Background
In 1994, when pregnant with my first baby in England, I attended antenatal classes run by a UK charity called the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). The NCT is a wonderful organisation dedicated to improving the experience of parents-to-be and new parents. It has wide-ranging training programmes covering childbirth education, breastfeeding and postnatal counselling.
The NCT classes were so inspiring that I decided to become an antenatal teacher. I underwent a rigorous university diploma course, finally graduating in 2001, although, I have been teaching groups since 1999.
One of the essential qualifications for joining the NCT training programme is to be a mother. It is almost impossible for someone truly to empathise with someone going though the enormous transition to parenthood if they haven’t been through it themselves. Like most NCT childbirth educators, I am not a nurse or midwife, but have learnt in depth about obstetrics and read widely on the latest research. However, it is vital that I retain the perspective of a parent, rather than of a health professional. My role is emphatically NOT to replace the role of midwives and doctors, but to complement it.
I moved to Melbourne in 2004 with my husband and three children.
.... The dream.......
The dream birth is one where a woman and her partner experience a joyful, natural birth with minimum intervention and with the outcome of a healthy baby who develops and feeds well.
It is important to hold on to this dream as there are many things a woman can do to help herself along the path towards it. On the other hand, a number of factors can act as barriers. The mother’s body, or the baby’s, often don’t follow the 'rules'. And, whilst one woman’s greatest desire is a 'natural' birth, another’s is a highly controlled caesarean. Whatever the circumstances, understanding the questions to ask and the choices you might have to think about at each turn, can make an enormous difference to how you view your birth afterwards.
The Birthwaves classes aim to help you prepare yourself mentally for your birth and life afterwards with your new baby. My aim is not to say what is right for you. My aim is to give you the information you need to choose.
Looking forward to meeting you!
Carolyn Glover
BSc.(Hons), DipHE (UK)