Why Childbirth Education Matters: How Knowing Your Options Changes Everything
When you're pregnant, it can feel like everyone has an opinion about what you should do. You hear advice from family, friends, strangers in HomeGoods... even your algorithms start serving you tips! It’s a lot. But here’s the thing no one tells you loud enough:
✨ You have options.
✨ You have power.
✨ And childbirth education can help you own both.
As a doula and childbirth educator, I’ve witnessed firsthand how learning about birth shifts your mindset from fear to confidence. Childbirth education isn’t just about knowing what happens during labor—it's about understanding your body, your choices, and your voice.
Knowledge is Power
Childbirth education gives you the tools to make informed decisions, not reactive ones. Instead of hearing a term like "membrane sweep" or "failure to progress" and feeling overwhelmed, you can pause and say: "Okay, what does that mean for me? Do I want this? What are my alternatives?"
This kind of calm, informed decision-making changes everything. It helps you advocate for the birth experience you want—whether that’s unmedicated, epidural-assisted, planned cesarean, VBAC, or anything else. Knowing that you made the best decisions for you and your baby offers you peace of mind.
What Childbirth Education Really Teaches You
When you think of birth, you may be thinking of what you see on TV or in the movies. A woman is just going about her day when all of a sudden her eyes get wide and a rush of fluids drenches the floor. Cut to her in a hospital bed on her back screaming and sweaty as the doctors look on with their bright lights, and her partner holds up her leg while nurses scream “push!” and the next scene is her holding a baby. Um, not accurate…
During a childbirth education class, you will learn what actually happens during a physiological labor and how to work with your body.
You’ll explore topics like:
Common interventions
Medical and non-medical pain relief
Comfort techniques
How to advocate for yourself
Decision-making based on knowledge, not fear
Partners also stand to learn many things in a childbirth education class! Like, how to help ease pain and discomfort, how to help make decisions, what to expect, and the role they play during delivery.
Your education doesn't end there, though! You’ll leave with the knowledge on how to best help your body heal in the postpartum period, how to honor the fourth trimester, and early baby care. Childbirth education has everything you need to know to embark on this new chapter confidently and empowered.
Birth is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Too often, we’re told there’s only one way to give birth safely. But every birth is unique. Every parent is different. Childbirth education helps you figure out what you value. It helps you ask better questions, spot red flags, find what feels comfortable for you, and find providers who respect your vision.
Whether you're giving birth in a hospital, birth center, or at home, knowing your options helps you move through labor with confidence, not confusion, and helps you make decisions based on your preferences rather than out of fear. Feeling confident and emotionally comfortable during labor will help labor progress and impact how you respond to everything happening in your body.
How Knowing Your Options Changes Everything
When you are informed, you are the one making decisions for yourself and your baby. You become the leader of your birth team rather than a bystander. Birth is not something that happens to you; it is a moment, unlike any other that you and your baby experience together. When you feel empowered to make decisions, it opens a dialogue with your provider. Instead of being told what to do without further explanation, you can state your preferences, ask questions, and decide what is best for you with all of the information available to you.
Being informed also greatly reduces fear, especially fear of the unknown. When our bodies register fear, it activates our stress response, which is the opposite of what we want during labor, since it does not help it progress. Stress and fear can also enhance the possibility of birth trauma. Understanding what is going on and knowing you did all you could to be prepared and make the best decisions in the moment helps reduce that risk.
Partners Benefit, Too
When your partner is educated about birth, they don’t stand on the sidelines—they show up as true support. I love it when I see partners in my workshops nodding, taking notes, and realizing they have a role, too. A birth team that’s informed is a team that works together and protects the birthing person’s peace. Oftentimes, partners want to help and be involved, but they don’t know how.
Doing the work prenatally to learn what happens during birth, what to expect, what your partner's birth preferences are, and how to advocate for them is a tremendous support! It leads to confidence in one's ability to be an active participant in the labor, and truly, what better way to show someone you love and care for them than to make sure you’re as informed as you can be for them?
You Deserve to Feel Prepared
Childbirth education helps you trust your body, your instincts, and your plan—even when things shift. It reduces anxiety and increases satisfaction. It helps you understand what to expect and how to stay flexible if things don’t go as expected.
Birth isn’t about controlling every detail—it’s about knowing what matters to you and having the tools to make empowered decisions every step of the way. That way, you don’t freeze if things don’t go exactly according to plan; instead, you're able to pivot with clarity.
How to Get Educated (And What to Look For)
There are many different class options to fit your needs. Think about what is important to you in a class and what fits your lifestyle. Would you prefer a private in-person class or a group one where you can meet other parents, local providers, and ask questions based on your location? Do you prefer to learn virtually, whether live or pre-recorded and self-paced classes? There are benefits to each, and you should choose what is best for you, keeping in mind your goals, preferences, comfort, and even finances.
Also, consider the plan you have for your birth and find someone who can help you learn as much as possible for that vision. Focus on evidence-based classes to ensure you’re receiving accurate and up-to-date information. If you’re someone who likes the option to ask questions or being able to follow up, find a class that offers that as an option!
You deserve to feel confident. You deserve to feel informed. And you deserve to be supported.
Did you know we offer various options for childbirth education?
Check out our childbirth education page to learn more about our options and take a peek at our upcoming events page to see if there are any scheduled classes or workshops in person & virtual!
For more targeted workshops rather than full childbirth ed, check out our virtual sessions tab.
As always, if you have any questions, reach out! I love answering questions 🥰