calmbirth classes with Melanie Cane
FAQ's
How much does the calmbirth class cost?
The calmbirth course costs $550.00.
This includes:
~ 13 - 14 hours of face-to-face classes over two days or five evenings
~ Access to downloadable audio files
~ A comprehensive calmbirth information workbook
~ Ongoing personal phone or email support
~ Access to an extensive pregnancy and early parenting library
~ Free attendance for a support partner
~ Tea, coffee, herbal teas and snacks provided for the duration of the course
Can I get a refund if I book now, but later can't make it to the class?
Yes, you can cancel up to 30 days before the Calmbirth course starts (refunds can only be given via bank transfer and the $50.00 deposit will be held as a process fee). There is no refund available if cancelling within 30 days before the commencement of the Calmbirth course, unless a valid medical reason is given.
I have an obstetrician who wants me to be induced. Should I come to calmbirth?
Yes, the calmbirth course will provide you with important knowledge and strategies to enable you to enhance the epidural birth and/ or induction experience. It is an excellent course for helping you to work with your clinical care provider and to understand the reasons for particular procedures. Women who are advised to have an epidural or an induction usually have a medical concern that requires them to have interventions in the labor process. Calmbirth knowledge and skills will provide a big advantage for these women and will help them to create a better birth.
I want a natural birth experience; am I likely to get it by doing calmbirth?
Yes, women who do a calmbirth course have a lower need for medications and medical interventions. They have fewer cesareans, fewer birth problems and have an increased satisfaction with the birth. Some even have completely comfortable, ecstatic or orgasmic births. Women who need medical intervention during labor also have better experiences as they are able to draw on the skills learned in the calmbirth classes to work with their clinical care provider. These women also have the knowledge and skills to help them to bond with their babies and create a better start in life.
I'm afraid of birth and the pain. I'm thinking of a caesarean. Do you think calmbirth will suit me?
Absolutely…calmbirth is the course for you. It will certainly help to eliminate your fear and prepare you for a confident, safe and wonderful experience. A few women will need medication or medical help…this need not detract from the experience. This course will help you to prevent unnecessary intervention by working with your body to enhance the natural comfort and safety mechansisms. It will also help you to identify when help is really needed and to work with your care provider to make the best of that help.
Is calmbirth an 'Airy Fairy' alternative course?
No! The calmbirth course is based on rigorous scientific evidence and has been designed by experts in birth, psychology and education. Couples benefit from the course because they have better birth experiences...the program really works.
My birth centre has a birth preparation program. Why do I need to do calmbirth?
The calmbirth course is a private one. This means that you pay your calmbirth practitioner to provide you with unbiased information and strategies that you can use to enhance your birthing experience. Courses that are attached to hospitals, birth centers or to individual clinical care providers, often lean towards their own particular policies and protocols and this does not encourage you to individualize your birth. It is important to visit the place you will give birth to familiarize yourself but you need to be careful about choosing just one birth preparation course that is provided by your birthing facility. This is particularly so when the course is free, as the course may be more inclined to prepare people to birth in the way that suits the facility best, not you. Of course, it is also true to say that people benefit greatly by looking outside of the ordinary and the expected.
Will my health insurance pay for any of the costs of the Calmbirth course?
Some health insurers may cover part or all of the cost of calmbirth. You will need to contact them and ask if they pay for antenatal birth preparation, and if they have any conditions.
What is the difference between calmbirth® and Hypnobirthing?
Although there may be a perception by some in the community, Calmbirth® is not an Australian version of HypnoBirthing or Hypnobirth. Each programme reflects the profession of its founder; one being a midwife and the other a hypnotherapist.
Calmbirth® is an Australian childbirth preparation programme which was developed by Peter Jackson in 2004. Peter has worked in General, Psychiatric and Midwifery disciplines of nursing since 1970. During the greater part of this time, Peter worked as a registered midwife assisting hundreds of birthing mothers. Many of these mother's experiences were one of fear and anxiety. As a result of his desire to help such mothers, he undertook study as a Private Subconscious Mind Therapist and discovered the important mind body connection. He has developed Calmbirth® from his years of research, study and experience in these fields.
