My journey in Childbirth:
At the time I was pregnant with my first child back in 1968 there were few childbirth classes. The first birth was extremely traumatic since I did not have “tools’ to assist my birth, like breathing techniques and motion. With my second birth, I did have classes and practiced diligently. That birth was only 5 hours! I became a childbirth educator after that experience and feel that no woman should go through labor without good support and breathing techniques. After 30 years teaching regular classes, I found the benefit of hypnosis in birthing and am an avid supporter of HypnoBirthing. I teach private and group classes through Parent Trust for Washington Children, Great Starts. Many families do not recognize the benefit of this process, but the students that have taken the course, face their births with excitement and empowerment.
1996 I became a doula, a doula trainer, and have just retired from doula work and am working with families during their pregnancy with Prenatal Bonding (BA), trained by Dr. Gerhard Schroth, a psychoanalyst from Germany. I have been a Certified facilitator for 12 years. Next year I hope to be training other facilitators in the United States. Please let me know if you have an interest in this field!
In 2002, I certified as HypnoBirthing Practitioner, a Master Trainer now and have followed that path to Registered Hypnotherapist in the state of Washington. All Hypnosis is Self-Hypnosis. As a consultant, most of my work is in fertility or birthing related anxiety or fear.
In HypnoBirthing, part of the program encourages bonding with the baby in the uterus. Since that exposure, I’ve been fascinated with the prenatal research written by Thomas Verny, especially The Secret Life of the Unborn Child and Pre-Parenting, Nurturing Your Child from Conception, and a new book by Hidas and Raffai called Prenatal Bonding Analalysis: The Invisible Umbilical Cord, which has just been translated into English this year, 2023. The research on the baby’s intelligence in the womb opened my eyes to this area which had never been addressed in regular childbirth classes. These books led me to Prenatal Bonding(BA) training, then Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology Educator through APPPAH (PPNE). For further information see:
www.birthpsychology.com and https://www.schroth-apv.com/pdf/Homepage%20PB_BA_englisch50525b.pdf
The architecture of the baby’s brain and their emotional regulations can be altered by the environment around that pregnant mother and can have a life long impact on the baby into adulthood.
Although I live in Edmonds, WA. near Seattle, I work with in-person or on Zoom with families and practitioners around the world. There are very few trained people in this field in the US (5) and I want to make sure you have access to this amazing work no matter where you are located.
Please feel free to contact me at douladecker@gmail.com or call 508-237-6768. That number also works with WhatsApp.