Lifting the veil on the realities of birthing in a hospital.
Embedding human rights into your psyche.
And giving you the tools and words for you and your clients to navigate
the maternity system feeling
CONFIDENT. POWERFUL. GROUNDED.
THE HOSPITAL BIRTH COURSE
BIRTHWORKER EDITION
8+ hours of
honest and practical video content
to support empowered decision making, advocacy, guidance and system-survival skills.
15 page workbook
to open discussion with clinical care providers -
so there are no surprises.
4 pages full of compelling phrases
to practice being powerful.
Bonus video content,
of passionate birth-landscape debate
$249 AUD
For birthworkers supporting birth in the Australian Maternity System, whether it's your first or tenth year.
You're deeply committed to improving the hospital birth experience through education, advocacy and accountability
Your clients want a positive, empowered birth.
And maybe they're desiring 'as little intervention as possible'.
Maybe they're facing an induction.
The words 'I'm just going to go with the flow' might have passed their lips.
They want to birth as 'naturally as possible'.
I know you know that birth matters, that it's about more than a healthy baby and healthy mother. You feel so deeply connected to the magic transformative potential of birth.
We've learned how to breathe and move,
but not how to hold our own.
Birth is huge work.
Preparing for birth feels big and important.
It's big and important to me too, so I've created this course to help get
you and your clients get to where you want to be heading.
So that the whole birth team walk into that birth suite eyes wide open,
no surprises,
Confident and knowing, so that they can
go with their flow - not the systems'.
I created this course because too many of us are
walking in blind and underprepared - birthworkers included.
99% of births in Australia take place in the hospital,
in a maternity system that isn't set up to
support labour and birth to unfold naturally.
That doesn't sanctify fundamental rights.
I know you see it.
So many guidelines. So many rules and policies about
where and how and when.
And our intervention rates are higher than ever - and still climbing -
with no improved outcomes for mums and babies.
In fact, many are walking away broken and not knowing what happened to them.
I want to ignite the confidence and power within you that we both know is there.
That intuition and instinct.
That sure groundedness.
I'll walk you through how the system is structured, where we fit in it, how to interact with it,
what our rights are, the cascade of interventions,
the flow that the hospital wants us to go with (hint: it's not our own)
and how to centre the birthing woman so that they can be the boss of their birth.
So that you can be prepared to support them to be utterly transformed in the best,
most positive of ways on their birth-day.
Because that matters.
"You put so much time and effort in this course and it really needs to be shared - it's part of all of my packages now!"
- Kimberly, Doula
"We need this in the world like YESTERDAY. This needs to be out in the world. Thank you for doing it."
@lotusfire
"I had a birth on Friday, in a hospital, and I used what I'd learned in this course to advocate for my client. I was able to check in with her and ask the staff for more space."
- Dani, Doula
The Hospital Birth Course: Birthworker Edition
is a go-at-your-own-pace course, with lifetime access.
You can dip in and out whenever you like!
Here is the full module list,
so you know exactly what you're investing in.
Welcome and Introduction
- Welcome!
- Disclaimer and a note on language
- Note on Physiological Birth Resources
Hospital Birth :The Context
- Australian Mother’s and Babies Report
- The Business of Birth
- Birth Philosophy: Yours v. The Hospitals
- Why your birth preparation matters
Understanding Your Human Rights in Childbirth
- Introduction to Human Rights: What are they?
- Your Rights - Respectful Maternity Care
- Informed Consent, Refusal and Coercion
- Hospital Policy is Not Law
- Right to Participate in the Care You Receive
Your Labour and Birth in Hospital
- Intro, Power Language, Birth as a Rite of Passage
- Understanding Evidence & Non-Evidence Based Policy
-Introduction to Interventions
-
stretch and sweep
-
vaginal exam
-
rupture of membranes
-
syntocinon; what is it, when is it offered
-
monitoring of baby: methods
-
episiotomy
-
surgical birth; vacuum, forceps, cesarean section
- The pushing phase
- Birth of your placenta
- Delayed cord clamping
- The Golden Hour
- The ‘pain’ & discomfort of labour
- Pharmaceutical pain relief
- Non-Pharmaceutical pain relief
- Newborn injections
- Induction of Labour
- Augmentation of Labour
- The Cascade of Intervention
- Cesarean Sections: What to demand
- Setting up your birth suite
So What Next?
