Listening to Mothers II: A Lamaze Educator's Response

A Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and labor-support doula who provides services in two major, metropolitan areas shares her reactions and education experiences in dealing with the findings of Listening to Mothers II. She found that her first response to the survey findings involved assisting a community-wide effort to raise the awareness of women about their childbirth options, with a special emphasis on providers who practice in adherence to The Coalition for Improving Maternity Service's Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. In addition, she added a component to her classes to help her students proactively explore why so few women feel they can assert their rights to refuse unnecessary interventions during childbirth.