Meet Jana Wernor of Supported Birth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Wernor.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After a lifetime of interest in pregnancy, birth and babies, I gave birth to my own daughter while living in Jerusalem, Israel, utilizing the services of a private midwife and private doula (birth assistant). That experience affirmed for me that the choices a woman makes for the support people and the birth environment, along with one’s personal beliefs about childbirth, are crucial for a positive birth experience. Some parts of labor are not within our control, but others are. Above all, being knowledgeable about both the medical aspects of birth, when they are or are not appropriate, and being confident in one’s own innate abilities to go through this primal physiological process, are vital. After returning to the states I started with a Certification in the Bradley Method (in 1996), and went on to create my own curriculum, workbooks, films, and education business, Supported Birth. I studied with known professionals in the field, and took trainings and workshops that I sought out on my own. Many childbirth educators take one training and then stick with what they have learned. That was not satisfactory to me. I continue to develop my knowledge.

Has it been a smooth road?
I would say in the first 5-10 years I struggled a bit with what marketing worked and what didn’t (i.e. doctor’s offices vs. paid advertising), and with a gradual realization that I needed to create my own business rather than following the certifying organization I had used and utilizing their Directory to get students. Once websites and Yelp reviews kicked in, I have always had a steady stream of business. It also took many years to become a trusted referral for doctors and midwives, who now send clients my way.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Supported Birth story. Tell us more about the business.
Supported Birth educates couples to make conscious choices about the birth of their baby, based on a combination of technical knowledge, confidence in the natural process of birth, rediscovering and trusting instincts, and many time-proven pain-coping tools and techniques.

Supported Birth explores the factors that can influence labor, what are true complications, and when medical intervention is appropriate. However, the naturalness, normalcy, femaleness, and primitiveness of birth is emphasized.

Supported Birth wants each woman to know that she already instinctively knows how to give birth, when given the freedom to labor with as much support and privacy as possible. A woman’s need to feel safe in her birthing environment can be greatly enhanced by experienced labor support. Supported Birth offers low-cost, mid-range, and full price doulas from the Supported Birth Directory.

Birth is the bridge into the major life transition of parenthood, and Supported Birth classes also explore issues facing couples, fathers, and mothers as they confront the challenges of enormous change. Giving birth can be a transformational experience. Supported Birth wants it to be an empowering and positive one.

Personally, I am known for being very objective and non-judgmental. Women do not want to feel judged about the way they give birth. My course is a terrific educational experience, yet leaves couples feeling confident in their own decisions. It is a developmental growth experience – which is exactly what is needed when entering parenthood. Hospital classes are large and impersonal, tending to give rote information about how to cope and cooperate in the hospital setting. My students tend to be “thinking” people, searching out more sophisticated and in-depth learning. They realize that their lives are about to change, and it would be worth it to invest in some guidance.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Trends and protocols in the birth field are always slowly changing. Ricki Lake’s feature film The Business of Being Born helped raise public awareness about some of the medical interventions used in the U.S. that can be questioned, and the safety of the midwifery model of birth which is used by the majority of the rest of the world.

I see couples becoming much more open to having a Labor Support professional (birth assistant or Doula) with them at their birth, and I see hospitals on the westside vying to be more “mother-friendly.” The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has changed some major guidelines since 2012, “allowing” women to have more time for labor and birth before being considered “off the normal curve.” These are all positive developments. At the same time, the cesarean section rate in the U.S. is almost 33%. There is a huge need for women to be more prepared for childbirth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.supportedbirth.com
• Phone: 310-739-4024
• Email: supportedbirth@ca.rr.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Supported-Birth-116117868423384/
• Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/supported-birth-west-los-angeles

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