The HypnoBirthing program was written and founded in the USA in the 1980’s by Marie Mongan, a hypnotherapist who developed the programme firstly, by drawing on her own birthing experiences and subsequent training as a counsellor and hypnotherapist.
Both Calmbirth® and Hypnobirthing programs reflect the knowledge and experiences gained in the founder’s professions and also the times in which the programs were written.The Calmbirth® programme has been written not only with the emphasis on helping couples experience a fear free birth but incorporates life changing elements that can be used for the whole of one's life. The program draws on the works of Dr Joe Dispenza and Dr Bruce Lipton and uses the extensive understanding of cardiologist Dr Herbert Benson’s work on the Relaxation Response to assist couples attending the classes. The programme has been designed specifically to educate couples with skills and techniques which can be used no matter how their labour and birth presents itself be it a natural birth or caesarean.
HypnoBirthing or Hypnobirth uses hypnosis to assist pregnant couples with the program based on hypnotherapy techniques. Calmbirth® practitioners are mainly midwives who facilitate the Calmbirth® program for pregnant couples in a private capacity as well as work in hospitals as midwives at the coalface of labour and birth. Some are also qualified Childbirth Educators and doulas.
HypnoBirthing practitioners need no pre requisite training in any of these fields before attending the HypnoBirthing training. Training to become a Calmbirth® practitioner entails participating in pre reading exercises, 5 day face to face lectures and an extensive clinical component with assignments to consolidate their learning. After registration, they are required to maintain certain assessment levels, ongoing education points and participate in obtaining feedback from the couples who have attended their classes. It is vitally important that registered Calmbirth® practitioners have the foundation and support to facilitate their Calmbirth® classes confidently and competently. A large number of resources have been put into the Calmbirth® programme to facilitate this. A yearly Practitioner Conference is held to provide high quality ongoing training for the practitioners. Because of the structure of the Calmbirth® Practitioner Registration process it falls under the Franchise Code of Practice. A Calmbirth® practitioner register has been set up with Standards and Codes of Practice. The HypnoBirthing practitioner training consists of 4 days face to face lectures. Students fill out an open book review and submit this to the HypnoBirthing Institute in the USA. There is no Australian HypnoBirthing® register.
The calmbirth course costs $550.00.
This includes:
~ 13 - 14 hours of face-to-face classes over two days or five evenings
~ Access to downloadable audio files
~ A comprehensive calmbirth information workbook
~ Ongoing personal phone or email support
~ Access to an extensive pregnancy and early parenting library
~ Free attendance for a support partner
~ Tea, coffee, herbal teas and snacks provided for the duration of the course
Can I get a refund if I book now, but later can't make it to the class?
Yes, you can cancel up to 30 days before the Calmbirth course starts (refunds can only be given via bank transfer and the $50.00 deposit will be held as a process fee). There is no refund available if cancelling within 30 days before the commencement of the Calmbirth course, unless a valid medical reason is given.
I have an obstetrician who wants me to be induced. Should I come to calmbirth?
Yes, the calmbirth course will provide you with important knowledge and strategies to enable you to enhance the epidural birth and/ or induction experience. It is an excellent course for helping you to work with your clinical care provider and to understand the reasons for particular procedures. Women who are advised to have an epidural or an induction usually have a medical concern that requires them to have interventions in the labor process. Calmbirth knowledge and skills will provide a big advantage for these women and will help them to create a better birth.
I want a natural birth experience; am I likely to get it by doing calmbirth?
Yes, women who do a calmbirth course have a lower need for medications and medical interventions. They have fewer cesareans, fewer birth problems and have an increased satisfaction with the birth. Some even have completely comfortable, ecstatic or orgasmic births. Women who need medical intervention during labor also have better experiences as they are able to draw on the skills learned in the calmbirth classes to work with their clinical care provider. These women also have the knowledge and skills to help them to bond with their babies and create a better start in life.
I'm afraid of birth and the pain. I'm thinking of a caesarean. Do you think calmbirth will suit me?
Absolutely…calmbirth is the course for you. It will certainly help to eliminate your fear and prepare you for a confident, safe and wonderful experience. A few women will need medication or medical help…this need not detract from the experience. This course will help you to prevent unnecessary intervention by working with your body to enhance the natural comfort and safety mechansisms. It will also help you to identify when help is really needed and to work with your care provider to make the best of that help.
