This month's Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators' ideas are courtesy of contributor Stacie Bingham, LCCE, CD(DONA), CBS(LER). I consider Stacie to be an absolute genius with teaching props and she passed on these suggestions when I inquired what she likes to purchase at the Dollar Store. After the holidays, money available for teaching supplies may be tighter than usual, or you may be a new childbirth educator faced with many expenses as you start your teaching adventure. There is no better place to go shopping for your childbirth classes than a Dollar Store or similar place where every item available to buy is priced at $1.00. Here are Stacie's top five suggestions for items for your childbirth classes, all available for $1.00 each. If you find this post helpful, consider checking out our entire series of "Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators" posts for more great ideas. Find all the posts here.

Happy birthday blowers

 

Use these fun blowers to help parents learn open glottis pushing! They can practice blowing their baby down and out rather than purple pushing which is not as healthy for the baby. They even say "Happy Birthday" to help welcome the baby.

Baby doll and plastic food container

Cut the cheap plastic rectangular shaped food containers in the shape of a pelvis, (remember to leave a sacrum) and use a small doll to demonstrate how the baby has to rotate and descend through the pelvis in order to navigate their body through the shape of the pelvis. Buy enough for every family to have a set and demonstrate descent and rotation themselves. The perfect size "cup" are the ones that come with the Easter egg dying kits.

 

Slam dunk basketball hoop and ball

 

Use this common game to demonstrate how gravity helps a baby (the ball) to come down through the pelvis (the hoop) when it is standing up versus when the hoop is laying down. So much easier to get the baby through the pelvis with gravity on your side.

 

Good idea switch

Class participants can turn on this fun "good idea" switch when someone says something clever or responds with an accurate answer.

 

Heart shaped container and chocolate kisses

 

Have a class discussion about the support of love, chocolate and kisses and how they help increase oxytocin (the love hormone) and the critical role of hormones in labor, birth, and breastfeeding.

 

What have been your most thrifty teaching aides that really make your childbirth classes fun? Share your ideas and suggestions in the comments section below.

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