HOW THE POWER OF A POSITIVE EARLY PARENTING EXPERIENCE CAN HELP YOUR WORKPLACE THRIVE
It’s clear that you care about your employees…otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
A positive early parenting experience offers immediate and long term benefits for employees and employers.
When employees are ready to return to work, they do so as healthy and happy parents, less likely to take sick leave and more likely to meet the challenges of the workplace, and more likely to feel satisfied that they have achieved an effective work – family balance.
How creating a positive experience for new parents will help your employees in the long run.
The Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program and The Positive Postpartum Program, taught by Caitlin Dyer, enable a positive start to parenthood and to family life.
The parents who take her courses have experiences where:
- they are calm
- they feel in control
- partners are actively involved and their role is respected
- they understand the physiology of labour and postpartum and have effective tools to help them manages the challenges of both
- they understand various medical interventions
- they make the best choices for them and their individual circumstances
- they are prepared no matter how their experience unfolds
Caitlin ensures new parents stop feeling overwhelmed and instead are able to own their experience. When parents-to-be are informed, supported, and feel confident, they are much more likely to have a positive pregnancy, birth, and transition to parenthood.
Not sure if this is the right direction for you? Know the facts.
Unfortunately, a positive experience is not the norm.
Nearly 34% of Australian women describe their birth experience as traumatic and nearly 20% sustain a long-term physical injury from childbirth.
As you can see from the infographic above, research has found that the peak incidence of PPD and PPA is not within the first year as commonly thought. Postpartum mood disorders are actually most prevalent 1 to 5 years after having a child. These parents are likely back in the workplace, attempting to balance the demands of their careers with their mental health challenges.
These issues are not limited to women. Just over 10% of men experience PPD and the rates of PPA in men are roughly the same. Notably, men are more vulnerable to postpartum mood disorders if their partner is experiencing poor mental health.
With 50% of new parents suffering from a postpartum mood disorder or even PTSD, this is not a small problem. And it is not one that is confined to the immediate weeks after welcoming a baby.
However, change is possible. When we help our employees through these pivotal times, we create a supportive environment that allows their return to work to be positive.
What’s In It For You?
Now, I know we have been raving about how these programs can help your workers feel more supported as parents, but when it comes down to it, this needs to work for you too.
Here are the top five reasons why you need this level of support as much as the parents do:
- Perinatal anxiety and depression costs Australia $877 million annually, according to new PwC Australia analysis.
- The cost of perinatal mental health problems is 5 times the cost of improving services.
- Paternal postpartum mood disorders actually cost the private sector more (because men tend to have higher average earnings and because men tend not to take prolonged parental leave).
- Workplace support has been shown to buffer against PPD and PPA. Employers have ample opportunities to supply working parents with much-needed information about peripartum and postpartum distress and should not wait until after their baby has arrived to provide these resources (Dagher et al., 2009).
- Half of all parents returning to work after parental leave report significant fatigue, a third are worried and anxious, and one in five report feeling depressed.
“I worked with Caitlin in preparation for giving birth to my daughter, three and a half years after the birth of my son. While my first birthing experience was somewhat seamless, I wanted a greater understanding of my body, interventions, and my rights as a patient to think critically about my second experience.
Caitlin is an amazing educator, empathetic, articulate, and without an agenda. She is matter-of-fact when disseminating birthing information, and guides you to make your own choices based on what’s best for you, your family, and your baby.
The birth of my daughter was on the chaotic side, but I was able to stay calm, collected, and connected to my experience utilizing the techniques Caitlin taught me.
I looked forward to our sessions and truly enjoyed spending time (over Zoom!) with her – plus her voice is totally soothing.
I also worked through her Positive Postpartum Planner and found it immensely helpful.
Overall, working with Caitlin is an invaluable investment, one I would recommend time and time again.”
Kate Lemere, Director of Marketing at Barry’s
HOW CAN YOU IMPLEMENT THIS INTO YOUR WORKPLACE?
Gift It
A gift voucher for an online, Zoom, or in-person course.
The vouchers for The Positive Birth Program range from $199.00 for an online course to $970.00 for a private course.
The vouchers for the online Positive Postpartum Program are $97.00.
Quarterly Courses
Running quarterly Zoom or in-person courses specifically for your employees.
From $495.00 per couple.
Invite Caitlin Over
Inviting Caitlin to your workplace to talk about the importance of positive parenting experiences and to help your team members put a plan in place for effective support throughout pregnancy, birth, parental leave, and beyond.
Individualised Sessions
Other options include gifting your employees birth planning sessions, postpartum planning sessions, and birth debriefing sessions.
From $149.00 per session.
WHICH PROGRAM IS RIGHT FOR YOUR WORKPLACE?
THE POSITIVE BIRTH PROGRAM
This is perfect to get expecting parents into the right frame of mind and to feel prepared for the journey of pregnancy and parenthood.
- You can choose between a 6 hour mini program and a 12 hour full program.
- Pre-recorded online, live Zoom, and in-person options.
- Best between 20 – 35 weeks of their pregnancy.
A positive experience is one where parents feel informed and supported. And it sets the tone for their parenting journey.
THE POSITIVE POST PARTUM PROGRAM
Becoming a parent can be daunting! There is so much information, so many (often conflicting) opinions, not to mention the unwanted advice! This program helps promote a positive postpartum by understanding biological norms as well as societal expectations and enabling parents to feel good about their individual style of parenthood.
- 3 hour pre-recorded online course with monthly live online support.
- Best from 30 weeks of pregnancy or at any time throughout postpartum.
When parents feel supported throughout the entire journey, they are more likely to feel confident in themselves as a parent and that confidence extends to other aspects of their lives.
Get To Know Caitlin
Caitlin Dyer is the woman behind Mother Down Under.
She is a Registered Nurse, a certified Hypnobirthing Australia Practitioner, a qualified postpartum doula.
Before she became a childbirth educator, she worked in a large corporate law firm and as a trader for a hedge fund in New York. So while her current focus is parenting, she completely understands the challenges of the corporate environment.
Over the 8 years that she has been supporting parents-to-be, she has helped hundreds of families have a positive beginning and she has seen firsthand the impacts of a positive birth experience on the physical and mental wellbeing of new mothers and fathers.
Supporting parents to be prepared, to feel in control, to be educated about their choices, and to look forward to one of the most significant experiences of their lives is the centre of her purpose and passion.
It also perfectly combines her areas of study – a degree in Psychology, a Bachelor of Nursing, and a graduate certificate in Health Professional Education.
Having had two positive experiences herself, she also practices what she preaches!
Together with compassionate and forward-thinking businesses like you, Caitlin hopes to extend the support offered to working parents. Through understanding and acknowledging the impact of birth and postpartum, we have the opportunity to create powerful positive change.
Don’t just take our word for it!
The above points are just a few excerpts from the below. For more information you can head to the following research papers on this very topic:
https://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/250811/sub752-mental-health-attachment.pdf
https://www.nwcscnsenate.nhs.uk/files/3914/7030/1256/Costs_of_perinatal_mh.pdf
https://workplacementalhealth.org/mental-health-topics/postpartum-depression-and-anxiety
Ready for more?
We would love the opportunity to discuss how adding The Positive Birth Program and The Positive Postpartum Program to your existing wellness package would enhance individual employee wellbeing, reinforce your supportive workplace ethos, and facilitate an early and easy return to work for parents.
Please give us a call now on 0432 829 368 or choose a time below.