeeding – A Partnership between the Mother, the Baby, the Breast and the Doula
  • Your Doula Business – how to get clients and what to do when you get them!
  • Meet the Doulas – established local doulas will come and talk about their experiences working in Victoria
  • How to achieve certification with DONA International – the World’s Premier Doula Association
Pay in full by January 25th $300 (90 days prior)
Our instructor is the amazing Ann Grauer. You can learn more about her here: http://www.storknet.com/experts/obgyn/exag.htm
The workshop is the first step on the path to certification through DONA International. The rest of the steps can be found here: http://www.dona.org/develop/birth_cert.php
We are also considering a second workshop in Williston. If you are interested in that, let us know!


Here is the full cost info:

Pay in full by February 25th $325 (60 days prior)
Pay in full by March 10th $350 (45 days prior)
Pay in full by March 25th $375 (30 days prior)




For questions, comment below, message us at our FB page, or drop Crysta an email at cjpdigitalmedia@gmail.com -- excited to see a new crop of doulas in our area!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ten Reasons I Share My Birth Stories with My Adolescent Daughters


~Crysta

1. There is great value in oral history. Oral history has benefits no other form of history can quite match. The rich intricacies of a story told person-to-person have been the method of passing information for generations. This first-person account contains an emotion that is lost in many other methods.

2. Through stories, our children will reclaim their power, control, and courage. Knowledge of birth was once passed down exclusively orally, and midwives learned by watching, helping, and doing. It is my opinion our culture is in dire need of a return to these stories. In our time, a generation of women are finding themselves without the strength of birth stories to draw from when they give birth.

3. Choosing the message. I don’t want the uber-medicalized, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” version of birth – or the sanitized, made-for-TV version – to be the only story my daughters hear. There is so much more to it, and if I don’t tell them, chances are no one will. Sharing real-life birth stories may be just the thing to offset the medical model as the ideal.

4. To help them KNOW “16 and Pregnant” is not cooler than 18 and Backpacking through Europe. Enough said, really. What better way to counteract a little bit of imagined baby fever than with a dose of reality? No illusions here.

5. Breaking down fear of the unknown. So much of the pain in childbirth comes from fear of the unknown. I am planting the seeds early to gift my daughters the knowledge to trust their bodies as they become mothers. Removing the unknown is also about removing the giggle factor. My daughters are not the sort to giggle about private parts, because they aren’t secrets, they are part of everyday conversations.

6. So they can tell others. Now and as mothers. My middle daughter had a pregnant teacher in the fifth grade. Did that poor woman ever get an education! E frequently came home telling stories of her discussions with the teacher about doulas, midwives, water birth, and so much more. This freedom with birth information will continue when my daughters are mothers themselves, as they pass along their own birth stories, and the cycle continues.

7. Birth is beautiful. Honestly and truly. The process of becoming a mother for the first time or the tenth time is the most awesome, incredible experience any woman can tap into. That is worth sharing.

8. Guess what? I talk to them about sex, too. I am raising smart, worldly girls who will be armed with the information they need to take on the difficult situations that come up in teen life. Being a teenager is hard enough without being uninformed, too!

9. Feminism aside, motherhood is their legacy. According to U.S. Census data, more than 80% of women become mothers by age 40. I don’t want my daughters to be blindsided by motherhood.

10. Because they need to hear it from ME. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky stressed the importance of cultural and social contexts through his work in the 1970s. “The more significant and powerful the storyteller, the more significant and powerful the story,” he wrote in 1978. What woman is more significant in the life of an adolescent girl than her mother? I am the right messenger for this story to resonate with them, now and later in life.

Not sure how to share your story? Check out my upcoming free call to learn how! http://storydoulapreview.eventbrite.com/

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Spring doula training in Williston


Thank you for your interest in my upcoming DONA International Birth Doula  Workshop. This email should give you the necessary information about the weekend, as well as how to register. If you have any questions please email Ann Grauer at annidoula@gmail.com.

 
DONA INTERNATIONAL
 BIRTH DOULA TRAINING WORKSHOP

Exploring How the Doula's Heart, Mind and Spirit
Can Help to Create
Special Birth Memories

Friday, April 19th
Saturday, April 20th
Sunday, April 21st
2012
in
Williston, North Dakota

An educational offering which meets one of the requirements
 for certification by
 DONA International
  
The Workshop
If you are feeling called to work with birthing families this workshop may be what you have been looking for. We have designed it to be interactive and enjoyable, as well as to help you feel confident as you begin your journey as a doula.

During this intensive 2 1/2 day workshop students discuss the emotions and psychological processes associated with labor and the role of the doula prenatally, during labor and birth and postpartum followup. The course emphasizes the importance of appropriate, culturally-sensitive support.

The doula's scope of practice and ethical standards are emphasized, as are the realities of what being a doula entails. The workshop does not include training in clinical skills, since those are outside the doula's scope of practice.

The course is designed to help participants prepare to become expert labor support providers and utilizes texts and supplementary literature, videos and role play to build theoretical knowledge and practice skills.