- Birth planning and mapping
- Dream birth/birth plan detailers
- Decision Making and BRAINS
- Power Play Strategies: How to say No
- Creating Emotional Safety
- Building your support team
- Keeping your Power, and Intuition
RESOURCES
Questions for your Clinical Care Provider workbook
Language for Informed Decision Making
Recommended Resource List
BONUS CONTENT
How We Got Here
A Pep Talk!
‘What I wish I’d known’
Physiological Birth in the System: The Uncomfortable Truth
How to Make a Complaint
BIRTHWORKER BUNDLE
Introduction
Surviving the System
Your Presence in Hospital
Keeping your Client on (their) Track
Advocacy 101
Dealing With Your Own Stuff
This is for you if you're supporting people to birth in any hospital in Australia.
Public, private, rural, inner city, private obstetrician, GP shared care, midwifery continuity of care.
If they're birthing in a hospital, there's critical information in this course that will impact their birth.
I'm yet to come across another birth course or class that speaks to the
reality of the context we're in here - and I'm changing that.
Whether it be a spontaneous labour, planned induction or
planned cesarean section - they need to know that hospital policies and operational guidelines
will have influence over how they want to experience labour,
over how they want to birth their baby.
I'm here to walk you through it with honesty and leave you with
the tools to navigate what you'll all come across.
I've supported dozens of births in hospitals - I know the ropes.
And with my background in Human Rights Law and policy,
I've got the ovaries to call out what's happening, and equip you all with the
"no means no" language.
I know you've got those ovaries in you too!
"My client had no idea about Respectful Maternity Care and her rights - I was able to send her an email with the Charter and everything outlined, thanks fo what I'd learned in your course!"
- Emma, Doula
"This is the most useful and radical thing i've seen happening in the birth space in a really long time. This is the shit that's actually going to create real change."
Rafferty, Doula
"Karli this is so good. Honestly, just so straight to the point and powerful. Thank you!"
- Dusk, Doula
THE HOSPITAL BIRTH COURSE
BIRTHWORKER EDITION
8+ hours of
honest and practical video content
to support empowered decision making, advocacy, guidance and system-survival skills.
15 page workbook
to open discussion with clinical care providers -
so there are no surprises.
4 pages full of compelling phrases
to practice being powerful.
Bonus video content,
of passionate birth-landscape debate
$249 AUD
That's right, I'm yet to come across a birth class that goes into depth about the context the maternity ward sits in - macro and micro - that openly and honestly lays it all bare. About the influence of capitalism, patriarchy, the medical industrial complex, media, social media and The Good Girl Problem. It's 2022 and the system is in a shambles - but no one is talking about our human rights, or how to get information upfront so that we can provide informed consent - a legal obligation. No one is talking about how to hold the system accountable, or make a complaint (I'll walk you through it!) and create some real change.
Maybe this isn't your first rodeo. Maybe you've been in this work for months and years, and you're looking for some extra tools to add to your birthworker kit. You've been noticing how much harder it's getting for women to have the birth they want. You're not imagining it. The rules are tougher than ever. I'm here to help you become a better advocate and fully understand what's happening in the system - so that you can be part of the change.
Boldly going where
no birth class
has gone before.
FAQ's
What if I'm a brand new doula?
Perfect! The core content of this course will be a solid orientation to the hospital birth world - the context, everything your clients will be up against, and. great information for you to use in planning your own workflow for your client sessions too. The Birthworker Bundle will really set you up with some essential skills for becoming an advocate and establishing a sustainable way of working.
What if I've been a doula for years?
Also fine! Brush up on your knowledge around how the system is set up, influencing factors, potential roadblocks to births, and use the Birthworker Bundle to add some extra tools to your toolkit. Use the printed resources to help your clients have better conversations with their care providers, too.
Are there any live components to this course?
No. This is 100% pre-recorded so that you can access it at any time and not wait for a live round. If. you'd like to speak with me directly, you can book a session over here.
Does this course include information how to use meditation and breathing skills in labour?
No. It does include information on how to keep your cool though ;)
Is there an online birth community to tap into as part of this. course? (ie, a Facebook group?)
No, there isn't. But there's a thriving community on my instagram page, please come over and join the conversations!
Is there a payment plan option?
No. This course is jam packed with value, and I've purposefully kept the price as low as possible. If you require special consideration, please email me.
Birthworkers, Doulas,
You can do this.
I know it can feel overwhelming.
I’ve been there.
They say knowledge is power, and it is.
But I think power is more powerful than knowledge.
Knowing you have it and can use it?
That’s where it’s at.
I believe in you.
I believe in us.
Remember -
Confident.
Powerful.
Grounded.
Karli x
