Yoga Child's MIND BODY BIRTH program
An Integrated & Inspiring Birth preparation Course for You and Your Partner
EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF A MIND BODY BIRTH
The intention of our program is to create a supportive space for you and your partner to explore your feelings & questions about pregnancy and birth so that you are better able to make decisions that are right for you and to move through your birth with awareness and confidence. Childbirth preparation is not just about receiving knowledge, but involves peeling off the cultural layers of fear and doubt while reconnecting to the inherent wisdom of women’s bodies and cultivating trust in the birth process. This program is designed to help prepare you and your partner, body and mind, for the transformative experience of giving birth to your baby, as well as to yourselves as parents.
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When does the course take place ?
We will gather in the late afternoon or early evening on Saturdays, for six, 2 hour sessions, where we will explore the subject matter summarized below. Sometimes the class meets 6 weeks in a row and sometimes it meets over the course of several months. Please Email gail@yogachild.net with your due date and she will email you back with the dates of the next session.
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How do I use the free yoga classes that come with the course?
A consistent yoga practice will benefit you during pregnancy, birth and during your postpartum recovery and will also help your body to reconcile and practice the lessons which you will learn in this program. In the spirit of helping you to begin your prenatal yoga practice or to continue it, we offer you six consecutive weeks of complimentary prenatal yoga classes at our studio. The only requirement is that you use your classes during the time period of the course, and prior to the 6-week expiration date
Once you are registered for the course, a 6-week class pass will await you at our center.
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Will My Partner Have to do Yoga?
How Should We dress?
Most of the physical yoga, or asana practice, will take place when you come to your ladies only prenatal yoga classes. You will have the opportunity to select the classes that work best for you on our prenatal yoga schedule. Your husband or birth partner will be doing yoga on one Saturday of the course. This will take place during the evening that either Meredith Jacoby or Gail Silver facilitates the Couples Prenatal Yoga class as mentioned in the descritpiton below. You both should still dress for ease of movement on most days so that you can be comfortable sitting, lying down and moving around. Please note that during 2008-9 Meredith Jacoby's couples prenatal yoga class will not be part of our program as she is on maternity leave. Some of the practices from this class will be integrated into the other 6 weeks of the course.
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What Will I learn in the program?
Through mindfulness practice you will learn to cultivate present moment awareness and use it as a powerful birth preparation tool. You will learn to draw your attention inward and work together with your breath and body in rhythms that move naturally with the birth process.
Through birth education classes with Midwife, Beth Curtis of Believe in Birth, you will come to have a greater understanding of what happens in your body during birth. You will learn about the pleasure pain cycle of hormones and normalizing pain. You will learn about nutrition in pregnancy, optimal fetal positioning & become informed on the uses of medication and technology during childbirth. You will participate in exercises, discussions and mindfulness meditations in order to help you and your partner obtain a vision what kind of birth experience is best for you.
Through one evening with Gail Silver, you will be learn how to incorporate your mind, body and breath to work together and learn specific techniques to help you move through contractions. These techniques can be used in drug assisted births and in natural births.
In this same evening with Gail Silver you and your partner will learn hands on practical applications to help you feel better during pregnancy and during labor. This class also provides an opportunity to deepen the lines of communication between you and your partner through the use of couples yoga.
You can enjoy prenatal yoga to soothe pregnancy related discomforts and to prepare your physical and mental body for birth.
Enrollment in our program entitles the pregnant mom to unlimited access to prenatal yoga classes for 6 consecutive weeks.
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Testimonials
"Signing up for the MBB class was one of the best things my husband and I did in preparation for the birth of our little girl. It brought us
closer together, got us talking about our expectations and fears about
becoming new parents, and was a great foundation for the Big Day. We
had an amazing, 100% natural birth (that we love to brag about!),
because we were calm and centered and informed, and we had the tools
to deal with whatever came our way. Beth Curtis, our main MBB
instructor, had a way of educating, inspiring and entertaining all at
once. To this day, we still quote her and remember the class fondly.
I've said more than once that I had the birth that every woman would
dream of, if she only knew it was available to her. We owe so
much of that to Gail and Beth and our weeks of learning from them at
YogaChild!"
