Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

The Pink Kit

Have you been told to trust your body during birth...but feel you don't know just what that means? Looking for a childbirth course that will truly help you?

A childbirth course in the comfort of your own home. A course that supplies the knowledge you need to give birth naturally. A course that lets you teach yourself how to give birth - is there such a thing?

I've seen a lot of at home classes and most of them just looked like hospital classes in slick packaging. That's not what I want - I can read all that information in any book on pregnancy - so can you.

When I received the Pink Kit I realized what I was looking for does exist. As I worked through the materials, listened to the CDs, listened to women working on and with the Pink Kit, and gave birth to my "Pink Kit baby," I knew you need to see this kit.

"Case Study!" - Read through my personal experience using The Pink Kit weekly during my pregnancy to prepare for birth - and Galen's wonderful Pink Kit Birth! Click for my Pink Kit walkthrough!

I thought I knew a lot about birth preparation. I thought I knew the best ways to think about an upcoming birth. I was wrong. The Pink Kit (PK) has completely changed my perceptions on birth preparation. It's been a total learning experience!

Teach Yourself to Give Birth

The Pink Kit Package is a complete multi-media childbirth kit. I'd prefer to call it a "teach yourself to give birth kit" because when you work through it you'll know skills to give birth! The kit shares wisdom gathered from many, many women, couples, and families. The information has been put together into the Pink Kit by the Common Knowledge Trust, a group committed to getting birthing skills to families around the world.

The PK package includes a DVD and companion book, two audio CD's and several books in .PDF format. I was a little overwhelmed at first - it seemed like so much information. The letter that came with the PK suggested beginning to absorb the skills a little at a time around 24 weeks pregnant. (Update 2009 - the PK is available for immediate download in digital format!)

I decided to go with the timeline suggested by the Common Knowledge Trust and work through the skills over a period of weeks.

The New Focus eBook is the first thing I started with. It also has a great overview of the rest of the PK materials. I was thrilled to see the book began with an introduction to the breath and breathing.

The PK gives solid information. It encourages partners to learn about the breath - and to be aware they may need to model it for the mother during labor. This is essential. If you find yourself losing control during a contraction a labor coach who models correct breathing can instantly put you back in control!

The next section of New Focus goes into common language for birthing families. Pay close attention to this section - it's used throughout the rest of the kit. Taking time to learn this language will help both you and your partner in labor. You'll know exactly what the other one is talking about!

New Focus also highlights the importance of touch during pregnancy and birth. Revisit this section as you work through the kit - it has a good summary on bringing together all the skills you learn relating to touch.

The book closes with six tips for a positive birth experience. I won't tell you all of them, but tip #3 is "practice, practice, practice!" It's great the PK emphasizes this because it's really true. You'll benefit greatly from the skills taught in the PK as long as you practice them.

I listened to an interview with a midwife who uses the PK with her birthing families and she noted that a lot of the PK is work. The next resource I moved on to, the book and DVD set, made this clear. They're not meant for entertainment ;) But they do teach you skills for birthing. They do help you know your own body better. You'll be really glad you worked through them.

Trusting Your Body

Have you been told to trust your body but feel you don't know your body? The DVD and book, Essential Preparations for your Birthing Body helps you (and your partner) get to know your birthing body. As you do the work from the DVD/book you'll know your own body - not just some anatomical picture on the pages of the book.

This is also the time you start listening to the audio on Internal Work. At first I was hesitant to get into the Internal Work and even the skills taught on the DVD. These portions of the PK are very intimate - they help you to get to know your hips, pelvis, perineum, vagina, and even cervix. The Internal Work even teaches to you do your own internal checks.

Like I said, intimate stuff - and I was hesitant. But I knew that many, many families had benefited from this. I wanted to give the PK a complete chance. One of the books states clearly "You need to do the work!" So I went slowly through the DVD, book, and audio. I was glad I did - and you'll be glad you did.

You'll learn so much! There is an amazing difference between staring at a picture on a piece of paper and actually feeling where your own pelvis is and what you pelvic dimensions are. You'll truly understand just where and what your baby is coming through. You'll know your body...and the PK will give you the skills to work with it. You'll be able to "trust your body" because you'll know it - and you'll have the skills to go with your knowledge.

One neat aspect of this part of the PK is it's not just limited to you as a woman. The PK gives you the opportunity to get to know your own pelvis and to see how your birth coach is built. This helps your coach understand what's happening to you.

The skills are the things that dads and partners like. They give real-life strategies for moving through labor and helping your baby be born. This is something a dad can do! As you work through the DVD and book (and Internal Work) you can also begin to look through the Companion Guide eBook. The Companion Guide is just the skills taught on the DVD put into book form. It also has a couple of techniques the Common Knowledge Trust learned after the DVD was made. It's a practical handbook to the skills you and your partner are learning.

Getting a Full, Real Picture

At around 35-36 weeks the last resources from the PK come into play. There are audios that let you hear what a typical labor is like, and audios to help you learn how to check your own dilation!

The Managing Skills eBook is your final PK book. You'll find it helpful to refer back to the other books - you'll do so often in the days leading up to your birth. Managing Skills gets into the meat of handling labor. It gives specific strategies and skills for what to do in labor - through any pain, discomfort, medical procedures - anything and everything that comes up.

One of my favorite features of this book was tons of quotes from real people sprinkled throughout. I love reading how real laboring moms, husbands, sisters, labor partners used PK skills (or didn't and realized later they should have.)

At this point the entire kit comes together and you just practice, practice, practice until your big day! I was really impressed with the PK. I loved the clear writing in all the materials and the well-presented video and audios. I also like the approach that the PK takes to helping you get to know your own body - not just an anatomical model. You'll get a great picture of labor, birth, and yourself.

Like I said, the internal work was a little hard to do at first. It is intimate (it's suggested you do it in a comfy location like your bedroom or even the shower). But I was glad I did it. I got to know my body well. I know what and where my sacrum is (and you'll know intimately what and where yours is!). As a nice bonus some tightness and pain I'd had since the birth of my last child disappeared as I went through the Internal Work.

I think that working through the Pink Kit and doing the internal work helped tremendously with Galen's birth. I used a position I learned in the PK to birth Galen. And he came out smoothly and easily. He was born rapidly, in just one push. Despite quick entry I had no tearing, no abrasions, and no pain after the birth. I know the internal work we did and the skills we learned resulted in Galen's awesome birth.

I benefited greatly from the PK. I know you will. Where you choose to give birth will influence how things turn out to an extent - but the Pink Kit will give you the skills to be in control of your birth anywhere. Get The Pink Kit now and develop real skills for real birth!