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Birthing From Within®

Gourmet Childbirth Preparation Classes

What do YOU need to know to give birth?

There are three kinds of knowing to birth from within. The first and most basic is the intuitive knowing in your bones, or innate maternal instinct. The second kind of knowing is modern knowing—being savvy about birth culture and the wide range of birth choices that exist today. The third kind of knowing is knowing yourself.  Birthing From Within®  Childbirth Preparation classes offer you a soulful and holistic approach to birth preparation that integrates all three kinds of knowing.

Childbirth is a profound rite of passage for a woman, the child or children being born, her partner and greater family and community, and our classes nurture and support all participants in birth.

We believe the essence of childbirth preparation is self-discovery and parent preparation, not assimilating obstetric information. Our classes prepare you to birth-in-awareness whether you are birthing at home, in a birth center, or hospital, and for whatever kind of birth you are planning and hoping for (natural or medicated birth, vaginal or cesarean birth, water birth, etc.)  Our instructors are trained to be mentors and midwives to parents’ unique processes.  The course content is tailored to meet the specific and individual needs of parents, and includes lots of practical information, birth videos, memorable exercises, creating and viewing birth art, music, ritual, storytelling and celebration.

Class Topics include:

  • Physiology and stages of labor, pushing, birth, and postpartum

  • Birthing in our bodies (eating in awareness & nutrition, positioning for labor and birth, yoga, massage, laborland, pushing and birthing)

  • Choosing a Birthplace and Making Informed Decisions with Informed Consent

  • Special class for Fathers, Non-birthing Mothers & Birth Partners

  • Pain-coping techniques using mindfulness, meditation, visualization, as well as the wise and compassionate use of drugs and epidurals

  • Welcoming Baby & Postpartum Adjustment (postpartum expectations and moods, planning for help and support)

  • Rituals and Celebration for the childbearing year

For more information about Birthing From Within’s philosophy and the book Birthing From Within, co-authored by Pam England, please visit http://www.birthingfromwithin.com.

Birthing From Within classes are offered in small group settings, with a maximum of 8 couples per 12-hour course. Please register early to ensure a space for you and your partner. Ideally, this course should be completed by the end of your 34th week of pregnancy. Some health insurance providers offer reimbursement for Childbirth Education classes, I’m happy to sign and validate forms for reimbursement. Please wear comfortable clothes in which you can move..

Upcoming Weekend Intensives:

2024 SCHEDULE:

  • January 27-28 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • March 23-24 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • June 1-2 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • July 27-28 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • Sept 21-22 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • Nov 16-17 @ The Midwife Center, Sat/Sun 10AM-4PM

  • ** Classes are held in partnership with The Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health, Pittsburgh PA

Cost is $350 for the 12-hour course and all needed supplies. Lunch and snacks are provided for all in person classes.

Midwife Center (TMC) clients have priority registration and can use bundle pricing and should register through the midwife center. Non-TMC clients can attend classes as long as space is available.

To register, click on the button below, email cortney@cortneyseltman.com or call the Midwife Center at 412-321-6880 if you are a TMC client.

Birth Art Session or Workshop

In this facilitated workshop, we will make birth art to explore the experience of pregnancy, birth, and parenting.  Participating in the process deepens our self-awareness and is a tool for meditation, reflection, and inquiry.  What you create is your own; there is no requirement to share or describe your art, and no art critics will be present. No art experience of any kind is necessary.  Come have fun! Based on the work of Birthing From Within®, this workshop can be offered to expectant mothers, fathers, or birth professionals.

“Live, birth, and make art with passion, without attachment to a particular outcome.” -Pam England, co-author of Birthing From Within

 Cortney has facilitated this workshop in multiple yoga studios in Pittsburgh, for ICAN’s Pittsburgh chapter, and for individuals and couples.

If you’re interested in a individual or couple birth art session (can be done virtually), or in setting up a workshop with your organization or with a group, please be in touch via email or give me a call.