To add to what Erica Lyon (Director of Education at Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center and later CEO of Realbirth) taught me about prenatal classes;  she once pointed out how I was undermining the practice part of the class by making a joke about how "practicing with a baby doll is a little like practicing with a simulator rather than actually driving a car".  She pointed out that this undermined, what was, in fact, the part of the class that could be much more interactive and make use of touch.  When she told me that, I rethought how to use touch more appropriately by engaging partners, by discussing how there is no one right position, merely comfortably positions that work well for different individuals and really incorporate tactile sensations into the class.  It helped my postpartum work.  

She also made the point that I didn't always have to stand in front of a class or have them look at me while I was talking.  It is just fine for them to look at a the video clips I inserted into Keynote while I was discussing it with them and for them to look at something else more interesting than me.  So I actually started standing among them or behind them while we all looked at the visuals.  It was a radical change for me and I really enjoyed not being "on stage" anymore.

Best, Susan

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