Victoria: I was terrified of labor. Sarah Baker’s class helped me learn to trust my body to do what it already knew how to do. Can’t do that overnight!
Simiya: I really enjoyed the amount of information we received during course. There was lots of discussion between the participants, lots of time to let the information soak and and ask plenty of questions… my partner and I really loved it! I recommend taking the 8 week class especially if you are a first time parent like me and I would take it again to refresh my memory for a second birth!”
Alicia: Sarah has been so great. Even now, she’s so willing to help with any questions or advice I need. She’s a birthing instructor that helps out way beyond the birth.
Chelsea and Brad: I am so grateful that someone in my life many years ago told me about a “doula” and what a “natural birth” could look like… Knowledge IS POWER; natural birth or not — you should know what you don’t know. Taking a class can cover that. And peeps — this isn’t Lamaze… this is education. It’s preparation. Sarah Baker teaches this class; which we immediately signed up for because I knew I needed to learn what was up. It’s the best thing I could suggest; not just if you want a “natural birth,” but if you want to be informed. Taking a natural birthing class, such as BirthWorks, is a heaven send. You really do need to know what you don’t know.
My husband will tell you that he learned more than he ever thought possible, considering he had been through three previous births — he was never educated on the process and knowledge IS power. This wasn’t new to him, so he thought. He really did enjoy the class and learned a ton. He even admitted it! An 8-week course is perfect. Pregnancy is a long journey and you DO have questions that come up week to week. The support of the group, the sharing, the questions that someone else asks that makes you think… it’s worth the time commitment.
Jess and Nick: I knew I wanted to attempt a natural birth, but wasn’t totally convinced I could do it, nor did I have any idea how I would manage the pain. We hired Sarah as a doula and as a childbirth educator and I am so glad we did. Sarah has a professional but warm demeanor. I am someone who is very facts and science oriented, so it was important for me to feel confident that our instructor/doula had a solid grasp on the clinical knowledge around birthing. However, being that giving birth is among the most intimate of experiences in life, we also wanted someone who was nurturing, compassionate and non-judgmental to help us through it. Sarah is all of those things.
During our six weeks of childbirth classes, she taught us a myriad of things about childbirth, including basic birth and infant information, the actual body mechanics of natural birth, pain management and comfort measures my husband could implement during labor, what to expect in a hospital birth and how to steer clear of the interventions we did not want, how to create an effective birth plan, how to identify the various stages of labor, and most importantly; she helped me tackled EVERY single fear or concern I had about childbirth. I really cannot tell you how much that helped change my perspective from “I want to try to have a natural birth” to “I KNOW I can DO a natural birth”. To have someone take the time to help you sort out exactly what is creating fear/anxiety about childbirth for you and then address each one! WOW! By the end of our classes I honestly felt like a different person…Thanks to Sarah, I feel like I had EXACTLY the birth I wanted.
Steph and Taylor: We don’t even know where to begin to start to say thank you. But, thank you for being our fearless teacher and leader on the most amazing journey of childbearing. You made the labor and delivery so very enjoyable and manageable for us. Thanks for your long hours with us at the hospital and for being such a fabulous teacher and guide though the process. We are so thankful for you!
Angie: If anyone is interested in a non-medicated birth I recommend a Birthworks class with Sarah Baker! I did it thanks to her!
First-time mother: It is truly invaluable the service you provide to women and couples…I know that for me it was priceless to have you as my teacher, doula and friend.
Sonia and Sean: A year after Henry’s birth, I wanted to take a moment to post here, and let people know how useful Sean and I felt the private BirthWorks classes were. First of all, the classes were surprisingly affordable for all of the one-on-one attention you gave us. Even though this was our third child, you taught us so many things that we never learned from previous births. Most importantly, you got us talking about things that really strengthened us through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Your knack for gauging the kind of support and information we needed made the decision to ask you to be our doula a simple one! We could not have been happier with the experience. Thank you again!
Jami and Brad: I wish I had words to describe how grateful I am for your instruction and guidance. My labor was such a beautiful experience. He came on his own with no induction at almost 42 weeks. It was nothing like I had planned, but it was perfect for Alex and me! You had me prepared for the unexpected and the pressure that comes from physicians, and that’s exactly what I got! Brad, Alex and I feel like a perfect family right now, and you were instrumental in getting us off to this start! Thank you!
Graham and Barry: My husband and I attended a traditional hospital class before we had our first child in 2009. We had a challenging experience with my first son, and after a very long labor, I had a C-section. We felt like VBAC was right for us the second time around and wanted to be sure that we had the right information and support. We were thankful for private lessons with Sarah as the group setting was not going to work with our schedule. We learned a lot, but the best part about meeting with Sarah was forming our team. We decided that we would choose a different hospital, one that had a lower rate of C-sections and a better reputation for supporting the kind of birth we were hoping for. She also was able to point us towards prenatal chiropractic care which was very helpful in my case. We also worked with her recommendations to hire a doula. We really appreciated her knowledge of resources in St. Louis.
Thankfully, our second birth went much smoother than the first one. We were able to achieve our goal of an unmedicated VBAC. I know that many people feel that the birth experience does not matter — only the health of the child matters. However, to me it was not an either or proposition. To me the birth experience and the health of the child were both important and I’m thankful that we found the support we needed in order to avoid a repeat C-section.
