What are the prerequisites for this class?
The class assumes that you have a solid working knowledge of the experience of pregnancy, the process of labor and birth, and early infant care. The focus of the class will be on ways to communicate your knowledge and experience to students.

In order to be adequately prepared for the material presented in the class, you first need this foundation of knowledge. Typically this would involve training as a nurse, physical therapist, or doula. It’s assumed that you have also attended multiple labors and births.
 
What are the homework requirements for this class?
A few weeks before the class, we will mail out a syllabus, which includes recommended readings from Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn, and other sources. It also includes study guides. We encourage you to become familiar with these materials before the training. [If you choose to complete the certification process with Great Starts, you will need to either complete and turn in the study guide, or take an exam to prove your knowledge.]
You will also need to prepare a Presentation and Teachbacks – see details below.
 
Who is this class designed for?
The Basic Teacher Education Workshop is primarily aimed at people who would like to teach structured childbirth preparation classes, in a hospital setting, or in the community.
 
What does this class prepare me to do?
After this class, you would be well qualified for providing informal education and information to expectant parents as a supplement to other services that you provide (e.g. doula support, midwifery care, etc.) or offering private childbirth education.
However, if you would like to teach a structured, formal childbirth preparation class, you should consider taking the next step in preparation, and becoming a certified childbirth educator. Hospitals and other employers typically require certification to teach. For teaching childbirth education classes in the community, there is technically no legal requirement to be certified; however, we personally consider it essential for ensuring that all educators are well qualified so that all expectant parents are well served.
 
What organizations provide certification for childbirth educators?
Several organizations provide certification to childbirth educators. This training is specifically designed to prepare you for certification with Great Starts, and if you live in the Puget Sound region, this would be a logical organization to choose. However, the BTEW training can also apply toward certification with the International Childbirth Educators Association (ICEA). Check with them for details.
There are other certifying programs which require you to attend their specific training program, and our class would not prepare you for their certification: these include Bradley, Lamaze (ASPO - American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics), and Birthing from Within. More about your options.
 
What is the certification process like?
Different programs have different requirements. For Great Starts, trainees are required to: first complete the training, then observe other educators (one educator for a full series of childbirth classes, then two other educators for three hours each), then (optionally) co-teach a full series with an experienced instructor, then be observed and evaluated teaching a full series. She must also at some point take an exam or complete the study guide to test her knowledge, and document observation of two births. Further details can be found here.
 
What does certification cost, and how long does it take to become certified?
For Great Starts, certification costs $150. The quickest that someone could possibly complete certification would be about 5 months, and that’s only if her schedule is flexible and we are able to fit in all of her required series in a timely manner. Many of our trainees are juggling this certification experience around other responsibilities, including parenting small children, so a typical trainee might take up to two years to complete the process. Trainees are not paid for the classes they observe, co-teach, or are observed teaching. (The experienced educator who is co-teaching or observing receives the full payment for the class.)
 
After I’m certified, what kinds of jobs are available to me?
Several hospitals hire certified childbirth educators to teach childbirth preparation classes, breastfeeding classes, and newborn care classes. Check with hospitals in your area to find out what the job opportunities are. You can also organize community classes, outside of the hospital setting. These community classes could be in collaboration with local midwives or obstetricians. They could be offered through various parks department programs, ‘experimental college’ or continuing education programs.
There may also be public sector employment available to you.
A few hospitals require their educators to also be obstetrics nurses. A few hospitals will only use certified lactation educators to teach their breastfeeding classes. However, most use certified childbirth educators.
 
What is the pay like for childbirth educators? Could I make a living doing this?
Some settings pay by the hour; a hospital in the Seattle area may pay $15 to 18 an hour for a beginning childbirth educator. This typically covers class time, plus some time for setting up for class, and for cleaning up after a class. Some settings pay by the series: for example, $450 for a 14 hour series (7 weeks, 2 hours per week). This amount covers your teaching time and any set-up / tear down time needed. Pay rates will increase with experience, up to approximately $30 an hour.
Note that any time that you spend developing lesson plans, writing handouts, or preparing materials for classes, is not paid time.
Childbirth education offers a great opportunity for a person who is looking for a flexible job to bring in some extra money, to contribute to the community, and to combine some professional development with other responsibilities such as parenting. Typically, an instructor will have a lot of flexibility in setting her own schedule. Some instructors teach for only a few hours a week, or only in summer, or only during the school year. Some instructors teach multiple evenings each week.
It’s generally not possible to work “full-time” as a childbirth educator, simply because the available working hours are limited. Because of the work schedules of expectant parents, childbirth classes can typically only be offered between 6 and 9 pm on Monday through Thursday evenings, and from 9 – 5 on Saturdays and Sundays. Even if someone taught all these available slots each week, it is not a full-time job.
 
What are some of the advantages of the Great Starts training compared to other training programs?
We offer far more class time than most other programs. This allows for more class content, more bonding between students, more real-life examples from our instructors, and, most importantly, opportunities to practice teaching. During the training, you will have the opportunity to present one 10-minute lecture to the full class, and two “Teachbacks” of comfort measures to a group of 5 other students. An experienced childbirth educator will observe and provide feedback. This opportunity to practice teaching in a supportive environment significantly increases your readiness to teach.
Our classes are taught by experienced childbirth educators, with a variety of backgrounds, who take the best parts of several labor support theories and merge them, rather than sticking solely to one philosophy of labor support.

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