Frequently Asked Questions

Completing the Application

I am a midwife (or a nurse) but don’t have a degree, only a Diploma. Do I have to apply as a Special Entry?
No, you may apply in the normal way. Anyone with a professional registration is automatically accepted into the Course.

I am qualified as a Naturopath (or as a Homeopath/Massage therapist/reflexologist). Am I eligible for the Course, or must I make application as a Special Entry?
We are only able to recognise qualifications gained from Recognised Training Organisations who provide accredited courses. Please include full details with your application and the Course Coordinator will consider these with your application and notify you of the results.

When is the closing date for applications?
The closing date is January 31. Late applications may be taken until February 22, under extenuating circumstances.

You may apply at any time before the closing dates and many students opt to begin during the preceding year so that they have more time to complete the Self Study Program before the Six Day Workshop.

How do I apply for exemptions for the Observations?
You may be eligible for exemptions if your qualifications or experience is appropriate. Check the "Recognition of Prior Learning" section on the application form or Web site for details. You will need to put your request in writing and it should be submitted with your application. Supporting documents should also be included.

Your application will be considered by the Course Coordinator and you will be notified of the outcome when you application has been processed.

I am already a midwife and have attended hundreds of births. Why can't I get an exemption for the Hospital Observations?
You may have cared for many women during birth and seen hundreds of babies born, but you would have had responsibilities as a midwife, which involves a specific perspective on birth. The purpose of this Observation is to enable you to have a different experience of birth, this time as a birth companion. In this role, you have no professional responsibility for the management of the labour and birth — you are there to assist the woman and her partner in a purely supportive way. Seeing the birth through a companion’s eyes enables insights to be gained about how fathers may feel at births and it also illuminates the hospital and staff in a different way, which can also be useful. It also means being present for the whole labour and birth, not just for a shift or a given period of time.

If you are a midwife and have also been a support person for a family member or friend, you can use these births as a basis for your Observation assignment providing that they are recent experiences (within the past 12 months) and you were not involved as a caregiver..

How much detail is required about my own personal births and breastfeeding experiences?
Please include basic details about each birth and describe how long you breastfed. Lengthy birth stories are not necessary — these notes are intended to give us a more rounded picture of you: your interest in childbirth, experiences and background. They may also assist assessors when they are preparing feedback for you. This information will only be divulged on a "need to know" basis amongst Course faculty and will not be made available to any other member of our staff or anyone outside our organisation.

Do I have to pay my fees up front?
All post graduate courses require that fees be paid in advance. This Course is structured on a "pay as you go" basis — your fees are paid as you submit work to be assessed. You will receive a tax invoice for these payments to assist you with your income tax or to show to your employer, if necessary.

You will not be able to proceed through the Course until the appropriate fees have been paid, for example, exam results will not be released until the exam fee has been received.

If you are having problems paying fees, arrangements can be made to pay fixed amounts each month using a credit card. There is also a discount of 10% on fees paid in full with your application.

Will I get a refund if I drop out?
The application fee is non-refundable. If you withdraw from the Course, a refund will be given for those parts of the Course which you have not yet started. No refunds will be available for any work that has been submitted and assessed.

What other costs may be associated with the Course?
You may need to buy the textbooks on the Required Reading list, if you don’t already own them. All of these texts are available from Birth International (ACE Graphics) and students receive a 10% discount.

You may also have travel costs for attending the workshops (e.g. air fares, accommodation, meals etc).

Once you begin leading prenatal programs you may require teaching aids and other equipment, if this is not already available to you. Most of these additional expenses should be tax deductable if you are working in the field — please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details of what you may claim, and make sure that you retain all relevant paperwork.

I attended an Active Birth workshop recently, before I decided to apply for this Course. Will I have to do another one?
If you attended an Active Birth workshop facilitated by Andrea Robertson in the 12 months prior to making your application for this Course, you will be exempted from completing this again. If it was no more than two years ago, you may still be eligible for an exemption in some circumstances and you should discuss this with the Course Coordinator.

Completing the Course

How much detail do I give in answer to the questions in the Self Study Program Units?
One of the primary purposes of the Self Study units is to enable you to compile a reference source to support your teaching. Although there is no specified number of words for each question or section, the more detail you record, the more useful your assignment will be as a source of reference later. Having said this, you can prepare your information in note form if you prefer. Please use a spelling checker and take care with your language - any use of the words "patient", for example, will be marked out!

What do I do if I can’t find the answer to a question? Is there anyone I can turn to for advice?
The answers to all the questions can be found in the set textbooks. Sometimes the answers will not immediately obvious and you will need to hunt around in several books to find the required information. Other students may be able to point you in the direction of a useful source of information — you could use the student email list to ask for this help.

If you are really stuck, the assessor will supply the necessary information when she marks your work.

What feedback will I receive about my Study Units?
The assessor will send you detailed feedback about your Study Program - sometimes she will be sending you more than you submitted! The feedback is designed to not only correct any errors but also to expand on those areas where answers were weak or additional information might be useful.

You will also receive feedback about the presentation of your work and in particular the language you have used. We encourage students to adopt a woman-centred approach from the start, and any use of the words "patient", "delivery", "confinement", "conduct", "allow" etc will be marked out.

Is the Six Day Workshop always held in Sydney?
Yes, this workshop is always scheduled for Sydney each year. If there are enough students in another centre to form a group (minimum of 10) then the workshop will be presented there, in addition to the Sydney event. Student numbers in each intake are not known until the closing date in January, and then final workshop numbers cannot be determined until students have submitted most of the Self study Units. Therefore, it is safest to plan to attend the Sydney event. Should it be possible to present the program in other cities, students who may be involved will be notified individually to assess interest/availability.

When is the exam scheduled?
The exam period (two weeks) is set down for the end of January each year. The exact dates are notified to students at the Six Day Workshop.

