Informed and Experienced Childbirth Education and Doula Support

Serving Hillsborough, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Burlington

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Meet Hannah

With a decade of experience, I offer skilled, informed, and thorough Childbirth Education and Doula Support to families on their path to parenthood. I have supported over 100 families by meeting their unique needs and tailoring support to help them have the birth experience they desire. I am passionate about education so that you may move toward your birth and postpartum experience with confidence and joy.

I live in Hillsborough and love being outside with my husband and two children.

Why Childbirth Education?

  • Childbirth Education is a comprehensive course that explores the physiological process of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Students will learn the normal progression of labor and birth, comfort measures to utilize in labor, interventions offered and how to communicate with your care team about them, and more!

  • Approaching childbirth can be intimidating, even if you’ve already experienced labor and birth. Having a comprehensive education regarding pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum can lend confidence in your body’s abilities. Childbirth education “may increase your odds of a vaginal delivery” and “can instill confidence and help…manage expectations”.

    In healthcare there can be a lot of standard care protocols and interventions presented to you with little explanation of their medical need. Demystifying the process of labor and birth as well as clearly explaining the risks and benefits of medical interventions can go a long way toward helping students feel more comfortable and sure of their choices.

  • In-person childbirth education classes allow for the most dynamic interactions between teacher and student. Conversation and questions are more freely exchanged and hands-on practice allows students to get the most out of the curriculum. Students also get the chance to meet other expecting parents in their area and share experiences.

  • Having a support team and care providers you are comfortable with is great! The time constraints of prenatal appointments do not allow for the amount of information needed to approach birth with the most confidence and advocacy. In childbirth education classes, students have the time and freedom to ask all of their questions and to gain information they didn’t think to ask about.

    Doulas can offer individualized support and help make a plan for birth that is unique to you. If you have the knowledge of your available choices and what to expect in labor, meetings with your doula can be even more productive and focused on your individual needs.

  • While classes do cover pregnancy, birth and postpartum as a physiological process, it doesn’t end there. Having everyone on your support team informed and confident can lead to higher birth satisfaction.

    According to 2014 study “Enhancing the partner’s capacity to provide high quality social support during pregnancy, and potentially addressing underlying relationship and support expectations, may be more effective in reducing maternal postpartum anxiety and depression”.

What people are saying about Essential Beginnings…

Hannah is super knowledgeable and creates an engaging, safe space to talk through all issues relevant to pregnancy and birth. It was a great space to bring up questions that arose each week. Also lovely to meet and discuss with other pregnant persons in person. I'm very grateful for this class and the confidence it gave me in the birthing process.

N.D.

I highly recommend Hannah's Essential Childbirth class! Hannah is extremely knowledgeable, and after taking her class my husband and I feel informed, confident, and excited for our first-time birth experience. Each session was packed with information, but the pacing was perfect so we never felt overwhelmed. Hannah also offered a perfect balance of lecture, activities, and conversation, and she created a safe space where we felt comfortable to ask questions and be vulnerable. She also has a great lending library and served delicious snacks each week. I really can't say enough positive things about this class!

Brittany D.

My husband and I worked with Hannah Smith for the birth of our first daughter and our experience was so positive, supportive, and loving that we worked with her again for the birth of our second daughter! Leading up to our deliveries Hannah provided the type of loving support that our family needed to prepare for both baby and me. She has an incredibly warm and positive personality that made her feel like she was a part of our family. She is incredibly experienced and was able to help answer many questions we had about pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum experience and make a plan that was right for our family.

Rachel C.

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