About Sara
ABOUT SARA LYON
You’re here for a reason and I’m here for a reason.
You’re here because you or someone you know is pregnant and you’re looking for information about what is sure to be some kind of ride.
As a doula, birth educator and prenatal massage therapist since 2005, I’m here to give you really simple instructions for the most intense day of your life.
But first:
Don’t overthink it! You really don’t have to – birth support can be simple and deeply effective. In fact, the simpler, the better.
In theory we should know how to labor and birth intuitively, right? Like, haven’t folks been doing this for ... a while? Yes, BUT that assumes we have a mental blueprint for childbirth based on seeing people give birth IRL before we do it ourselves.
Reality is, most of us haven’t seen someone in labor before our first personal experience going through it or supporting someone we love through it. And, damn, THAT’S some wild sh*t.
So, where are we getting our visions of childbirth? We’ve got movies depicting screaming moms and fainting husbands, and we’ve got what I like to call “Fishing Stories”, personal tales of wild labors that get longer, gorier and more dramatic with every telling. We can’t help it! It is truly the greatest human drama on the planet, and WE ALL CAME FROM IT. It’s like the bottomless well of good bar stories.
But we need different and we need better, because, frankly, it doesn’t have to be this scary to do something so profoundly human.
After two decades supporting families through birth, and after having two babies myself, I actually feel that LESS is MORE. I’m on a mission to equip people with the most effective toolbox for supporting someone in labor BECAUSE WE CAN DO IT and I wish more of us knew that.
My work isn’t chapters and chapters of 12 pt font, it’s practical advice, effective techniques, clear instructions and plain language so you can digest the information quickly and apply the tools with ease.
The Birth Deck will teach you:
How to make her feel safe. When a person in labor feels safe, they have lower levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. When the brain feels safe, the brain signals to the body that the coast is clear and more readily allows labor to flow smoothly.
How to meet her needs. Your job is to learn how to serve her in a time of need, not to become an OBGYN. Instead of putting the pressure on yourself to be everything, focus on how you can be of utmost help - you are the trusted companion of someone in labor and that's priceless. This looks like encouragement, hydration, a back rub, a blanket when she’s cold and a fan when she’s hot, and so many more easy techniques!
What to do with yourself. The hardest part of your job is performance anxiety. No labor support partner goes into the birth room planning to be useless, but most birth partners are experiencing their own fears. The Birth Deck will tell you what to do and when.
Here you are, already way ahead of the game -- GOOD JOB for real!
Learn more about the creation of The Birth Deck on a podcast interview with Sara Lyon, the creator of The Birth Deck.
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