Six-Week Live Round Cohort Begins November 8th at 5pm PST
Brave Journey Birth Preparation Program
A comprehensive at-your-own-pace program preparing you to give birth and navigate postpartum. A course grounded in evidence & carefully designed to ensure you access birth wisdom, practice efficient coping strategies, learn the benefits & risks of common medical interventions, & prepare for postpartum.
The standalone on-demand comprehensive course is available NOW. Doors will open for the next Live Round including 6 weekly group calls in October 2022.
Autumn 2022 Live Round
Online childbirth education, a mix of on-demand video lessons and six weekly live calls with tools, & support to bravely navigate birth & postpartum your own unique way.
We begin with our first live group call Tuesday November 8th at 5pm PST
“Navigate your labor, birth. and postpartum with confidence & courage.”
Preparing for Birth & Postpartum
It's not our fault that many of us walk into birth so completely unprepared. We rarely witness childbirth in our community, and media representations of birth are wildly inaccurate. We're absorbing information about birth from friends and family all their lives, but we lack accurate information about birth.
During your pregnancy, you might notice people telling you about their birth experiences, with voiced or unvoiced messages of how you 'should' give birth, or how to birth the 'right' way.
After serving hundreds of families as a birth doula, childbirth educator, and prenatal yoga instructor, I've learned there are many paths to an empowered birth.
There is no one 'right' way to birth.
Whether birthing unmedicated or with an epidural, whether your baby is born vaginally or via cesarean section, you CAN navigate your childbirth experience with a foundation of accurate knowledge, effective labor coping strategies & confidence in your birth support team.
Rachel D.
"One of the modules I initially wanted to skip was on interventions. The plan was always to have an unmedicated birth, so I figured that module wasn’t relevant to me. And even though we thankfully did have the birth experience we were hoping for, I was very grateful we took the time to learn about various interventions that may be necessary in the course of birth. It helped me to not feel afraid if that outcome was something we had to endure. Again, knowledge is such a valuable tool when it comes to managing pain and fear."
Katlin & Hal D.L.
"Katlin really appreciated how it felt like we were in this virtual living room with Cara sitting right there with us. It was calm and soothing to watch the videos. ... The Brave Journey course is a contemplative's approach to birth preparation. And that is very wonderful."
Nancy M.
Build knowledge, tools, & skills to bravely navigate your childbirth & postpartum journey.
The Autumn 2022 live round runs six Thursdays beginning October 13th 5pm-6pm PST. On-demand lesson videos combined with one-hour weekly group calls where you will:
- Build your knowledge about birth and birthing in our modern medical context.
- Practice labor coping strategies.
- Connect with your birth partner as you prepare for your birth journey.
- Confidently navigate whatever surprises your birth journey might bring!
Gain immediate access to 8+ hours of on-demand instruction in efficient 10-15 minute lessons. Included: worksheets, checklists, labor position & coping strategy 'cheat sheets', infant feeding tips, postpartum recovery tips, and bonus body balancing prenatal yoga.
The Brave Journey Birth Preparation Program as a stand-alone program with inspiring, evidence based, accessible, & practical lessons and toolkit to set you and your birth partner up to confidently navigate your birth and postpartum journey.
AUTUMN LIVE ROUND: Join the live round Autumn cohort beginning November 8th! In addition to the comprehensive on-demand course, you'll get live group calls meeting for one hour each week for 6 weeks for experiential learning, comfort measures, birth art, journaling, Q&A and discussion.
To ensure a connected space, participants will be maxed out at 12 birthing people + their birth partner.
Calls are one-hour weekly on Tuesdays at 5pm Pacific Time.
- Nov 8th Group Call #1: Your Birth Team
- Nov 15th Group Call #2: Labor
- Nov 22nd Group Call #3: Birth
- Nov 29th Group Call #4: Childbirth Wisdom
- Dec 6th Group Call #5: Birthing In Our Modern Medical Culture
- Dec 13th Group Call #6: Preparing for Postpartum
Danielle & Noah T.
