About Mimi Desjarlais, AAHCC
My first baby was born in 1995, delivered by caesarean section. I got stuck with all the typical interventions, although - or because - I'd taken hospital Lamaze classes. With my next pregnancy I vowed I'd only have a C-section if medically necessary. The Bradley Method ® made the most sense to my husband and me, and we're so glad we found it. Hospitals and OBs refused to let me have a VBAC in 1998, so we had the rest of our children at home, two with a doctor, one with a midwife. Our first Bradley birth was 13 years ago, and I became an accredited Bradley Method® instructor in 2008. I've taught over 100 couples how to have healthy pregnancies and the best births they possibly can. No other method is as successful at empowering couples to have the natural, undrugged, joyful births that are their babies' birthright.
My educational background is in Secondary Education, and my B.A. is in English Literature. I've been teaching TBM for 3 years and often attend conferences on birth and breastfeeding. I've attended the United States Breastfeeding Coalition Conference in Washington, D.C., the LLL Regional conferences in MA., RI Birth Network's forums and Conference at Memorial Hospital, the Partners in Perinatal Health Conferences and BACE (Boston Area Childbirth Educators) in MA. I've also presented sessions on natural birth and on breastfeeding.
I'm a La Leche League Leader of the Providence and Warwick groups and an active member of these organizations: RI Breastfeeding Coalition, RI Birth Network, and La Leche League; also the RI Homebirth Collective, Nursing Mother's Council, and US Breastfeeding Coalition. Of course, I'm also a Doula and Childbirth Educator accredited by the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth. (believe it or not, I DO have other interests! :))
Since no one knows what kind of labor she'll have, it's smart to be well prepared for any eventuality. The Bradley Method® stacks the deck in your favor for a wonderful and natural birth. I think it's wise to take into account the mind-body connection and consider your expectations, concerns, and hopes. Birthing from Within by Pam England explores this connection especially well.
My teaching style blends serious thoroughness and natural optimism, with a dollop of good humor, so that you are ready and eager to give birth. I tell it like it is -- you decide what to do with the information. I think the human body is amazing, and the processes of labor and birth are fascinating. One of the things my students get from me is the honest reassurance that birth is inherently safe and wonderful! I explain the protective measures your body naturally provides. I'm no magician, but the truth about birth can free you from so much worry, and that frees your mind, soul and body to experience labor as every woman should be allowed to do. This should be a happy and exciting time of life, so enjoy your pregnancy and the anticipation of your darling baby's birth!
I want you to know what options exist so you can choose for yourself how you'd like your baby's birth to be. You only get to do this birth once -- let it be wonderful! The RI Birth Network is an excellent place to compare hospitals and find out more about RI options.
"If you don't know you have options, then you don't have any."-A Good Birth, A Safe Birth by Korte and Scaer.
Birth Narratives: Your Novel Birth
I also write Birth Narratives - using my love of literature and writing skills to combine your favorite story and details of your birth. You fill out a questionaire about your birth, telling me as much as you want to about the great event, then I write the story of your baby's birth, using your favorite book or movie for inspiration. I use characters, plots, the author's style and tone to make a completely unique birth keepsake that you and your child will always find delightful. I don't use a formula, so each narrative, like each birth, is different and fits you, reflecting your experience in a novel way! The price depends on how long you want it to be. I charge $50 per page. Episodic adventure stories lend themselves very well to this, but I can do this with almost anything. Some possibilities are The Hobbit, The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek, The Little Engine That Could, Harry Potter books, Alice in Wonderland, Mother Goose, Fairy Tales, a cookbook, a do-it-yourself repair book. . . you get the idea. Every birth is a story worth telling: it's a journey and adventure. Call or e-mail me to discuss this if you're interested. (By the way, this makes a fun and unique baby shower present! You get a gift certificate and questionaire from me to give the expectant mother, and she contacts me soon after the birth.)
Here's a little of a 4-page one I did recently, borrowing from The Hobbit :
"In Greenwich town, betwixt the boats and the trains there is a charming cottage. Not a nasty, dirty, wet house, filled with old radiators and ugly paint, nor yet a dull, bare, sandy house with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a Smith house, and that means comfort..." ..."It was written in the Elvish runes that their baby would not be rushed. As strong as a mountain fortress in the goblin's wood he lay, facing sunny side up.. . . ."
and, further on, "Chip the glasses and crack the plates! Blunt the knives and bend the forks! That's what Baby Michael hates - Smash the bottles and burn the corks! Pull the plugs and EFM, let the babe's descent begin! Ready colostrum, full of health, we'll birth this baby by ourselves!"
