Mama Natural Birth Course Review From A Doula That Wants You To Succeed With Your Birth

Author
Recent Posts

Suzzie Vehrs is a Birth Arts International Certified Birth Doula passionate about helping moms create healthy, happy birth experiences + have a full recovery afterwards.

What To Love About The Mama Natural Birth Course

When I was finishing my doula training, I was also assisting at home births by setting up labor tubs. When I arrived at one particular home, I was greeted by a very upset family. Grandma greeted me at the door and showed me where to set up.

The mama in labor was on the couch crying. As I set up, I found out that her doula was out of town and so was her doulas backup. Kate told me, I don’t know what to do, I was planning on my doula helping me through this.

I let her know that I was a doula as well, and would be happy to stay with her. She agreed and I stayed as her doula. Turns out, she didn’t need me much at all. She was incredibly peaceful and calm through labor and just seemed to be able to accept and move with contractions with ease. Her midwife joined us several hours later and she had a healthy a beautiful baby boy.

Kate had taken the Mama Natural Birth Course – and in my opinion, though she needed a little guidance and encouragement, she was well educated and prepared for her simple and beautiful homebirth.

Lessons from this story:

In its 8 videos the mama natural birth course teaches moms to have a very positive view of the process of birth. So many classes feel very clinical, going over only the physical changes your body will go through. Genevieve and her midwife co-teacher, Maura, are so warm and encouraging and do a great job teaching that giving birth is not something to fear.

As in Kate’s story, Kate was able to give birth naturally in her home. Birth does not have to be a medical process. Afterall, it is nature’s design. And for the most part, it can be trusted.

Kate had a very strong sense that everything in the process of birth was normal and that she was safe. I am sure this confidence came in part from her efforts in taking the Mama Natural Birth Course. And she is one of many moms I’ve witnessed have this peaceful, warm birth experience after taking this class.

Who does well with the mama natural birth course:

In my experience, the mama natural birth course is best for low risk moms giving birth outside the hospital with the support of a doula and midwife. Like Kate, one of the things that I’ve heard repeated to me by several moms is that after taking the course is that they feel better about the birth process, but still feel like they need help knowing what to do when.

As I will show in my next story, I don’t think mama natural is a great fit for moms planning to give birth naturally in the hospital or for moms who have extra risk factors that would potentially move them out of midwifery care into OB care.

When is the mama natural birth class not the right fit?

mama natural birth course review mom holding baby after a c-section

Obviously, a natural birth class isn’t the best fit for someone planning to labor with an epidural. But, there are some downsides for moms planning epidural free births as well.

Let me share another story with you.

Destiny was happily planning for a Homebirth as well. I visited her to go over her birth plan and make sure as her doula I could help her and her husband have the birth experience they wanted at home. We had a great time. We were all looking forward to her guess date over a month away.

2 days later, I got a call:

‘We’re in the hospital. My water broke. ‘

Now, she was having a preemie baby, in the hospital. Her midwife transferred her care because her original plan was no longer safe or appropriate.

Now, she was in a system she had learned to distrust. Her decisions were no longer decisions of preference but life saving decisions in a very high risk situation. She now had a doctor she had never met before and had a strong sense of distrust towards.

Her baby began showing patterns of long and deep heart rate drops. It was recommended that she skip labor, which hadn’t fully started and head into a c-section. But how could she trust this recommendation when she had spent months learning to distrust the system? Not to mention she was well aware of the steep costs of surgical births.

This was a tough and tear felt decision, that almost didn’t happen.

Lessons From This Story

As much as I love and want to sing the story that birth is natural, safe, and always works out. I’ve learned that is not always the truth.

And while I don’t want to panic you about birth, I do want you to understand that you are not alone or a failure if you have a birth that doesn’t fit the ‘everything just works out perfectly’ story.

Complications to birth happen quite a bit. Though this is not a comprehensive list, it’s enough to get the idea.

Preeclampsia happens in 2 to 8 percent of births
Preterm birth happens in 10 percent of births
Gestational diabetes happen in 2 to 10 percent of births

Mama natural definitely sugar coats how safe birth actually is – and the problem with that goes deeper then giving moms a potential illusion that it will all work out. (Because it still usually does!)