Preparing to Attend


We want each participant to come into the training with enough background information to fully participate in the weekend. Our experience is that if a participant has not done the prerequisites then they will not feel as if the workshop has met their expectations. To best prepare we encourage you to do the following:


1. Attendance at a full series of childbirth preparation classes for first-time parents (12 hours, minimum) as a non-pregnant person. DONA
certification requires that this be done prior to certifying. We have started having participants take the childbirth classes prior to the workshop so that they feel as prepared as possible for the weekend. If you have questions about this, please let me know. (Please note: if you are a childbirth educator, nurse with labor and delivery experience or midwife this requirement will be waived)


2. Read the following two books: (all are most current editions)

Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn by Penny Simkin, 4th edition
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin, 3rd edition

NOTE: You MUST have a copy of The Birth Partner, 3rd Edition and bring it to class


Schedule for the Workshop

Friday, April 19th
Registration 12:45-1PM
Class 1-6PM

Saturday, April 20th

Class 8:30AM-6:00PM

Sunday, April 21st
Class 8:30AM-5:30PM


Topics Covered During the Workshop Include:

Significance of Birth
DONA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
Ideal Birth
Doulas in Action videos
Prenatal Contact
Art and Practice of Labor Support Throughout the Stages of Labor
Doula-supported Birth with an Epidural
Touch
Positioning and Comfort Measures
What if Labor Started Now
Difficult Labors
Induced Labors
Unexpected Outcomes
Cesarean Birth
VBAC Birth
The Amazing Newborn
Postpartum Contact
Role Play



YOUR INSTRUCTOR

A little over 17 years ago Penny Simkin told us that we should teach together. We love spending time with women who are exploring the doula profession and feel that we bring that passion to the workshop. Also, Carolyn's background as a nurse and Ann's as a layperson allow us to bring two very important and distinctive viewpoints to the workshop. Past participants tell us that this has enriched the experience for them. We love teaching together and hope that we will have the opportunity to welcome you into our workshop.


Ann Grauer, LCCE, FACCE, CD(DONA), PCD(DONA), IBCLC 
A Fellow in the American College of Childbirth Educators, Ann is certified as a childbirth educator with Lamaze International and ICEA and has been teaching pregnancy, birth and parenting classes since 1989. She has also been a doula for that length of time and is certified both as a birth and postpartum doula through DONA International. In addition to being a DONA-approved birth and postpartum doula trainer, Ann was President of DONA from 2003-05. She is also a board-certified lactation consultant.
 
She coordinates the first hospital-based doula program in Wisconsin at Columbia Center and is a member of the Family Education and Support team there. She has created parent and breastfeeding support groups in two states and has been a consultant to other hospital-based doula programs.  Ann is the 2007 recipient of Lamaze International's prestigious Elisabeth Bing Award.

Tuition Cost
I want to make attending the workshop financially do-able for everyone. If you have questions about the options below, please let me know.
Tuition cost for the workshop can be lowered by registering early and/or registering with a friend!

1. Early Bird Registration
Register by January 19th  $300 (90 days prior)
Register by February 19th  $325 (60 days prior)
Register by March 4th  $350 (45 days prior)
Register by March 19th  $375 (30 days prior)

*Because class size is limited, early registration is encouraged.


2. Attend with a friend
There is a discount for each person who registers with a buddy. Just send in your registration forms and payment together and you'll receive a discount of:
$20/each for two people
$30/each for three people
$40/each for four people
$50/each for five or more people
*These discounts can be taken in addition to Earlybird sign-up


One final note: As an instructor, I recognize that there are many wonderful potential doulas whose life circumstances are such that they cannot afford full payment in one lump sum. Payment plans are available in cases of true need and occasionally partial scholarships may be available. Please contact me for more information. Also, please note that the registration form contains information on cancellation policies. All tuition payment is non-refundable, however, a qualified participant may attend in your place or you may choose to attend a future birth doula worshop (in which there is space available) taught by Ann Grauer.

Registration

To register, please send the following:

1. The registration form below
2. A description of yourself and your interest in childbirth
3. Check made out to Ann Grauer

Please mail all of the above to:
Ann Grauer
620 N. 60th St.
Wauwatosa, WI 53213

Registration Form


Please print:


Name_____________________________________________


Address___________________________________________


City ______________________________________________


State, Zip Code__________________________ ___________


Home Phone_________________________ _______________


Email Address______________________________________


Current Profession___________________________________



Please make payment out to "Ann Grauer" and mail to 620 N. 60th St., Wauwatosa, WI 53213.
Class size is limited, so early registration is strongly encouraged. Payment must accompany your registration form.
CANCELLATION POLICY:Cancellations received more than 30 days prior to training will be refunded, minus a $100 processing fee. Less than 30 days prior to the training there will be no refunds, but the applicant may apply her fee to a later training taught and sponsored by the instructor.
*************************************************************************************************************************************

I have read and understand the cancellation policy for the workshop.
Signature of Registrant

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Belly Casting

Crysta and Kim did belly casts at the Minot mall today. It was a blast! This mama was only 18 weeks along, super adorable cast came out of this one, and we'll definitely have to do another one when baby gets closer.