How is the exam done?
The exam is done under exam conditions: closed book, 2 papers, with an invigilator supervising. The details of how to find an acceptable invigilator and samples of exam questions are in the Students Handbook.

How long do I have to spend in each setting when doing the observations?
The amount of time you’ll need to spend will depend on the type and amount of information you need to gather.

We would recommend that you spend at least one full day in the hospital when completing the assignment on Hospital Observations. Try to include all areas in the Maternity Unit during your visit, including the Intensive Care Nursery, Post natal wards, Prenatal clinics and any outreach or community based programs that are operating.

The aim of all the observations is to familiarise yourself with services in the community so that you can pass on this information to your class participants. It is also a valuable chance to meet other members of the health care team that work in your area.

What do I do if I can’t get permission to observe clients in a required setting?

Clients always have the final say regarding being observed, in any setting. It is important to approach the client yourself when you seek permission - many people will be happy to help if you have the chance to explain your purpose and intentions. If the staff are making this decision on behalf of the clients, you can request that you be given the chance to speak directly to clients, so that they can make an informed decision.

How do I fulfil the requirement to attend a minimum of 3 births? Where do I find parents willing to have me attend?
If you are not already leading classes, once you start your Supervised Classes you will have ready access to expectant parents. It is usually quite easy to make a general offer of your availability as a support person and to invite anyone interested to contact you privately to discuss the practicalities further.

It is often easier to attend births when the parents are expecting a second or later baby. These labours are usually shorter, often occur during the night and can frequently be ‘squeezed in’ when your own children are asleep and in the care of their father.

In all cases, it is wise not to promise that you can attend the birth — this may prove difficult if your family needs you or you have an emergency, and it also discourages dependence by the pregnant couple.

It is not considered appropriate for you to charge for your services as a support person as this is part of your education and the parents are in fact enabling you to learn more about birth and its many variations.

As a footnote, you will be viewed by the hospital staff as a visitor. They may not see you as having any designated role at the birth, and will certainly see your views and opinions as secondary to those of the parents.

How long should the Observation reports be?
The Handbook contains these details, so read this carefully before you begin each Observation report.

For the Birth Observations, no specified word limit applies - just complete this assignment in your own words.

How do I write up observations if I do not have access to witness homebirth or birth centre?
If there are no independent midwives offering home birth services in your area, you can complete this Observation using alternative methods.

We would suggest you contact your local Women’s Health Centre, Health Authority or local home birth support group as a starting point. Through them you may be able to locate parents who have chosen the home birth option and who would be willing to help you answer some of the listed questions. Some independent midwives have their own Web sites which contain details of their own practices. Check the Resources section of this Web site for further details.

There are various publications that will also be helpful: the NH & MRC, ACMI, RACOG, WHO have all produced statements on homebirth options. Many books on homebirth have been written and they will provide valuable insights and background information.

There is really no substitute for visiting a Birth Centre. Next time you are visiting a capital city, try to schedule time for a visit to a Birth Centre at one of their hospitals. Alternatively, a visit could be arranged to one of the Birth Centres in Sydney, timed to co- coincide with attendance at the Six Day Workshop.

Don’t forget the Internet! There is a wealth of information there about home birth and birth centres etc!

I thought that I would have to attend a Presentation Skills Workshop before I can complete my Course. Has this changed?
Yes. Attendance at this workshops has been replaced by a study unit that you can complete in your own area. This involves program preparation, videotaping a presentation and completing written assignments. There is a package for this Unit that can be requested when the student has reached this stage of their Course.

General information for childbirth educators

As a childbirth educator, what insurance do I need to have? Do I need professional indemnity insurance?
If you are employed by a hospital to lead prenatal programs you will be covered by the hospital’s insurance policies that apply to their staff. If you have decided to work independently, you will need to make arrangements for your own insurance needs.

Public liability insurance
You will need public liability insurance, in case someone has an accident at the venue you will be using and to cover damage to property or equipment that may occur. If you teach at home, your home insurance policy may be adequate, given that your class couples are visitors to your house - check your policy or enquire from the insurance company that is providing your cover.
In some cases, if you are hiring a venue, you will need to produce proof that you have public liability insurance in place before they will allow you to use their premises.

Professional indemnity insurance
It has not been considered necessary for childbirth educators to have professional indemnity insurance. This kind of insurance is needed by those people who offer treatments or advice to clients, in case there is a poor outcome of the birth. Childbirth educators are not normally involved in providing ‘hands on’ treatments for their clients, nor should they be offering advice. It is, however, important to remember that you are responsible for the quality of the information you are giving, and it should be accurate and up to date. If you are suggesting exercises programs or other self-help measures, these must be safe for pregnant women to undertake and you must be careful to demonstrate them correctly and check that your clients have a clear understanding of how they should be done, especially if they wish to practise them at home.

Do I need to obtain a recognised qualification before I begin running prenatal programs?
In most places, there are no regulations that require an educator to have proven skills and competency before they undertake to teach prenatal programs. This is a situation that reflects poorly on Hospital and other employers as it demonstrates a lack of care towards to needs of expectant parents.

Parents today are demanding a higher level of skills and background knowledge from their prenatal educator, beyond basic information regarding hospital services and policies. Requiring educators to have undertaken a comprehensive training program not only reduces stress on the staff involved, it also provides evidence that parent education is seen as a vital step in ensuring that informed choices can be made by parents and appropriate preventative care measures have been undertaken.

Birth International views the Graduate Diploma as the basic training that an educator needs to be able to effectively and competency facilitate parenthood education. Shorter courses, whilst a useful introduction to the area are not usually long enough to incorporate the necessary training and often have no assessment mechanisms, thus making it difficult to measure the competency and skills of the participants.