Is calmbirth an 'Airy Fairy' alternative course?
No! The calmbirth course is based on rigorous scientific evidence and has been designed by experts in birth, psychology and education. Couples benefit from the course because they have better birth experiences...the program really works.
My birth centre has a birth preparation program. Why do I need to do calmbirth?
The calmbirth course is a private one. This means that you pay your calmbirth practitioner to provide you with unbiased information and strategies that you can use to enhance your birthing experience. Courses that are attached to hospitals, birth centers or to individual clinical care providers, often lean towards their own particular policies and protocols and this does not encourage you to individualize your birth. It is important to visit the place you will give birth to familiarize yourself but you need to be careful about choosing just one birth preparation course that is provided by your birthing facility. This is particularly so when the course is free, as the course may be more inclined to prepare people to birth in the way that suits the facility best, not you. Of course, it is also true to say that people benefit greatly by looking outside of the ordinary and the expected.
Will my health insurance pay for any of the costs of the Calmbirth course?
Some health insurers may cover part or all of the cost of calmbirth. You will need to contact them and ask if they pay for antenatal birth preparation, and if they have any conditions.
What is the difference between calmbirth® and Hypnobirthing?
Although there may be a perception by some in the community, Calmbirth® is not an Australian version of HypnoBirthing or Hypnobirth. Each programme reflects the profession of its founder; one being a midwife and the other a hypnotherapist.
Calmbirth® is an Australian childbirth preparation programme which was developed by Peter Jackson in 2004. Peter has worked in General, Psychiatric and Midwifery disciplines of nursing since 1970. During the greater part of this time, Peter worked as a registered midwife assisting hundreds of birthing mothers. Many of these mother's experiences were one of fear and anxiety. As a result of his desire to help such mothers, he undertook study as a Private Subconscious Mind Therapist and discovered the important mind body connection. He has developed Calmbirth® from his years of research, study and experience in these fields.
The HypnoBirthing program was written and founded in the USA in the 1980’s by Marie Mongan, a hypnotherapist who developed the programme firstly, by drawing on her own birthing experiences and subsequent training as a counsellor and hypnotherapist.
Both Calmbirth® and Hypnobirthing programs reflect the knowledge and experiences gained in the founder’s professions and also the times in which the programs were written.The Calmbirth® programme has been written not only with the emphasis on helping couples experience a fear free birth but incorporates life changing elements that can be used for the whole of one's life. The program draws on the works of Dr Joe Dispenza and Dr Bruce Lipton and uses the extensive understanding of cardiologist Dr Herbert Benson’s work on the Relaxation Response to assist couples attending the classes. The programme has been designed specifically to educate couples with skills and techniques which can be used no matter how their labour and birth presents itself be it a natural birth or caesarean.
HypnoBirthing or Hypnobirth uses hypnosis to assist pregnant couples with the program based on hypnotherapy techniques. Calmbirth® practitioners are mainly midwives who facilitate the Calmbirth® program for pregnant couples in a private capacity as well as work in hospitals as midwives at the coalface of labour and birth. Some are also qualified Childbirth Educators and doulas.
HypnoBirthing practitioners need no pre requisite training in any of these fields before attending the HypnoBirthing training. Training to become a Calmbirth® practitioner entails participating in pre reading exercises, 5 day face to face lectures and an extensive clinical component with assignments to consolidate their learning. After registration, they are required to maintain certain assessment levels, ongoing education points and participate in obtaining feedback from the couples who have attended their classes. It is vitally important that registered Calmbirth® practitioners have the foundation and support to facilitate their Calmbirth® classes confidently and competently. A large number of resources have been put into the Calmbirth® programme to facilitate this. A yearly Practitioner Conference is held to provide high quality ongoing training for the practitioners. Because of the structure of the Calmbirth® Practitioner Registration process it falls under the Franchise Code of Practice. A Calmbirth® practitioner register has been set up with Standards and Codes of Practice. The HypnoBirthing practitioner training consists of 4 days face to face lectures. Students fill out an open book review and submit this to the HypnoBirthing Institute in the USA. There is no Australian HypnoBirthing® register.