Birthing From Within | Preparing For an Empowering Birth

In today’s episode, we talk with Erika Primozich, co-owner of Birthing From Within, a childbirth education course. Erika shares how she got interested in birth and empowerment during her pregnancy with her first child 21 years ago. She was inspired to become a doula when she read Birthing From Within (https://www.amazon.com/Birthing-Within-Extra-Ordinary-Childbirth-Preparation/dp/096598730), a book by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. Upon attending a training by the author, Pam England, Erika learned that the key to an empowering birth experience is by being flexible and fluid and being willing to lose your attachment to the idea of a perfect birth, and focus on self-awareness and growth as a human. As she continued attending and giving trainings, she was eventually made one of the leaders of the Birthing From Within organization. Erika shares how Birthing From Within differentiates itself from other courses by stepping away from the “information dump” approach that other courses take, focusing instead on helping mothers to develop the resilience and the personal connections that will guarantee them a powerful and positive birthing experience, no matter what happens. Their main goal is to help wake up parents’ skills around another way of being that is more fluid, intuitive, creative, flexible, and resilient, and less attached to a specific outcome and more open to possibilities. We explain how, while not everyone has to take a Birthing From WIthin course, all parents need to embrace the reality that it takes more than just information to guarantee an empowered and positive birth. We talk about how Birthing From Within treats birth as a rite of passage, because they know that birth always causes a change (physically, mentally, and emotionally) within parents. We discuss how doulas, midwives, massage therapists, and all the range of birth professionals are encouraged to join Birthing From Within’s programs to help them do their jobs well as well. We explain how the ideal birth is most likely to occur as we embrace the acceptance that is in the middle of the spectrum between avoidance and attachment. We talk about how beneficial the training can be for partners, to help them stay present, supportive, and connected during the time of exposure and vulnerability that is the birthing process. We invite you to learn more about Birthing From Within at https://birthingfromwithin.com/.How Erika Got Interested in Birth Work 1:00What Makes Birthing From WIthin Different 6:41Is Birthing From Within For You? How The Modality Can Help Birth Professionals 13:51The Middle of Avoidance and Attachment is Acceptance 28:52“I believe that there’s a birth class for everyone, that there’s a provider for everyone, and that birth trauma, a lot of times, is a provider-client mismatch, or an information-client mismatch. And so I’m adamant that people take the birth class that would best fit their personality, their needs, their expectations.” 5:57 Tell Us What You Thought About This Episode! Email [email protected] birthcircle.com