November 28 - THE MONEY WORKSHOP!

November 28-30, 2016 from 9:30-5:30; Early bird pricing ends November 6.
I am THRILLED to announce the return of the business workshop that rocks the NYC birth community twice per year - Your Thriving Birth Business NYC! This is the workshop that birthed the Manhattan Birth Mentor Program, now completing its third amazing cohort.

My own business coach and mentor, Stephanie Dawn, is coming all the way from LA to join forces with me so we can help local birth professionals find their way to a rewarding and meaningful career on their own terms, while helping others in the process. What a life! We are set for November 29-30 so mark your calendars.

This time, we are taking an entire day to talk about the one thing everyone wants to talk about but no one wants to talk about . . . MONEY. AJ Frenzel (the MoneyDoula) will be joining us from Minneapolis providing practical tools for illuminating a new financial reality in a non-judgemental atmosphere. We will discover new ways of thinking about money and remove previously held money blocks, based on our own individual money situations. I am so excited to be sharing what I have learned through knowing and loving the MoneyDoula! Join us on Monday, November 28 for the Money Workshop!

You can register for the Money Workshop on its own, or as part of the three day series that includes Your Thriving Birth Business. Save the dates - November 28-30 at Manhattan Birth on the Upper West Side. Early bird pricing ends November 6.
With all I've got!

In Class 1 of the Comprehensive Childbirth Class, we tackle them. Nearly every pregnant person who comes to my classes has heard countless numbers of them. Sometimes their partners have, too.

"Oh my gosh you're pregnant! Let me tell you what happened to me . . ."
"My cousin said it felt like she was dying."
"My best friend said she ripped when she had the baby."
"My sister said she felt like every single bone in her body was breaking."
"My niece . . . the cord was around her neck and thank God they got her out."
"The heartbeat was going down and so . . . "
"She said it felt like knives in her back."
"My friend was up all night and they were afraid she would be too exhausted to push her baby out."
"My friend broke her tailbone."
"My husband was 11 lbs when he was born."

It goes on and on.

Pregnant folks will notice . . .everyone wants to talk with you and give you advice about your pregnancy and birth. You go to all these doctor or midwife appointments every month, then every two weeks, then every week at the very end. So much care for a healthy pregnancy.

But you may notice while pregnant, it's likely your life is not all that different from the way it was before you became pregnant. You probably have the same job, same friends, same shows, same hangouts. Everything.

The day you have your baby is a big day. BIG day. It's not like any of the days that came before it. You don't go to work that day. Instead, the life force moves through you. And you give life.

It's indescribably enormous. I won't attempt to do it here.

And then - there is no care. See you in six weeks.

What better way for me to process what happened to me that day than to share with you? To warn you. So you'll know what to expect. Because I didn't. And I'm still trying to figure out what happened to me. . .
With all I've got!

I had a pregnancy mentoring session this week. A newly pregnant couple came to my office to learn about their options for giving birth in and around NYC.

• What is the difference between a doula, a midwife, and a doctor?
• Where is the best hospital?
• What is a birthing center and why would someone want to use one?
• Where is the safest place to have a baby?
• I'm 35 years old. Am I putting my baby at risk?
• Why won't my doctor see me until 8 weeks?
• What do I do until then?

I sat down with them for an hour and answered their questions. I explained the options in NYC. They felt pretty sure the hospital was the right place for them.

Then I asked one more question. . .

"Would you like your life partner, who sitting here in this room with you for this session, to be with you after your baby is born while you stay in the hospital with your new baby?"

She laughed. "Of course." There was a pause . . . another awkward laugh and a confused look. "Are there places where he can't stay?"

Practically everywhere.

She left with a very short list of hospitals she was willing to consider. Her priorities were in order.

She has a car and isn't afraid to use it.

Life raft thrown. Way, way upstream.

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With all I've got!