Be inspired by lots of positive and real-life birth stories and videos.
 Practice positions, massage, movement and breathing for use in labour.
 Learn how to create a calm and reassuring atmosphere during labour.
 Look at the psychological/emotional aspects of childbirth and how vitally important your support persons are.
 Learn many practical ways to assist at a birth including natural forms of pain relief, relaxation and ways to stimulate an overdue or slow labour.
 Learn how to minimise the risk of episiotomy or tearing.
 Discuss long, difficult or complicated labour , how to make informed decisions and understand medical interventions.

Many people are afraid of and/or have never been in hospital. Learn about hospital routines and guidelines, so that you are in a position to negotiate rather than feel like the medical system has 'taken over'. 

 Discuss those first precious, vulnerable hours with your newborn, and the need to advocate on behalf of mother and baby if birth takes place in hospital.

Become familiar with post-birth routine procedures so that you can make informed choices BEFORE your baby is there (it is really hard to make clear choices when you have just given birth - both parents are full of hormones and delirious!)

 Discuss breastfeeding, settling of and caring for newborn babies, and what to expect in those early days and weeks of parenting, including practical tips for survival!

 Meet other motivated parents and create support networks.

 Take home skills to practice during pregnancy such as care of lower back and perineum, effective ways to work with labour pain, how to discuss birth preferences with your care provider, what to pack for the birth, how to prepare your home for early labour and the journey to hospital, exercises to practise as a couple that increase emotional wellbeing and bonding with each other and your unborn baby. Plus lots and lots more....

2010 Brighton area, Sussex, UK

Lina is at present mainly offering private classes. Please see consultations section on this website. 

To arrange, Please email Lina via this website.

For details in french, please go to the 'Pages En Francais' LINK (in blue column on left). 

2009 : MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA.    In a conveniently central location: 

Workshop hours: 10.00am to 7.00pm Saturday and Sunday.

(registration 9.45 Saturday and we often go overtime)

Labour, birth, early days of parenting.

16th and 17th February 2008 Booked out

5th and 6th April 2008 Booked Out

3rd and 4th May 2008 Booked Out

2009 Melbourne, Australia

7th and 8th February 2009 Booked Out

4th and 5th April 2009 Booked Out

Further 2009 dates to be confirmed

Price in Australian dollars and includes mothers, fathers/partners and extra support persons for the complete 2 day workshop.

$435 early bird discount if registration and deposit received 21 days before workshop. 

$485 if registration and deposit received later than 21 days before workshop. 

$195 individual midwives, therapists, students and other observers (unless attending as a support person)

Concessions apply to those in genuine need and special discounts are available for single mothers. I would not want people to miss out because of money issues.  Please apply by post or email.

Rebates available from selected private health funds.

HOW TO REGISTER:
1. Click here and fill out the Secure Online registration form to pay the deposit of $100 by credit card.
                        OR
2. Please print out and fill in the registration form and send with deposit of $100.
Cheque, credit card, postal order, direct bank transfer accepted.

Cheques payable to Lina Clerke.
Please send registration form and deposit to:
Lina Clerke, PO Box 3039, Cotham Kew, VIC 3101

Please note: The deposit is non refundable (except in case of hospitalisation or birth).
The balance is payable at the workshop or before.
 
Your booking will be confirmed by email and then a confirmation letter will be sent closer to the workshop date.
 
Note: These workshops are very popular - register early to ensure a place!
 
When you register, please advise if you are available for EITHER or ONLY one of these choice of weekends - (ie: is there a possible second preference if the earlier weekend gets too full and you are still not due for a while.)
 
Every effort is made to fit everyone in but I may need to re-arrange people and weekends to do so. Priority is given to those who are due before the following workshop date.
 
When booking, presume that there is still room available, but if those dates do not work for you, please consider a private, condensed shorter version with Lina. Takes approximately 6 hours and is really valuable. If you have other pregnant friends, see if you can get  a private group session together. See private consultations.

The workshop will be useful at any stage of pregnancy. If possible, attend at least 2 or 3 months before your due date to give time to consider birth options and practice for labour. For those who are very anxious, early attendance ensures a relaxed peaceful pregnancy thereafter. But it is also useful to attend close to your due date if unable to do so earlier. ( One mother even came along when she was 10 days overdue and she was so grateful that she had managed to get there before the baby was born !)

