CHILDBIRTH EDUCATORS


Why take a class?

By now, you've probably surrounded yourself with articles on childbirth and heard countless labor stories from friends and family. But do you really know what to expect during labor and birth and do you know your birthing options? Are you an informed consumer feeling like you can participate in you and your expectant baby’s care? A childbirth education class can make all the difference.


Because you
  • Learn things you never knew about labor, birth and postpartum care. You'll find out what happens to your body as your baby makes his or her way into the world. Knowledge is power. You'll feel less vulnerable during labor and birth if you understand what's happening and reassured of the “normalcy” of this process.

  • Address your fears. What if I don't make it to the hospital in time? What if I lose control during labor? During class, you'll have the chance to talk about your fears and have discussions with other couples who share the same concerns. The instructor can dispel myths and help put your mind at ease.

  • Connect with your partner. A class offers your partner the chance to learn about childbirth, too — as well as how to support you during labor. Many feel the experience brings them much closer together.

  • Camaraderie of interacting with other couples. Often, friendships continue even after the class is through.

  • Exploring your pregnancy, labor and birthing options. Find out more about various interventions in the hospital, like electronic fetal monitoring, IV’s, being “induced”, artificial rupture of membranes, episiotomies, instruments like the vacuum extractor and forceps. Knowing about these things, in advance, can reduce anxiety and empower you to make informed choices.

  • Discuss options for handling pain. You'll practice various methods for coping with contractions, such as breathing, relaxation, labor positions, birth balls, massage and visualization. Explore the benefits and risks of medications, such as narcotic analgesics and Epidural & Spinal anesthesia.

  • Get the basics on Caesarean and VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

  • Brush up on newborn care and breastfeeding

Kitty Harding, MA, LCCE, FACCE
EMAIL kittyharding@mac.com
PHONE 808-843-1841 or 808-222-4047

As a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, I have taught over 4,000 couples over the past 33 years, both on Kauai and Oahu. My husband and I together gave birth naturally to four beautiful healthy children, three sons and a daughter. (My daughter is so healthy, she became Ms. Fitness USA twice!) Each childbirth experience brought my husband and I closer together, empowering us as a strong parenting team. My goals as an educator are to answer your questions about birth, eliminate any fear of the unknown, and give you the tools to help your childbirth be as positive an experience as possible. I teach classes at Queens Hospital on weekends, and am also available for private sessions.


    

Brooke Saltsman, ACBE
EMAIL brookesaltsman@hotmail.com
PHONE 808-398-5992
WEBSITE www.hnhbirthservices.com

I am certified with the Academy of Certified Birth Educators (ACBE) and have been teaching private, small group childbirth classes for two years now. I am also a DONA-trained birth Doula, and I am in the process of completing a bachelor’s degree in Health and Nutrition Counseling. I have had the privilege of giving birth to one son, who was born in Hawaii at Tripler Army Medical Center. I consider it an honor and a blessing to be a childbirth educator and my goal is to provide you with the information needed to build your confidence in pregnancy, the birth process, and your new role as parents. My desire is for you to be empowered to make choices that will maximize your health and the health of your baby, your ability to bond with each other, and your overall satisfaction with the outcome of your birth. Please contact me for more information!



Pat Goding, RNC, BSN, ICCE
EMAIL roscoe@hawaii.rr.com
PHONE 677-8554

I am an ICEA certified childbirth educator, teaching for 30 years. I teach Childbirth Preparation classes at the Kaiser Waipio Clinic and I do private classes in the client’s home. I’ve been an OB nurse, both Air Force and civilian, for over 10 years and I am also a Labor Doula. My husband, who is retired Air Force, and I live in Waikele, and have lived in Hawaii for 16 years.

I feel honored to be with women and their families during their most vulnerable, impressionable, courageous and tender moments, while allowing themselves to open up to the sheer force and unpredictable nature of labor and birth. I believe that if women are nurtured and respected during pregnancy through birth, they can gain a new sense of self and can discover more things about themselves that they ever thought possible. This strength and empowerment can sustain them throughout their lives as a woman, Mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and human being, and they can teach their children, that ANYTHING is possible.


Pam Duncan, LPN, ICCE
PHONE 808-263-2500

I am certified to teach childbirth classes through the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA). I have been teaching childbirth education classes for fifteen years. I am a mother of four children and believe pregnancy, giving birth and parenthood to be the most important tasks we undertake as adults. Class topics include anatomy and physiology, body conditioning, breathing in labor, stages of labor, coaching, pain relief, newborn characteristics, breastfeeding and parenting. Join other pregnant couples as we explore the unique challenges and learn amazing way to work with your body to relax and ultimately prepare for an extraordinary experience. Your birth will change you forever! I offer empathetic and compassionate support. My goal is that you feel respected and empowered as you enter parenthood. Please contact me for current classes.


Janis Bell Bush, BA, ACCE, LCCE, FACCE,
Lamaze Breastfeeding Specialist,
President/Normal Birth Hawaii
AHA BLS/Infant/Pediatric CPR Instructor
EMAIL normalbirthhawaii@gmail.com
PHONE 808-261-2874 or 808-499-7490
NORMAL BIRTH HAWAII 808-262-4784 (808-26-BIRTH)
LAMAZE CLASSES Castle Medical Center 808-263-5400
LAMAZE CLASSES Queens Hospital 808-537-7117
BIRTH STOOL RENTALS available

I am certified with Lamaze International and have been teaching family-oriented, consumer based, coach-centered* Lamaze Prepared Childbirth since 1977. I have given birth to 3 children naturally. My heart and methods are embedded in the Women's Wisdom Model of Birth rather than the (Male) Medical Model of Birth. Hence you will learn that birth is normal, every woman knows exactly how to have a baby, childbirth is not an illness, that pushing feels good for most women and babies are born knowing how to breastfeed.

I teach classic, out of the 70's, good old-fashioned earth mother, Psycho-prophylactic Method of Lamaze Childbirth Preparation the kind that works and always has. I teach Lamaze at Castle Medical Center, The Queens Medical Center and Straub Clinic/Kailua. I am also a family educator at Kapiolani Medical Center and Pali Momi Hospital. Pregnant teens are a specialty of mine as I was the coordinator and teacher for the Kailua High School Pregnant Teen Center from 1991-2010. Pre-teen, high school and college SEX ED 101 courses are available for schools, churches and youth groups. I teach “Baby-Instinct Breastfeeding” privately once a month and starting in 2011, I will be offering a program to help women become Lamaze teachers. I offer training to become or explore becoming a childbirth professional through the Windward School for Adults in Kailua.

*I actually call the birth partner the “Guardian of Courage”, “Guardian of the Birth Place” and at home, the “Guardian of the Nest.” In other words, I empower the birth partners to become doulas and have trained birth partners in this way for over three decades!