We can’t even express how much we appreciate our 120+ instructors. From those joining us now, to that first group who took a chance with a new company, they are amazing, dedicated and intelligent women who strive every day to make birth better for women and their partners. Today we share a post from one of these instructors, Shazia. Shazia was in one of our earlier instructor groups and teaches birth classes in Arlington and Fort Worth, TX. We love hearing about what being a Birth Boot Camp instructor means to her. Enjoy!
What it Means to be a Birth Boot Camp Instructor
I have had the pleasure of teaching Birth Boot Camp for almost 2 years now. As a Birth Boot Camp instructor, I am proud to say that I stand out. There is a reason that many providers in my city, send their pregnant moms to a Birth Boot Camp instructor for their comprehensive birth education!
My natural birth journey began during my first pregnancy in 2011. I had the pleasure of signing up to take a class with Donna Ryan, the founder and creator of Birth Boot Camp. When I started searching for a childbirth instructor, I looked for 3 things. I wanted an instructor who was local to me, someone who taught a comprehensive class that covered everything my husband and I needed to know, and someone who was qualified. You may be thinking what does qualified mean when it comes to a childbirth educator. Let me explain!
As a Birth Boot Camp instructor, I am CERTIFIED to teach. This is an important qualification. This means that a group of other birth professionals have acknowledged the hard work I put into my training to become an instructor AND have stamped me with their seal of approval. They made sure that I put the work in to have the necessary knowledge I needed to teach a comprehensive childbirth series. I spent months and months reading a stack of books on pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum care, and special circumstances. I sat in a training class for days learning everything I needed to know to teach Birth Boot Camp. I, then, took a test to be certain I had learned everything I needed to know. That’s what my certification shows! It is an acknowledgement of all of the knowledge I have obtained to teach couples what they need to know to obtain a safe and healthy birth.
As a Birth Boot Camp instructor, I was also required to have given birth naturally and breastfed for at least 12 months. You may ask why that is important. Many of my students have thanked me for sharing personal experiences with them during class to illustrate a particular topic. Unfortunately, I have had some students in my class who didn’t know a single person who had given birth without the use of pain medication. I was the only one they had ever met who could say, I’ve done it and so can you! I know that when I sought out Donna’s class, I loved that she had given birth the way I wanted to birth and successfully breastfed. It was important to me to have an instructor who had been there. It was incredibly encouraging to know that if she could do it, so could I!
Quality childbirth education comes from qualified childbirth educators! Before you choose a childbirth class, ask yourself if you are taking exceptional curriculum from a qualified instructor. If you can’t answer yes, consider switching classes. There are Birth Boot Camp instructors all over the world and if there isn’t a local instructor in your area, you can always take the entire course online!
Shazia Lackey RN,BSN,BBCI, is a Birth Boot Camp instructor in Arlingon and Fort Worth, TX. You can find her class schedule at www.AboveBeyondBirth.com. Shazia is mother to two sweet children, both born naturally after taking her first Birth Boot Camp class.
Here is Shazia talking about why she teaches birth classes.