MOTHERS SPEAK:

" I know I was lucky to have a totally natural and drug-free birth , but I feel it would not have happened

had it not been for Lina and her positive influence on myself and my husbands thinking. Birth is nothing to

be scared of - it is a wonderful and natural part of our destiny. Like Lina , and in part because of her,

I loved being pregnant and giving birth."  Cressida

"Thank you for your lovely workshop, for bringing us all together to create such a supportive ,

fun atmosphere for the entrance into parenthood."  Louise

"Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the weekend! I left on Sunday feeling so happy and

 empowered that now I can't wait for my own labour....confident that even I can do that!
It was also great to meet so many like-minded people.
                   
Thank you so much for your infectious passion."                                                                                                                    Alex  May 2003

"... I am forever grateful for the guidance that your classes gave my husband and I, and am certain that

my birth experience would not have been so beautiful without all of the knowledge we gained". Debbie.

"I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of everyone to thank Lina for her wonderful, supportive,

inspiring and (most of all) loving class on the weekend.
I know that Bob and I felt so happy and content and somewhat sleepy when we left on Sunday night.

We also found that we needed to use our newly acquired skills when we rushed off to hospital on

Monday morning because I was sick.
 
I felt so empowered and strong when I went into Emergency to have an ultrasound and later on in the

Labour Ward and found that all the skills that we had acquired over the weekend surprised a few

Registrars, Residents and Doctors. The midwife that observed our bub in the Foetal Monitoring Unit

at the hospital had worked with Lina and was so reassuring that I knew not to get upset.
Nevertheless I found that I had a kidney infection and had to stay over night for observation and put

onto antibiotics.
 
Throughout the whole process I was reminded of Lina's words on how important it is to stay in-touch with

 your body and your baby. The breathing exercises were great, helping me through the stomach spasms

and nausea.
I felt confident to check myself out of the hospital the next morning, insisting that I wanted to go home

to rest. (Something they obviously didn't deal with very often and tried to keep me there as long as

possible). Anyway, now we are at home and things have settled down."    October 2003

"My partner, Dave & I attended your July workshop and thought you might like to hear of our success. Dave

and I did truly have a wonderful birth experience thanks to your ideas and suggestions about childbirth.

We totally enjoyed your workshop and through it learnt a lot about each other and left feeling very bonded

and excited about the anticipation of the birth of our little one.
 
My labour went well, and we achieved our goal of having as little intervention as possible. I was able to use a lot

of your suggestions and achieved a totally drug free birth using active birth positions, natural pain relief

methods and lots of love from Dave.
 
The joy of birthing my daughter naturally and holding her straight away is too intense to describe with words,

but some of that joy is due to your ideas and approach to birth. Thank you for sharing them with us and

helping to make our birth experience truly wonderful. Keep up your amazing work."   Kind Regards, Karen  

November 2002

"Thanks again for all your help in the workshop, we will see you again soon for a refresher course!! and in

the meantime we will continue to sing your praises and encourage education not ignorance about choices

in birthing and how fulfilling natural drug free birthing can be."Tania   November 2003

Dear Lina,

We attended an active birth workshop with you last weekend. I have to tell you that it was a revelation. I had looked forward to it, but had not expected to become so excited, so committed, so convinced that this was the only way to go.

We went to the hospital (token 3-hour) session on labour and birth the very next night. We were given 10-15 minutes to discuss how we would cope with pain (the women) and how we would support our partners (the partners). Andrew and I were nonplussed. The men said things like tell jokes; the women said drugs. Andrew said that the other men were gob-smacked when he came up with his 100-point checklist(!) The scary thing was that, before the weekend, I felt like I could have been any of these women. We asked the midwife lots of questions, got some fabulously evasive replies, and very quickly uncovered the hospital policies behind the pat answers.

It wasn't all bad. At least the midwife was positive about an active birth, and talked about the positions in which the pelvis opens up, even if she then showed us a video of a woman giving birth in a semi-reclining position without commenting on the contradictory messages she was giving us!

Your workshop really succeeded in bringing Andrew and me closer around the birth preparation. Cynically, I thought this might only last a short time after the weekend, but I now feel like a fundamental shift has taken place.

If I had any half-conscious fears before the workshop, I was taken over by excitement and positive energy after the workshop, not afraid of pain now, I feel like I can't wait to see what it like and how I can meet its challenge and work with it. Early this week, one of the women in my yoga class commented that she felt frightened (she is due this week). I realised that I'm just not in that space. I also realised how much more in common I feel with all the people at your workshop after experiencing some of the attitudes in the outside world.

You are truly a gifted and inspired communicator, and your passion for the subject is powerful and life-changing. We are so lucky to have had this experience with you. Thankyou seems like such a small word for what you have already done for us.                                                                                

                                                                                                                     Vicki 25th September 2002 

 

From my own experience, I know how fantastic your workshop was, and how I felt so completely prepared for labour.