Mama Natural’s course places all the blame for the complexities of birth on the medical system. This is just not fair for the system or for moms. Yes, you should be an informed consumer, but you shouldn’t always believe that nothing could ever happen to you.

Is the cascade of interventions real and is it something to fear?

Some hospitals definitely fit into the cascade of intervention story mama natural peaches. The worst hospital in the United States has 70 percent of low risk moms having c-sections. This is not acceptable in any way.

But not all hospital are like this. The best hospitals rival the best midwives, with only 7 percent of low risk moms having c-sections.

I don’t like the way Mama Natural talks about interventions as if it’s a bad word. Even moms like Alexis who LOVED the course and got so much from it mention this in their own reviews.

I’m a bit superstitious about one thing, and that’s that when we talk about openly and have plans set up for the what ifs, they are much less likely to happen.

My experience with natural birth classes did not result in fewer interventions

When I began my work as a doula, my training was rooted in Bradly, Lamaze, and Hypnobirthing classes. I believed then, and I believe now that birth is a normal and natural process. Women are made to give birth. And when moms are supported through labor, it can be an incredibly positive experience.

At the beginning of my career, I often recommended Bradley Classes, Lamaze Classes, and Hypnobirthing Classes, depending on the moms needs and personality. If a mom needed an online class – the Mama Natural Birth Course was at the top of my list.

All of these birth courses teach that labor is safe. They also suggest the medical system is dangerous, too quick to interfere, and doesn’t care. But, unfortunately, when I used these methods, I still had about a 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 c-section rate with my clients,

It was devastating to have pregnancy after pregnancy with empowered and proactive moms ending this way. And I’m not the only one that feels this way.

I’ve even seen doctors who were strong and confident in the room with a mom have tears running down their face in the hallway wishing they could change a moms experience and give her a simpler journey.

Something had to change…

Because of this, I sought out more trainings, from Spinning Babies, to Optimal Maternal Positioning classes, to nutritional classes from the world’s leading pregnancy expert – Lisa Nichols. I was either going to quit and walk away or find something that worked. And things began to change.

Now my c-section rate is about one in ten, half what it was before. Many researchers believe that over half of surgical births could be prevented. And now I agree! On top of that, I’m seeing that reduced c-section rate with a blend of home birth, birth center births, and hospital births.

These methods, learned from many different approaches to birth, have made all the difference.

And I draw on them in my new and distinct course Birth Undone.

How we talk about birth needs to change.

I was recently reading a story about a couple hiking Mt. Everest. They prepared together, we’re on the same tour, with the same guide. At one point, the team had to cross a deep crevice between the ice. They do this by laying a ladder across the crevice and walking over the ladder. Most of the team made it just fine, including the wife in this couple.

But then, as the husband took his turn, the ice moved, causing the ladder – with him on it, to fall down into the crevice. The team worked together to send him a rope and get him out of an incredibly dangerous situation. He and his wife went on to safely complete the summit. Because he didn’t panic, the team was prepared, and they all stayed focused and worked through the problem, everyone was okay and the hike was completed several days later.

What is the lesson of this story?

Birth is a humbling process. With an epidural or without an epidural it will take your effort, energy and commitment. Though it’s typically a safe though challenging process, there is a wide range of normal when it comes to how birth is experienced. And sometimes, you need to climb out of a situation you never expected to be in, that is completely out of your control or anyone else’s.

Because of that, you need the right preparation, and a skilled team.

I don’t think we give moms enough credit for the work they do as they bring life to the world. I wish we saw birth as both the incredible and beautiful process it is, but could also talk about the challenges and dexterity it can take.

So often, I see moms go through situations in their birth where their plans have to change. Instead of seeing the strength, bravery and beauty they display as they move through the process of getting out of the crevice, they feel like they weren’t good enough or strong enough. Even worse is when they believe that something was wrong with them because they found themselves in that situation in the first place.

Telling moms that birth is always safe is untrue – giving birth is a beautiful thing. But it is a force of nature that we need to respect and give moms appropriate tools for.

