Why Sawyer Hill Birth?

Students' favorite parts

I ask my students, at the end of a course, to write down what they liked best. Here are a few of their answers:

"Just educating myself — I thought I knew way more than I did." —mom

"... getting to know my body better so I can be aware about what it may feel like and what I can do to relax." —teen mom

"Games. Labor practice. Birth videos. Hearing from moms in class." —mom

"The nutritional info, as it related to birth problems. Also, the weekly birth videos were great." —dad

Overall reactions

Here are a few of the notes students have written over the years:

"This class has exceeded our expectations, and your time, we feel, was not adequately compensated! ... We feel confident and prepared. Thank you." —dad

"Keep up the ice cubes!" —mom
"Great and had a lot of information." —mom
"Great communication, labor rehearsals." —mom
"Useful and clear." —birth coach

"Well done, and thanks for being willing to do this with all the related difficulties." —birth partner of a mom who arranged private sessions while on bedrest

"Wonderful class!" —birth coach
"Great! Informative! Enjoyable!" —mom
"Great class. Honestly, I've learned so much." —teen mom
"Interesting and very helpful!" —mom

"You really did a wonderful job researching questions!" —mom

"Really great — I still have a lot to read." —mom
"I do my Kegels everyday, and pelvic rocks!" —mom
"Asking us lots of questions was really helpful." —dad

"I liked the small class ... I felt spoiled by having so much time to ask questions. This class is a gift — thank you so much!" —mom

Formal recommendations

And here are some of my LinkedIn recommendations:

Ellen Seebacher is dedicated, knowledgeable, and frank. There's so much propaganda, superstition, and hearsay in the medical profession surrounding birth. Ellen Seebacher helps expectant mothers understand their bodies and their babies, to enable women to have as natural, easy birth as possible. (2001 mom)

Ellen was a wonderful instructor when she taught childbirth classes to myself and my husband. She was personable, knowledgeable, and available, and definitely appealed to both my hippie-mama side and my science-nerd side at the same time — quite a feat! (2005 mom)

I volunteered to be a labor coach for a pregnant teenager living in a long-term shelter. We both participated in Ellen's excellent natural childbirth classes. Ellen was friendly and welcoming. The information she provided was comprehensive, useful, and presented in an easy-to-understand way. The mother was able to have a very good birth experience with minimal interventions that she felt empowered by. Would highly recommend Ellen. (2009 labor coach)

Ellen's childbirth class was invaluable in helping me understand [the] birth and labor process. I delivered my eldest daughter in the hospital, but Ellen gave me the information and confidence I needed to give birth at home. She shared an amazing depth and breadth of information without overwhelming or scaring us. (2003 mom)

Ellen exposed us to childbirth preparation techniques and methodologies that completely changed our mindset and approach to how we birthed and now parent our three children. We cannot imagine how much less fulfilling our experience at birth and in the early years would have been without Ellen's guidance. Her expertise, approaches and network of support has changed our lives in such a wonderful way. (2005 dad)

Wouldn't you like to be in one of these classes too?