Kensington Mums reviews
What happens at birth? How is the uterus attached in the abdomen? How does breathing affect childbirth? What is the role of the pelvic floor? How does a woman recognize labor pains and how can she prepare for it? Where does pain come from during pregnancy and childbirth? How can the birth partner understand and support a woman during labor.
These are all questions among many more that go through your mind if you are an expecting mama. I know I had many of those questions in mind during my first pregnancy. If you are looking for an affordable pre-natal course from the comfort of your own couch, Giving Birth Explained (GBE) is your answer.
The video course ‘Giving Birth Explained’ is based on the book ‘Was Geschieht Bei Der Geburt’ written by Antoinette El Agamy Etman and published in Switzerland by the hep-verlag. It contains numerous exercises to better understand body functions and to develop body awareness, as well as breathing, relaxation and recovery exercises.
Antoinette El Agamy Etman is a physiotherapist and has taught childbirth preparation for more than 15 years. She introduced couples to the process of childbirth in one-to-one courses and exchanged ideas with midwives and gynecologists about this.
The course aims to address the unnecessary and painful misunderstandings around childbirth conception, pregnancy and giving birth are moments in a life where people are deeply vulnerable. Influences and information from the outside world have a significant impact on our wellbeing during this time. Misunderstanding this information or even being exposed to misinformation can cause trauma and unnecessary pain, harming the future and health of the mother, the child and the family as a whole.
Giving Birth Explained (GBE)is a birth preparation video course in 11 parts that aims to present physiological facts in an accessible way. The content comes with illustrated 3D animations starting from the importance of Body Awareness all the way to details of Labor and details of the birth process. Each lesson comes with audio and text content and is quite simple to follow. There is a practical exercise at the end of each lesson.
The 11 lessons are aimed to provide expectant women with a sense of empowerment and body control without shocking visuals and/or complicated content. Provided I did group pre-natal face to face classes in the past, I found the course almost meditative. It provides you with a sense of calmness/reassurance.
Although I am on my second pregnancy, I managed to gain more information versus the first more expensive group course I did 5 years ago. I found the lessons on the birth wave and the lightening and stages of labor most interesting.
On my first pregnancy, I was super worried not knowing what to expect, I liked the course I did 5 years ago because I didn’t know much at the time about being pregnant nor childbirth. However, I remember still feeling worried even after the course because of the amount of information I received, and the visuals used by the instructor. What I liked about GBE is the sense of body awareness, control and empowerment about the whole process. The course aims for women and their partners to feel empowered rather than at the mercy of the birth process.
What we loved about GBE online course…
- It is affordable, for GBP 8.43 you get 100 minutes of straightforward and simple content about your body during pregnancy, labor and birth.
- There is a short practical exercise at the end of each lesson to help you practice/visualise.
- The illustrated 3D animations are simple yet helpful.
- It provides you with a sense of calmness about the whole process and you feel more empowered/in control.
- You can do it at your own time with your partner and from the comfort and safety of your own home. This is especially important during the current times for those who need to be extra safe and minimize social contact.
- It is a short, concentrated information capsule that can help you and your partner understand what to expect about labor and the birth process as well eliminate fear and anxiousness while gaining a sense of control that can help you plan for the birth process.
What we think can be improved about the GBE online course…
- The voice over may be monotonous at times, it can be more engaging.
- Part of doing pre-natal courses in groups is helping expectant mothers create support networks among each other. In turn they can bond, meet and support each other during pregnancy and after birth. While this is not easy to achieve in an online course, maybe the course organizers can help create communication channels for mothers taking the course at the same time.
- Answering questions: Perhaps the course organizers can consider also creating communication channels with the author to answer questions for course attendants once a month during a live online event.
Kensington Mums is happy to recommend GBE online course to our expectant mothers to be. For more information check out www.givingbirthexplained.com
