Bay Area RN's Childbirth Education Method Is 'All About' Options
Monday August 11, 2008
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Sarah McMoyler, RN, BSN, FACCE, CLE, founder of the McMoyler Method of childbirth education
(Classic Kids Photography)
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“I saw so many expectant mothers who didn't know how to cope with their pain and their partners standing nearby, clueless as to how they could help,” McMoyler says. “I realized there was a need for more reality-based childbirth preparation that emphasizes partner preparation and hospital-friendly prenatal education.”
In 1993, McMoyler began to offer classes to couples at her Birth University in San Francisco using her own technique. The McMoyler Method offers expectant parents a different prenatal education option. The program is taught exclusively by healthcare professionals and is offered as either a seven-hour, one-day course or a six-hour, two-evening course. Both schedules are designed to appeal to busy families.
To ensure expectant parents have the best possible delivery, McMoyler's classes cover a variety of different birthing scenarios and prepare the expectant mother's partner to provide the same kind of support as a doula.
“Expectant parents need to be prepared for everything from a natural delivery to a high-tech birth,” McMoyler says. “Our approach is nonjudgmental, and our mantra is 'healthy mom, healthy baby,' however you get there. If you have a c-section, that doesn't mean you're a failure; it means you went on to plan B.”
“This doesn't mean bringing their seven-page birth plan into the delivery room or acting combative toward nurses who are there to help,” McMoyler says. “It means having 'reality-based goals' instead of firm plans about your delivery and knowing how to make reasonable requests and work together with your care team.”
McMoyler says reasonable requests from expectant parents include foregoing an epidural if possible and asking if the hospital has birthing balls or a rocking chair.
“We do teach women there may come a time during delivery when you need additional options for pain relief and that if you do, that's OK,” McMoyler says.
Sheri Matteo, CNM, a labor and delivery nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, also teaches the McMoyler Method in San Francisco.
“The McMoyler Method underscores the importance of expectant parents maintaining flexibility in their wishes,” she says. “They make decisions as they go along, within the constraints of the circumstances they are given. When patients understand this from the get-go, there is more trust, and they work better with their healthcare team.”
The program also tries to debunk delivery room myths, such as that receiving an epidural will prevent a woman from being able to push.
Nurses can learn about her course through her website, www.mcmoylermethod.com.
Linda Childers is a freelance writer. To comment, e-mail editorCA@nurseweek.com.
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