In this course...

You will learn how to use the tools and philosophies of yoga to support physiological labor and birth. You will learn how to employ the evidence-based movement practices and yoga postures to support labor, ease pain, support normal labor progression, and provide guidance for your clients. You will learn about the neurophysiology of pain and how to use the tools of yoga to mitigate the perception of pain and suffering during labor. You will learn the philosophy of Ayurveda and how to support the basic postpartum needs of your clients.

This course centers physiological home birth, but will cover the experience of hospital transfer, emergencies, and complications so that you feel equipped to support your clients through the blissful moments as well as the challenging ones.

Each trainee will leave with new information and tools to support their clients from early pregnancy through postpartum.
Ready to learn more?

Course Logistics

This class will be partially self-paced with weekly live classes via Zoom. This course is approximately 50 hours of training, not including the recommended readings. 

Course content will open in the first week of March 2024, and each week new content will be available as we move through each section of education. 

The live courses will take place on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons in March 2024 (times TBD), but all classes will be recorded and uploaded into this training for you to revisit and rewatch if you aren't able to attend the live class.

This course counts for the doula training and childbirth education requirements (hospital and homebirth) for Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Direct-Entry Midwifery. If you need these certifications or a payment plan option, please email me: [email protected]

Course curriculum

  1. 1
  2. 2

    • Class 1 - Overview of Program & Holistic Stages of Birth

    • Class 2 - Medical Perspective of Birth, Bishop's Score, Fetal Presentation

    • Class 3 - How to Push, Variations of Normal, Common Complications

    • Class 4 - Common Interventions; Risk & Informed Decision-Making

    • Class 5 - Scope of Practice, Roles of the Doula, and Tools of the Doula

    • Class 6 - Demystifying Labor Positioning

    • Class 7 - Pain Management and Motivation & Love Languages

    • Class 8 - Advocacy & Informed Decision-Making, Hospital & Home Birth Support, and Structuring Appointments
  3. 3

    • Directions

    • Assignment 1 - option 1

    • Assignment 1 - option 2

    • Assignment 2

    • Assignment 3

    • Assignment 4
  4. 4

    • Homebirthers: Why do I need a hospital bag??

    • Hospital Bags

    • Birth Prep List, from week 36

    • Signs for the Door
  5. 5

    • The Holistic Stages of Labor

    • Stage 1: Cervical Changes | Phase 1: Early Labor

    • Stage 1: Cervical Changes | Phase 2: Active Labor

    • Stage 2: Pushing & Birth

    • Stage 3: Birth of the Placenta
  6. 6

    • Bishop's Score Basics

    • Active Labor & Labor Dystocia

    • Stages of Labor: Video

    • Cervical Dilation: Video

    • The ARRIVE Study
  7. 7

    • Birth of the Placenta (Third Stage of Labor)

    • Pitocin for the 3rd stage

    • The First Hours After Birth

    • Circumcision

    • Circumcision pt 2

    • Vitamin K

    • Eye Ointment

    • Delayed Cord Clamping Resources
  8. 8

    • Vaginal Steaming as Labor Preparation

    • Herbs and Castor Oil

    • Waterbirth

    • Induction Methods

    • Fetal Monitoring

    • Gestational Diabetes - Induction

    • Inducing for Due Dates

    • IV Fluids

    • Continuous Fetal Monitoring

    • Fundal/Uterine Massage

    • Epidurals

    • Epidurals During the Second Stage of Labor

    • Effects of Epidurals on Breastfeeding
  9. 9

    • Big Babies

    • Group B Strep - GBS

    • Failure to Progress

    • Gestational Diabetes - Diagnosis

    • Postpartum Hemorrhage

    • Premature Rupture of Membranes

    • Neonatal Hypoglycemia
  10. 10

    • Move Your Body Every Day!!

    • The Miles Circuit

    • Spinning Babies: Three Sisters

    • How to Sit During Pregnancy

    • Comfort in Labor by Penny Simkin
  11. 11

    • Breathing Baby Down

    • How to Push

    • Yoga for Core Strength to Prepare for Pushing

    • Pushing
  12. 12

    • The Fear-Tension-Pain Cycle

    • The 3 R's by Penny Simkin: Relaxation, Rhythm, Ritual

    • 3 R's Movement Practice

    • Building a Circuit

    • Maternal Positioning and Pain Relief

    • Labor and Birth Positions

    • Labor and Birth Positions with Epidural

    • Counter Pressure

    • TENS Unit

    • Nitrous Oxide

    • Other Pain Relief Options
  13. 13

    • Envision Your Ideal Birth

    • The Power of Affirmations, A Study

    • Make Your Own Affirmations
  14. 14

    • Advocacy and Informed Consent

    • Making Decisions - Infographics

    • Maternal Mortality - an article

    • Information Giving and The Law

    • Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
  15. 15

    • Questions to consider...

    • Plan A

    • Plan B

    • Plan C

    • Birth Plan Template

    • Gentle Cesarean Document by Camille Vidal

    • Other Cesarean Resources
  16. 16

    • Prenatal Nutrition & Blood Building

    • Postpartum Nutrition for Healing and Milk Building
  17. 17

    • Creating A Postpartum Sanctuary

    • The 7 Principles of Postpartum

    • The Postpartum Plan

    • Postpartum Vaginal Steaming Study

    • The Forth Trimester

    • Sleep

    • Caring for the Postpartum Body

    • Infant Feeding

    • Diaper and Feeding Cart

    • Postpartum Resources and Supports

Meet Your Instructor: Jess Gruber

Student Midwife & Yoga Therapist

When I was pregnant with my first, I decided to plan a homebirth and while I knew it would be hard, I found that it was deeply challenging in ways I totally didn't expect. I knew that my yoga practice and understanding of yogic philosophy played a huge role in my ability to choose to stay home even after a very long and challenging labor.

When when I was pregnant with my twins, I was able to employ these practices of yoga to maintain my sense of autonomy, trust in myself and my babies, and make choices from my gut through a "high-risk" pregnancy and birth.

And now as a student midwife, I want to share with you how to use the tools of yoga within the philosophy and practice of doula work. I can't wait to share all of this with you!