Lisa: Without Sarah and her amazing BirthWorks class I would not have been able to work through many emotional and physical challenges I’ve had in my 2 prior births. Taking Sarah’s advice and guidance, God blessed me with a natural home birth of my son, James.
Christine and Jake: Being a nurse myself, I felt like I had a solid grasp on the medical aspect of birth, but needed more of a personal understanding regarding the emotional and psychological aspects of labor and birth. Through the BirthWorks program, Sarah asked all the right questions, and often played devil’s advocate to get us thinking about our own feeling towards birth. During our private lessons, Sarah helped us explore many factors that influenced how my husband and I thought about birth, and how those factors may contribute to our experience. She also taught us valuable tips regarding positioning and ways to maintain comfort during labor, including the importance of relaxation.
Sarah was also a wealth of knowledge for pregnancy and birth resources in the St. Louis area, which I found very helpful. She even provided me with a list of physicians who support natural birth, which helped me switch to the perfect doctor at 35 weeks! I felt very confident and prepared for the birth of my baby, and am so thankful for Sarah and BirthWorks, as I was able to have a natural delivery in the hospital.
Lena and Taylor: My first son was born in July 2009 after an unscheduled cesarean section. The delivery was difficult — not in the way he was born, but the way it affected me. I went into my birthing room knowing I would have a natural, unmediated, vaginal birth. My sister had done it, my mother had done it, my aunt had done it, and I would simply be the next in a long line of women to naturally have a baby. It didn’t happen that way. I left the hospital four days later with my beautiful baby boy and a broken heart. I felt lost, defeated, and angry that this had been done to me. I blamed everyone, including myself, for my son’s ‘failed’ birth, sure that some one had done something wrong, this was not the birth I was supposed to have. The nice lady during the hospital class hadn’t told me I would be so angry after I gave birth. When we became pregnant with our second son, I knew we needed something different; I could not go into a birthing room again as broken as I was.
So my husband and I found Sarah. We took BirthWorks because we didn’t need to be told how to be good patients like they teach in hospitals. We needed to be guided to a birth that was ours. The course helped us see the baggage we were hanging onto from our first birth and lay it to rest so we could focus on the upcoming birth. Sarah showed us things we could do before (like nutrition and exercise) and things to do during labor (stretches and coping techniques) that would ease the birth of our son. We were able to take what we needed from the class to use during our birth and make it ours. BirthWorks was a great way to learn about birth without being bogged down by clinical definitions and terms. Sarah put the human back in the human birth experience. I loved taking her class and it made healing from our first birth easier and made our second son’s birth beautiful. After a beautiful natural labor, Edwin Graham was born via unplanned repeat c-section August 21, 2011 and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Cortney and Pat: We thought your BirthWorks class was awesome. My husband and I both agreed it was a wonderful experience. I knew we were affected by our first cesarean but did not realize the extent until we starting digging a little deeper which your class helped us do. I also did not realize the extent of how much pain my husband felt from the cesarean until your class. You were able to reveal emotions and feelings that I did not realize existed, it was a great help in our healing process. The class also taught us not only about ourselves but how important it was to embrace those emotional wounds and start healing them for the better of our future pregnancies. Since the class we successfully had a non-medicated VBAC!!! I learned a great deal on how to write my “birth preferences” rather than plan and the importance of outside support. We are forever grateful to you and your class for teaching us so much. Thank you again for all of your support and help, you have been wonderful.
Angela and Greg: As my husband and I prepared for our home birth it became evident that there was some fear that needed to be worked through. I hold the belief that knowledge is the best way to work through fears, especially fears regarding the unknown. We found Sarah’s brochure while shopping for baby diapers and knew it was serendipity. Sarah’s private classes were exactly what my husband and I needed to prepare for our birth … which was an amazing experience. We recommend every pregnant mom we know to BirthWorks. Thank you Sarah!
Jaclyn and Jim: My husband and I chose the BirthWorks course because we were intrigued by the in-depth curriculum… and we wanted more than just the surface information about our upcoming birth. Sarah was a wonderful instructor. Her caring and easy-going personality made my husband and I feel very comfortable talking about our excitement and worries surrounding our first pregnancy. Sarah took the time to listen to us. During the birth of our baby, her practical tips for relaxation were used and appreciated! We are both very grateful to Sarah and would recommend her and the BirthWorks class to any parents-to-be.
Bethany and Jonathan: BirthWorks gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to have a successful natural birth, with no medical intervention, in a hospital setting. My husband and I both felt so much more prepared to take on the challenge of labor and delivery after taking this class!
Alexa and Ian: Before class, I had a lot of fears and anxiety about my birth place and my ability to handle natural childbirth. My husband felt pressure to be my sole supporter and to be a perfect coach. Because of Sarah’s support, advice, and encouragement I’m able to trust my own body to give birth and my husband no longer feels like he’s on his own.
First-time mother: I labored at home from 1:30am-8:30am when my water broke. We got to the labor and delivery room at around 9am and he was born at 10:03am. I pushed for about 5 minutes. The Lord was so gracious and merciful to give me such a good birthing experience. That doesn’t mean it was easy, but at least it didn’t last tens of hours. I made it without an epidural… Thanks again for teaching the class. We are a success story (by God’s grace) for your future students, especially for it being our first time.
Inquiry Form
Email