We definitely feel more confident, especially about navigating some of the more intensive medical interventions that might happen. We came away with new tools for dealing with pain, better information about the tradeoffs of different interventions, and a clearer sense of how the birth partner can be helpful.
Rachel & Ryan D.
I will admit that we tried multiple times to find in-person classes, but ... were unsuccessful. So I was initially pretty hesitant to take an online course, as I was worried I wouldn’t be able to be as engaged or committed. However both my partner and I have really enjoyed the content and found it engaging and useful. You can tell Cara is extremely knowledgeable and the program helped us both feel confident that we can do this!
Jaymie & Eli C.
The Brave Journey Birth Prep Program was a fabulous experience for my partner and I to go through together. The go at our own pace style made it so we did not have to rush through anything, and we were able to have meaningful conversations with each other. Cara’s compassion and experience shines through in each lesson. I feel much more confident navigating my birth.
WHAT'S INCLUDED:
Module 1 / Build Your Birth Team
In this module you'll learn the importance of building alignment with your birth team, and tools to do so.
What We'll Work on:
- Aligning your relationship with your medical care provider.
- Birth Plans: How to build and use them.
- Setting the tone in your birth room.
- Building your birth team: Doulas & Labor Support.
Module 2 / Build Knowledge: The First Stage of Labor
In this module we'll begin building your knowledge about birth, progress in labor, and practice positions & pain coping strategies.
What We'll Work on:
- Learn indicators of progress in labor.
- Learn the hormones of birth and how to build helpful hormones.
- Learn about prodromal & early labor.
- Practice early labor positions & learn tips for early labor.
- Learn about active labor & transition.
- Practice positions and learn tips for active labor.
- Determining when to go to your birthing location.
- Practice Pain Coping Strategies with Ice.
Module 3 / Build Knowledge: Pushing, Delivering the Placenta & Immediate Postpartum
In this module we'll continue building your knowledge about birth, covering the pushing stage, delivering the placenta, immediate postpartum, and common newborn procedures you'll need to be prepared to make decisions about.
What We'll Work on:
- Learn about the pushing stage of labor.
- Practice positions for pushing.
- Learn about delivering the placenta and immediate postpartum.
- Learn about the 'golden hour' and skin-to-skin.
- Discuss the benefits, risks, and alternatives of common newborn procedures so you're prepared to make decisions.
Module 4 / Build Your Birth Wisdom
In this module, we'll shift to building wisdom around birth.
What We'll Work on:
- Pain coping & identifying the difference between pain & suffering.
- Practice guided meditation.
- Practice pain coping strategies using ice.
- Prepare your body with movement & nutrition.
- Learn optimal fetal positioning.
- Experience the labyrinth as a model for labor.
- Hear & learn from the ancient story of the descent of Inanna.
Module 5 / Build Your Knowledge: Compassionate Use of Interventions
In this module we'll transition back to building your knowledge, this time about common interventiosn in our modern medical context.
What We'll Work on:
- A framework for informed decision making.
- Learn the evidence based benefits, risks, and alternatives of many common medical interventions.
- Learn about epidurals, benefits, risks, & tips.
- Learn the truth about due dates.
- Learn about induction, benefits, risks, & tips for a succesful induction.
- Learn about cesarean birth.
- Practice pain coping strategies with ice.
Module 6 / Prepare for Postpartum
In this module we'll shift to talking about postpartum.
What We'll Work on:
- Learn what to expect emotionally in the first weeks.
- Learn what to expect physically in the first weeks.
- Learn how to establish your milk supply for a long term body feeding relationship.
- Learn early signs of huger in a newborn and how to know if your newborn is getting enough milk.
- Discuss postpartum as the 4th Trimester.
Fabiola (The Tender Fern Postpartum)
The Brave Journey Program would have been an invaluable resource as I was preparing to give birth to my son nine years ago. It's incredible how much knowledge and wisdom Cara imparts to you. It is beautifully taught and lovingly explained and I find the added worksheets so very helpful. When finishing the program you are left feeling empowered and prepared for the journey ahead.