Ironically, after many hours of labouring, both of my babies, for slightly different reasons, became

distressed and were delivered by Caesarean.  But that's another story.  The important part of the whole experience,

though (apart from creating two perfect little babies) was that for the most part, I felt completely in control, and even

when it was finally taken out of my hands, I understood the reasons why it had to be that way.  There was certainly

nothing of convenience about either delivery, they were both necessary.

I am quite sure that if I had not gone to your classes I would have been neither prepared for the experience of labour,

nor so confident that my doctor made the best decisions both for me and the babies.        

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Lisa

Your workshop was fantastic - we learnt so much that weekend

and came away feeling empowered by the choices we could make.

My doctor commented that my birth plan was the most comprehensive plan he had seen!!

We became really motivated to work towards having a natural birth with minimal intervention

and no drugs, which we did, thanks to your help.   

Tania 2005

FATHERS SPEAK:

 Your workshop made it possible to feel empowered, confidant and optimistic about

 the birthing process. Thankyou for the opportunity to exist in 

extended awe and tender vunerability. You are a model of beautiful equanimity and

 passion - thank you for your work and your dedication. First time father.

"I would really like to thank you again for the empowering, educational and inspirational experience

 we had in your ACTIVE BIRTH course all that time ago.

I know we will take all that we learned from you into our next birth.

I also really acknowledge you for the stand you make for women being the source of power around birth.'' Lincoln.

"What I saw in your workshop for the 1st time was the magic and wonder of the miracle of

birth.....Instead of seeing a woman giving birth I began to see goddesses involved in creating

life. I looked at my own wife and realized she too is a goddess. I feel like I have fallen in love

all over again, only this time we have discovered a love that is deeper, stronger ,and has an

aspect of the sacred to it......I also have a much clearer picture of my own role in the birth

process. I know that as a loving husband and father I have lots to contribute, lots to learn, and

lots to gain from this event that I now cant wait for!.............perhaps you think that your work is

 primarily for women. I want you to know that you have added considerably to my experience

of being a man..."  

(This father was a veterinarian so he had attended hundreds of births ...). His wife developed very painful pubic pelvic separation during pregnancy and I suggested she may want to spend a lot of time in the bath during labour to keep her body weightless and thus help alleviate the pubic pain. They obtained a portable birth pool and took it in to their private hospital. The water helped so much that they went ahead and had a water birth (despite hospital policy) and the father caught the baby (their private obstetrician had not arrived yet!). They did the same thing with their 2nd baby even though their obstetrician WAS present. By becoming more informed these parents were able to have the chance to have the births of their own choice and to retain control over the process within the hospital system.) 

A GRANDMOTHER SPEAKS:

Good morning Lina, I am the grandmother that was at your birthing weekend in July, with my daughter and son in law, Kylie and Laurent.
This is just a little note to let you know how wonderfully things went during Kylie's labour, and birth yesterday morning at 4.32am.
 
Kylie was so focused, controlled and strong during the whole 16 hours. She stayed at home for as long as possible, then went to hospital. We went through everything we had learnt at your weekend and it was amazing.
 
Kylie gave birth vaginally, no drugs, no pain killers and amazing enough no swearing - just a lot of flop, breathing and noise.
Her husband was there for her all the way.
How amazing - my heart just exploded for her.
The look on her face and towards Laurent, I will never forget.

To you, thank you for your work. It has changed my whole thought on childbirth. It is funny to talk to people about the experience - some just don't get it and think I'm a new age hippy, but to those who do - how wonderful it is to share the feeling.
So once again, thank you for all the knowledge and encouragement you give.
My new baby grandson just melts my heart.                               love to you, Ann. September 2003

A MIDWIFE SPEAKS:

My midwife friend and I attended your birthing workshop last year as observers.

Firstly I would like to say that we both thoroughly enjoyed your workshop and recommend them widely.

As a midwife and childbirth educator your classes are refreshing and exciting and I have recommended them to colleagues who are pregnant and "know" about birth but still need to have the pleasure of experiencing being an expectant mum.  I feel that as midwives we can miss out on the "experience" purely by being experienced, so thank you for making your classes so accessible to varied occupational demographics.          Colleen, registered midwife.

A STUDENT MIDWIFE SPEAKS:

"The workshop was absolutely phenomenal, I can't recommend it enough.  I would seriously suggest that people go to it, ESPECIALLY those of you who are kind of new to this whole childbirth thing.  I'll say it again: HER WORKSHOPS ARE AWESOME!  GO TO IT! It is fun, informative and really empowering." 

Nina, first year Bachelor of Midwifery student. 2004

 Lina also offers many services by private consultation>>>