Nobody would look at the couple climbing Mt. Everest and say wow, what a weak person that fell down a crevice. At that point, the climber went through something incredibly challenging and the combined strength of himself and his team got him through.

Birth can be like that.

My Strategy: If You’re Prepared, You Can Expect The Best

Being prepared and expecting the best can exist at the same time. I personally had a beautiful home birth. I think more people would choose and enjoy a natural birth if they knew how incredible it can feel.

That’s why I like to prepare moms to easily move through the most beautiful and safe natural birth. But, I also give them tools to be proactive about avoiding common complications. I also give moms tools to use if their plans change and they find themself in the crevice, so to speak.

I believe when you have plan A,B and C in place, plan A is more likely to happen. But you’re more likely to be okay emotionally and physically if you do have to use plan B or C.

I hope you can come to a place of trust in your intuition and inner knowing when it comes to your birth. Plus, have tools and skills to navigate the process. Plus have a team that loves you and honors you as they assist you with the process.

Who Is The Mama Natural Birth Course Best For?

If you are a mom planning a natural birth, especially out of the hospital, then the Mama Natural Birth Course could be for you. Especially if you need a class that will give you lots of warm happy feelings about birth. It is also for you if you want someone to reassure you that birth is safe, and you can do it.

Also, if you live a very natural life and want a community of moms who also have natural birth and generally more natural approaches to life, it could be the right class for you.

Who Is My Birth Undone Birth Course For?

If you’re a mom who wants a natural birth, or is not sure about an epidural, AND you really want to reduce your risks for interventions, then this is the right class for you. We have so much fun honoring the unique time of pregnancy and preparing to work with the forces of labor. Moms who go through the Birth Undone course feel like they can leave anxiety behind and have practical skills to move through birth – however it unfolds.

What moms love about Birth Undone:

Practical and purposeful:

If you’re a practical person and want to learn concrete skills and tools that you can use through birth – you will LOVE Birth Undone. In Birth Undone we prioritize learning skills and getting you prepared over sharing our own personal stories that may or may not be relevant to your own.

Support, community and motivation:

If you like community, friendship and that feeling of having other people ‘in-the-game’ with you, you will LOVE the Birth Undone Facebook group. We have mom’s planning all types of birth, from beautiful peaceful homebirths, to moms planning more Western approaches with plans for an epidural.

We are an open and loving community that support every mom’s right to choose the birth plan that reflects her ever evolving needs and desires for her birth. Beyond that -I am a big believer in being proactive about prevention. That’s why I give you support around the process of making lifestyle changes as well.

Every week we host a giveaway in our private group for cool baby gear. You enter by finishing modules, practicing the breathing techniques, eating healthy meals for pregnancy, or going through your exercises. We have so much fun and take all the perfection mentality out of birth prep.

Plans for epidurals and no epidurals:

Intervention isn’t always a dirty word. Most moms I know who want a natural birth and are committed to their preparation are successful with it.

However, sometimes birth is extra long, or starts after an exhausting day, or babies are in funny positions that are causing more than the normal levels of pain. Sometimes in these cases, epidurals move from being a choice to being a medical necessity.

Though epidurals do have potential side effects, and can sometimes increase the risk for a C-section – sometimes they can also prevent a c-section. In Birth Undone, you learn the strategies you can use to continue to be proactive about your birth even with an epidural.

Mama Natural Birth Course Review Conclusion

Exploring birth courses and choosing a class that is right for you is such a fun and exciting process. I hope you will choose the class that aligns with your values and desires for your birth.

There are many good options out there!

I applaud you for following your desires to pursue a natural childbirth. Whether you are looking for confirmation that nature’s design works beautifully and can work for you, or you want to be present and part of the process by feeling contractions, or you’re looking to avoid anything that could have any potential harm to yourself or your baby, there are a lot of good reasons to have a natural birth.

At the end of the day, when you are supported and encouraged and have the freedom to tap into your own wisdom, you are likely to have a positive experience.

It’s true, women do know how to give birth.

I believe in you + I believe in birth.

If you have any more questions about either class you can reach me at contact @shebirthsbravely.com

I would love to hear from you!

Here’s to your healthy, safe, beautiful, natural birth!!!