Be Amazing: Birth Boot Camp Retreat 2018

Every three years Birth Boot Camp hosts a retreat for our instructors and doulas. We gather to learn, support each other, and enjoy time with like-minded people. We recently had our second retreat and it was everything we had hoped for.

Our theme this year was, “Be Amazing.” As a company, we strive to help every woman enjoy an amazing birth experience. We want the same for our instructors and doulas and we want them to feel empowered enough to be the most amazing version of themselves.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the things we did together.

This was our logo for the event: roots and branches. When we have strong roots and strong ties to those around us, we are able to grow strong branches that reach up and out and then add value to the world around them. We are all interconnected and dependent on one another. Strengthening ourselves gives us the power to help strengthen others. What a powerful image!

This image of two of our instructors re-connecting captures so much of what we love at Birth Boot Camp. Even though these ladies live in different countries, they are brought together. We love our Canadian instructor, Laurie McGowan, and our instructor trainer, Jillian Blakeman!

Our people are SO talented. We had a special treat at the retreat, and one of our instructors, Katy Temple, performed for us. Virtually everyone was in tears. It was incredible. Thank you, Katy!

There she is, our beloved founder, Donna Ryan! Donna had an amazing birth and has made it her mission in life to help others have the same incredible experience. Also, she gave us some little tips on life that can help us all be better and achieve more. Notice how she even matches the logo. That same attention to detail has helped make Birth Boot Camp incredible.

Since our focus was on being amazing, we brought some speakers who could really help us focus on that. Shanas Harris gave a wonderful talk on the unique challenges women face as they strive to juggle it all, and gave us hope that we could do it. She was so inspiring!

We always love hearing from Katie Dudley. She is a powerful source behind the scenes at Birth Boot Camp with everything we do regarding nutrition and exercise. More than that, she helps us understand the connections between our physical, emotional, and mental health and how we can find ways to be more amazing, one small improvement at a time.

No, this isn’t just a random picture of cups! One of the many things we try to do well is swag. Our swag game is strong!

We were honored to hear from bestselling author and CNM, Patricia Harman. Her books include Arms Wide Open, The Blue Cotton Gown (both autobiographical), The Midwife of Hope River, The Reluctant Midwife, and The Runaway Midwife, as well as a book for youth, Lost on Hope Island.

She was so wonderful to have, told incredible stories, and was full of the widom of a life well lived.

She read to us from a few of her books. She also shared with us some of her own journey in birth work. Patricia Harmon started off as a childbirth educator, just like many of us in the room. She became a lay midwife, a certified nurse midwife, and now, a bestselling author. Her story was funny, real, touching, and awe-inspiring. We were so grateful for her presence!

Our Birth Boot Camp family continues to prove that they make the cutest babies. We just had to show you one of them.

One of our instructors, Ebon’nae Piggee is also an activist working to improve outcomes and experiences for women of color. Her talk was so powerful. Her faith, her love, her power served to inspire and humble everyone there. We love this lady and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

Say hello to (most of) our Birth Boot Camp doula and instructor trainers! These women are bringing trainings to you and are a big reason for the explosion of growth we have seen in the last year. We are so excited for what the future brings and thrilled to have these women changing lives, one training and one birth at a time.

Aren’t they beautiful?! We can tell you that their beauty isn’t just skin deep. Our people are the best. We love these women.

We had some fun contests and prizes that gave us a chance to get to know each other a little better. Everyone makes fast friends quickly at the retreat because we have so much in common.

We ended retreat with a touching candle-lit ceremony. It was so good to hear so many of our people share their heart with us. The work we are doing changes lives, including our own.