Birthworker Healing Course
Out of the system and moving forward
An 8-week program with Kelly Silk and Leisa Masters
An 8-week program with Kelly Silk and Leisa Masters
A compassionate, inspiring and supportive space for your healing and growth, packed with practical help and understanding as you prepare to move out of the system.
This course is right for you if:
- You've been working in the industrialised maternity system as a midwife or doula and you just can't do it anymore
- You love helping birthing women but you feel stressed, traumatised and burnt out
- You know you need to begin healing from what you've seen and participated in
- You think about leaving but you don't know how and you are afraid of what might happen
- You'd like to start or change your birth business but feel out of your depth and don't know what it would look like
This course is designed to care for you as you make the complicated choice to move away from working in the system. Through validation, empathy and deep questioning, this space will provide the opportunity for healing and a new perspective on your work, clearing the way for you to move forward to do what you really want.
For more than a decade, Kelly and Leisa, as midwife and doula respectively, worked serving women in the industrialised maternity system. We both entered this work believing we could be the change. We believed our work would positively impact women's births, creating better outcomes for mothers and babies. And while this was sometimes true, more often than not, what we witnessed was powerlessness and trauma. Over time we both became burnt out attempting to save women and change the system, until we realised that it was actually futile. Something had to change, but it would never be the system. We both tried countless different ways of trying to keep going helping women, until we realised the only way to get through was to get out..
Since leaving behind our work in the maternity system, we have been able to build businesses that align with our with-woman values. Our businesses are authentic extensions of ourselves and our lives, creating freedom and a deep sense of working in integrity.
Stepping out of the system can be a complex process. It can feel scary, like you don't know where to start. It can feel overwhelming. You may feel guilty, as if you are leaving women behind. It may even be lonely when those around you don't understand. You worry how you could even make it work on your own, and what will other people think?
We want you to envision a life where your work is your joy. You began this work because you want to help women in a rewarding and meaningful way, and this is still totally possible for you. Together we will tap into opportunities for healing, explore ways to move forward sustainably, and discover your very own unique ability to serve women and thrive.
Since leaving behind our work in the maternity system, we have been able to build businesses that align with our with-woman values. Our businesses are authentic extensions of ourselves and our lives, creating freedom and a deep sense of working in integrity.
Stepping out of the system can be a complex process. It can feel scary, like you don't know where to start. It can feel overwhelming. You may feel guilty, as if you are leaving women behind. It may even be lonely when those around you don't understand. You worry how you could even make it work on your own, and what will other people think?
We want you to envision a life where your work is your joy. You began this work because you want to help women in a rewarding and meaningful way, and this is still totally possible for you. Together we will tap into opportunities for healing, explore ways to move forward sustainably, and discover your very own unique ability to serve women and thrive.
What’s in Birthworker Healing?
Module 1 - What's stopping you moving forward? – Even though many birthworkers find it intolerable to stay working within the industrialised maternity system, it can feel difficult to make the move to leave. In this session you will examine what is holding you back, what you really want, and what it will take for you to make the leap.
Module 2 – Trauma and healing – Working in the maternity system leaves so many birthworkers traumatised by what they participate in and witness. In this session you'll examine the impacts of vicarious trauma and discover why you don't have to keep feeling it.
Module 3 – Burnout and overwhelm – The impossibility of being unable to change the system can leave birthworkers burnt out, weighed down by the responsibility of women's birth outcomes, and feeling unable to continue. In this session we will hold space together to acknowledge the realities and the complexity of working this way and discover ways to support ourselves and our nervous systems with compassion and understanding.
Module 4 – Midwife and Doula Workshop – Midwives and doulas working in the system can have so many of the same challenges, however when it comes to leaving this work behind, different problems can emerge. Kelly and Leisa will hold a separate workshops for midwives and doulas to identify and unpack their specific difficulties.
Module 5 – Moving forward – Stepping out of the system might mean you want to consider starting or changing how you run your business. For for many birthworkers this can feel overwhelming and confusing. In this module you'll discover that you actually need very little to get started or to shift. Watch a pre-recorded video that covers some simple business basics, so you can feel confident about doing the work you want to do. There will be a live Q&A session where you can ask whatever you need.
What’s in Birthworker Healing?
Module 1 - What's stopping you moving forward? – Even though many birthworkers find it intolerable to stay working within the industrialised maternity system, it can feel difficult to make the move to leave. In this session you will examine what is holding you back, what you really want, and what it will take for you to make the leap.
Module 2 – Trauma and healing – Working in the maternity system leaves so many birthworkers traumatised by what they participate in and witness. In this session you'll examine the impacts of vicarious trauma and discover why you don't have to keep feeling it.
Module 3 – Burnout and overwhelm – The impossibility of being unable to change the system can leave birthworkers burnt out, weighed down by the responsibility of women's birth outcomes, and feeling unable to continue. In this session we will hold space together to acknowledge the realities and the complexity of working this way and discover ways to support ourselves and our nervous systems with compassion and understanding.
Module 4 – Midwife and Doula Workshop – Midwives and doulas working in the system can have so many of the same challenges, however when it comes to leaving this work behind, different problems can emerge. Kelly and Leisa will hold a separate workshops for midwives and doulas to identify and unpack their specific difficulties.
Module 5 – Moving forward – Stepping out of the system might mean you want to consider starting or changing how you run your business. For for many birthworkers this can feel overwhelming and confusing. In this module you'll discover that you actually need very little to get started or to shift. Watch a pre-recorded video that covers some simple business basics, so you can feel confident about doing the work you want to do. There will be a live Q&A session where you can ask whatever you need.