Deana C.
What I enjoyed the most about our birth preparation course experience was that we could take in the information at our own pace and digest it together on our own time. Even though it's presented in an online format, it felt like we were having a one-on-one chat with Cara because she was present in every module and lesson. I also appreciated the accompanying handouts in each lesson that we can take with us on our birthing journey (we've already printed out some!).
Jaymie & Eli C.
Since the program is self paced we took it at our own speed and were able to be intentional with our time. We paused frequently to talk to each other, which eased my anxiety about Labor immensely. My husband ended up being much more involved in the labor process, and he felt confident in himself as an advocate and my teammate, making suggestions we learned in the course as we went.
Prepare for the Surprises of Childbirth & Postpartum
Build birth knowledge grounded in evidence, access birth wisdom, practice effective pain coping strategies, connect with your birth partner, and align your birth team.
Special Welcome Package
(limited quantity)
A special welcome package I've carefully curated with fellow small businesses!
Peaceful Pregnancy Tea
Red raspberry leaf is frequently recommended for use throughout pregnancy, and Birds & Bees Teas have combined it with herbs that nourish deeply and impart a sense of peace and calmness to make it the best pregnancy tea around!
Santal All Natural Candle
Soy wax. Santal Scent Notes: Top: Bergamot, Citrus, Lavandin. Middle: Jasmine, Lily, Rose. Base: Amber, Cedarwood, Sandalwood
Brave Journey Journal
Blank journal for recording thoughts, reflections, notes from the course, or record feedings and diaper output once your baby is born!
Handouts Folder
52 pages of printed color handouts including labor positions, illustrations, templates, worksheets, & checklists.
By the end of this program,
you’ll be able to:
- Confidently navigate your birth journey.
- Trust in the support of your entire birth team.
- Prepare your postpartum recovery resources.
Hi! I'm Cara (she/her).
My mission is to provide inclusive & intentional childbirth education, tools, & support to help you bravely navigate birth your own unique way. Here, you'll cultivate a sense of grounded-ness, clarity, and confidence as you prepare to birth. Brave Journey Birth Preparation courses include clear, evidence-based birth knowledge, peppered with wisdom, and regular invitations to connect with yourself, your birth partner, and your baby as you navigate your brave journey.
BIRTH DOULA & CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR
I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of pregnant people as a Birth Doula, Childbirth Educator, and Prenatal Yoga Instructor. With a background in leading social change programs, I've been helping people prepare for and navigate deeply transformative and unfamiliar experiences for nearly two decades. I'm a certified birth doula with toLabor, and a member of Evidence Based BIrth and Birthing From Within.
Brave Journey Childbirth Preparation
What technology will I need?
 How much time will this require?
How do the group calls work?
Can you guarantee me a perfect birth if I take this course?
What about accessibility, are there captions?
Is this course for people who want to birth unmedicated ('go natural')?
I'm high risk and facing lots of medical interventions and may plan to give birth via cesarean. Is this course for me?
Is this course for people who aren't sure if they want to use pain relief?
Is this course for people who want to use pharmacological pain relief (epidural, etc.)?
Is this course for people who plan to birth at home?
Is this class for people who plan to birth at a hospital?
Is this course for people who plan to birth at a birth center?
Is this course for queer people?
When do I get access to the bonus resources?
Is this course for single parents?
I'm in my last trimester, is it too late for me to take this course?
Justice is important to me. Who do you contribute 10% of your revenue to?
I'm in my first trimester, is it too soon for me to take this course?
Can I take this course without a birth partner?
Does my access to the course expire?
Every Birth Has a Surprise
Gain knowledge and confidently navigate your birth journey. Build a birth support team you can rely on. Cultivate wisdom and resilience as you navigate the unknowns of your birth and postpartum journey.
Begin Your Journey*I have a limited quantity of candles, teas, journals, & printed color handouts so I will mail them to you on a first come first served basis while supplies last!
