Zen Birthing – Betsy Appell

Our midwives recommended Betsy’s birth class. As this was our first child, we wanted whatever help we could get in preparing for birth. The class was great. Firstly, Betsy has a very calming energy and that in itself is great energy to soak up around the birth process. I liked being in a community with other couples who are all going through the same thing together. She split us up between the men and women several times with certain topics and questions to discuss, and that was helpful and nice.
Our birth ended up being long and complicated, and it was so nice to have her binder and laminated sheet to refer to and to remind us about positions and things to try.
I recommend her class, especially if you’re trying to have a natural childbirth!

Betsy’s Zen Birthing class is FANTASTIC! I was extremely impressed with how organized it is. You come away with a fabulous binder that’s chock-​full of really helpful information. My partner was referencing it throughout our (speedy) delivery process.
Class time was just as well-​organized as the binder, and Betsy was very patient with everyone’s questions, quips, fears, etc. Classes were interactive, with really helpful activities, practice poses, and interpersonal support. She fosters a positive, safe environment with everyone — mamas and partners.
My delivery nurse told me at the end that I handled the process better than most women she sees, and I attest that to the techniques we learned in Betsy’s class. I was pretty chilled out, just breathing my way through to the best of my ability, and my partner was equally calm. We can’t attest enough to the techniques we learned from her.
I would recommend Betsy’s class to anyone looking to embrace their birth process and make it as calm as is humanly possible, considering the circumstances!

We were lucky enough to have Betsy as our doula as well as doing her birth class. She was the first decision we made in our birth plan, and we’re so grateful we did.
Betsy was always available to answer all of my questions, even before her class started. I labored (pun intended) over the home birth v. hospital birth decision, which was just really really difficult for me. I really wanted a home birth, but some part of me was just worried that Something Would Go Wrong. Betsy helped me mull this one over with some Zen exercises and, in the end, we decided that her + hospital was the best route for us. She never made me feel like I was bothering her with my various emailed questions, but rather made sure to address my concerns and help me crystallize what they were so we could nail down a solid birth plan.
As birth drew nearer and we started to get minor panic attacks (first child for us), we always felt better when we would remember that Betsy would be there. This was our mantra: «Betsy will be there…» She was our talisman, especially given that I have a basic distrust of the hospital system and didn’t want to get pushed into drugs/​procedures that were unnecessary.
As for class…
Firstly: Betsy’s class is not stuff that you’re going to learn in a book. It’s a combination of things that she learned from working with midwives, teaching/​studying yoga, studying the zen tradition, and dealing with the ins-​and-​outs of hospital births (and administrative staff) for the past howevermany years.
Secondly: Betsy’s class gives you homework. I was unaware that I would actually have to, you know, pay attention and, like, work. I’m really glad that I did; taking control of your own childbirth experience *is a lot of work, and for those of us who want to own that experience it’s essential that to prepare for it. This includes homework.
Thirdly: Betsy’s class was invaluable to me because, as apparently my Spidey Sense was telling me, Something Went Wrong. This meant that I was bleeding in triage for like 3 hours with my partner while Betsy hung out with my mom and sister and calmed them down (only one person is allowed in triage). Indeed, we got The Family Doula. In the meantime, all the techniques we’d practiced came in awfully handy, since I was not sedated (my choice) and laboring through what turned out to be an abrupted placenta. Which hurts. A Lot. And so the meditation techniques we’d practiced came in really handy.
The downside: I was apparently so relaxed-​looking that the abrupted placenta diagnosis was delayed because I wasn’t exhibiting enough drama. The triage nurse, after asking me if I was feeling my contractions (um, YES, and I’m BLEEDING with every one of them, hello!) actually had to inform the other nurses that I’d done a Zen birthing class so that everybody understood why I was so calm. LOL
Another downside bordering on TMI, as so many things concerning birth do: perineal stretching homework exercises are exceedingly unpleasant, and I didn’t even get to reap the benefits of that one. *grumble* LOL (Well, I suppose I had practice relaxing while painfully unpleasant things were done down South, so…)
After the ordeal… we made the C-​section call and had a perfectly healthy baby. Betsy was the first person I saw in recovery, as my partner was with the baby in the nursery. She stayed with me until 7AM (I delivered at around 3AM after getting to the hospital around 9:30PM), so it was just a reeeeally long night for all of us.
Can’t recommend her class (or her as a doula) highly enough. Even if you’re not a first-​time parent, I’d take the class if you want to try for a natural birth and/​or just want a different perspective on the birth process.

I’m a second time parent, but didn’t get the chance to attend birth classes the first time around. And, though, I had good reason to believe the second pregnancy would be faster and smoother, I was still nervous and sought out birth classes with Betsy.
My husband and I had a really great time during betsy’s classes. She does an excellent job bringing the group together and building the network between parents. She does an amazing job training both the mom and the partner on how to handle the birthing process in a much more enjoyable way instead of just trying to get through it.
When I gave birth to my second child (after attending the classes) I was able to focus more on my breathing to manage the pain, and achieved a completely natural birth. And, my husband did a fantastic job with the massages in between contractions due to the training we learned in betsy’s class!

I took Betsy’s childbirth class with my wife before the birth of our daughter. As a soon to be father, even after taking a different childbirth class, was nervous about what to expect, but Betsy guided us through everything we needed to know.
Three things really made Betsy’s class stand out for me.
The first is that she really listened to us, and heard what experience we wanted. She answered our questions, without judgement, and helped us find our own way.
The second is how the class really became a shared experience for all of us. We still keep in contact with some of the other students, 3 years later. We learned from Betsy, and from each other.
The third is how Betsy really taught us to be present with the experience of birth, and how we could take that sense of being present into every aspect of our lives.
Oh, and one more thing — she gave us some great tools to help us during the chaos of birth, including a one page «cheat sheet». It helped remind us of all the techniques we learned from Betsy. The last thing you want to do when the contractions start coming fast is try to remember what your teacher said about back labor.