Tracey Khan
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Thomas and I weren't skipping the last MBB class- we had our baby boy
at 6:45 that same night ,at 38 weeks!
My water broke at 2 am Friday night and I labored at home with Thomas
and doula's support until 5 pm on Saturday, then transitioned in the
car and pushed him out in 24 minutes once we arrived at the Birth Center.
A magical, beautiful birth, and we couldn't have done it without the
MBB class. We felt so prepared. Yogachild rocks! Thank you so much.
Next one's at home!
Lots of Love, Blue
Thank you thank you! That was such an amazing experience that I can't even put it
into words... Being able to be calm and support Blue was the most rewarding thing
I've ever done, and I was able to help her all the way through- we couldn't have
don't it without you!!!
But the bottom line is that Blue was a warrior goddess, and I'm still in awe of her.
Very Best, Thomas
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Who Facilitates The MBB Program?
Midwife Beth Curtis is your primary facilitator and Special classes are taught by Yoga Child Founder, Gail Silver.
Gail Silver, Jd, ERYT
The Mind Body Birth Course became a vision of Yoga Child's founder, Gail Silver after the birth of her first child in 1999. Gail wanted to offer the Philadelphia community a place where couples could prepare for birth through a combination of holistic birth education, mindfulness practice and prenatal yoga. In 2003 Gail met Beth Curtis and was inspired and touched by Beth's energy, passion and knowledge for empowering women and their partners in the birth process. Gail knew that she had found the perfect counterpart to help her co-create the Mind Body Birth Program. The two women worked together with midwife, Christy Santorro to create the Mind Body Birth Program which is taught exclusively at Yoga Child. You can learn more about Gail by clicking on this link.
Beth Curtis, CPM,MSW, CCE, CD, (DONA)
In 2001, Beth Leianne Curtis, became a childbirth education teacher. She began teaching after the birth of her first child, because she wanted to empower women to find their own voice and to trust
their ability to give birth. Beth believes that birth is much more than a physical experience. She facilitates her classes so that women and their partners not only gain knowledge about the process of birth, but so they find the self confidence and strength within to rise to the amazing challenge birth presents. Beth was trained as a labor assistant by ALACE, and was certified through La Leche League, BirthWorks, and DONA. Beth was an apprentice midwife with the Midwifery Traditions Practice for over two years. This was a key component of professional homebirth midwifery training and required for completion of the Certified Professional Midwife credential.. Beth has also completed Joanne Dozor's Art of Midwifery Classes, and continually takes classes and workshops with many well known and highly regarded homebirth midwives from across the country and globe. She is a member of Midwives of North America and active in the Philadelphia homebirth community. She is the mother of two boys and a baby daughter, and lives in Germantown with her husband, Ed.
Another long time hobby of Beth's is writing, and several of her articles, including "Zen and the Art of Childbirth Pain" and "The Whole Mother" were published in The Mother magazine. She is a regular columnist for Natural Child Magazine where she writes on pregnancy and birth issues. Additionally, more of her writings on birth, health, apprentice midwifery and unschooling have been published in issues of Midwifery Today, Life Learning, and Natural Life magazines, and Beth has freelanced for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In the fall of 2007, Beth was a contributor for the newly released Philadelphia Guide to a Healthy Birth. Get your copy now!
How Do I Reserve a Space in the Next Session?
1. If you want to register for dates that are already posted, just call us at the studio at 215 238 0989 and go to step #2. If you are interested in future dates that are not yet posted, please email Gail@yogachild.net with your due date and she will email you back with the start date and end date of the next session.
2. Call our Studio at 215 238 0989 and provide a $100 non-refundable deposit and some basic information to our office staff.
3. The balance of $375 is due one week prior to the start date of the program. If you provide a credit card for your deposit, we will automatically process the balance one week prior to the start date. Otherwise, kindly mail in or drop off the balance of payment one week prior to the start date. MC, Visa, Checks and cash welcome.
4. Ob/Midwife release required. Please download this form from our site and bring it to your first class of the session.
