I can imagine it to be a difficult journey to assist those couples towards an empowering birth.
Any comments anyone ?
Back in the UK I could have taught classes every day and we would still have had the demand for more classes (with the NCT). To cope with the demand I did the standard 9 week courses as well as one-to-ones, shorter refreshers and 2-day weekend courses. I loved it, but the hardest thing was coping with the emotional demands of the work. You spend so much of the class helping parents discuss their hopes and fears, their questions and queries, how their lives will and won't change etc. You become such an important part of their lives as you do with theirs - and that can be draining.
Luckily, I was able to tap into the wonderful network of teachers that is the NCT - to debrief and to find my own support. It is very important that you have your own network of support otherwise you can become overwhelmed.
Debbie Slater
CBE, Perth, WA
