Inspirational Birthing Classes
Register for classes here.
See our class and workshop schedule here.
- Erika Harding and Amity Johnson teaching in the tradition of Birthing From Within
- Emphasis on realistic and effective Pain-Coping Practices for all phases of labor
- Focus on preparing the mother AND partner for whatever challenges the birthing experience brings
- Small, personal classes encourage you to discover and explore what it is YOU need to get through your own personal birth journey
- Specific focus on partners
- Supportive of your birthing choices
- Classes address hospital, birthing center and home birthing scenarios
- We welcome a diverse clientele
- Private and Spanish-language classes also available. Private classes at $30 per hour + travel time (2 hour minimum)
- 6-week series + postpartum class for $225 plus tax, 1-day intensive for $150, 2-day Home-birth class for $200
- GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE!
Thank you for your interest in our childbirth classes. We offer all kinds of classes and workshops directed at new and expectant families, and our inspirational childbirth classes are central to our calendar of events. Erika Harding and Amity Johnson are the childbirth educators. Erika was trained by Pam England, author of Birthing From Within, and Amity has taught for both Body, Mind and Spirit and Presbyterian Hosptial. We are both experienced Doulas (with more than 100 births each), mothers (each of us has had very positive hospital and home birth experiences) and teachers.
We draw heavily from Birthing From Within techniques, but also use original material and material drawn from a wide variety of sources. Pain-coping practices are a particular emphasis in our classes. By pain-coping practices, we mean everything from relaxation, focus and breath-related practices to very physical techniques (massage, hip squeezes, belly dancing and rocking, back pressure, etc.). We give particular attention to effective partner support and also speak openly and honestly about the advantages and disadvantages of pain medication, and how to be an effective advocate for birthing mothers, babies and partners.
Many people want to know the difference between our classes and hospital classes. They are many. First, our classes are small and very personal by design. We teach in a small, homey space and our style and material are both interactive, so we take no more than seven couples per class. Our clientele is diverse: it includes teen moms, older moms, single moms, home and hospital birthing moms, lesbian moms, etc. Our small class size and flexible material allow us to better meet the needs of a wide variety of birthing families. Also, we balance down-to-Earth, practical information about labor and coping with some less traditional techniques (like some art projects, imagery, the “Next-Best-Thing Game,” a bit of dance, etc.) to make classes interesting and inspiring. We realize that modern mothers need to be savvy about giving birth within the modern medical culture while also encouraging women to get in touch with and trust their innate birthing ability.
Another difference is that we use great videos about birth. We hear from families taking hospital classes that sometimes the movies they see there are cartoons, or either highly medicalized and terrifying or patronizing. Ours show a wide variety of birthing women having babies in all different environments in a positive, powerful fashion. We show hospital and home births, medicated and unmedicated deliveries, “easy” and difficult labors. The movies are honest, but not fear-based.
We receive referrals from a full spectrum of doctors and midwives practicing throughout Albuquerque. We feel very strongly (and teach accordingly) that couples should have their babies where they feel most comfortable, and the majority of people feel most comfortable birthing in the hospital. We do discuss all birthing options, including home and birth-center birth, in our classes, and encourage expectant parents to find the best care provider and birthing location for their needs and desires.
Having experienced both home and hospital births ourselves, we believe in mixing parents with both of these birth approaches in our classes, to the benefit of each. Whatever the environment, we focus on how to make that environment work as well as possible and have the optimum birth experience available given their individual birth situations. For one example, if parents are seeking a non-medicated birth in a hospital, we encourage them to mention this as soon as they are admitted and ask for a nurse who would like to work with them toward that goal. We give them the opportunity to explore what to do if the birth is not going smoothly, and how to ask questions and communicate with their care providers in a positive and non-defensive fashion.
It is impossible to do an adequate job preparing couples for the challenges of parenthood, at least within the limited context of birthing classes. Thus we offer many complementary workshops and classes on such topics as baby care, immunizations, breastfeeding, strengthening the relationship or marriage, post-partum adjustment and baby blues, and much more (see our calendar and events page). Monthly post-partum classes and are included with the fee for birthing classes, and the other offerings are generally inexpensive.
As a small business, we are not set up to accept Medicaid or insurance reimbursement, but we do offer discounts and payment options to families that qualify for Medicaid. We require pre-registration (by phone or here on-line) and a deposit, as most of our birthing classes (especially the six-week series) are full long before the start date.
Cancellation and refund information:
If you need to cancel your space reservation in a birthing class, please let us know as soon as possible. In the event of a cancellation, half of the deposit will be returned when we receive notice at least fourteen days prior to the first class. When we receive a cancellation within fourteen days of the first class, we will refund half of the deposit only if we are able to fill your space. There will be no refunds made once class has begun.