Lamaze Educators Take Note!

For over sixty years, Lamaze has been one of the most popular childbirth education methods, and for a good reason. Lamaze has high standards for its educators and has requirements for essential content they must teach, including six evidence-based Healthy Birth Practices. If you’re a Lamaze educator or thinking of becoming one, you may wonder how third-party resources, like Plumtree Baby, can fit into your classes.

This is actually a question we get a lot, and we understand how it can be a tad confusing. So, we’ve put together this FAQ to help you navigate the intersection between Lamaze and Plumtree Baby because they do, in fact, fit together beautifully!

Are Plumtree Baby resources compatible with Lamaze?

Our materials were designed to be compatible with the guidelines and Essential Content required by Lamaze International. Plumtree Baby's founder, Julie Olson, is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE). In 2021, Lamaze recognized Julie's distinguished contributions to the field of childbirth education as a member of Lamaze International and she was inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Certified Childbirth Educators (FACCE).  For nearly two decades, Julie has taught a wide variety of Lamaze childbirth classes and understands the needs of Lamaze educators and students intimately.

Doesn't Lamaze provide materials I can use?

While Lamaze has some educator resources, they are lacking comprehensive parent materials. This means that educators are left searching for materials that meet their needs and follow Lamaze's Six Health Birth Practices. From our founding, Plumtree Baby has recognized this issue and specifically developed our parent materials to fill this gap. All of our materials are also fully-integrated with each other. This means that your teaching curriculum, presentation slides and parent workbooks all include the same content and are cross-referenced for ease of use. 

How are Lamaze's teaching requirements integrated into Plumtree Baby resources?

Plumtree Baby's Childbirth Education Curriculum includes all of the Essential Content, including all of the Six Healthy Birth Practices used in Lamaze classes. These include:

• Allow labor to begin on its own.
• Move and change positions during labor.
• Have a support system in place during labor.
• Avoid unnecessary interventions.
• Avoid birthing on your back and follow your body’s cues when it’s time to push.
• Keep mom and baby together.

You will find all our resources, from curriculum to posters and everything in between, have these practices integrated. As a result, you can seamlessly teach your students using Lamaze guidelines, supported by the most up-to-date educational resources.

Does Plumtree Baby have any requirements or restrictions for what I teach?

No! Plumtree Baby has always been very mindful of the popularity and success of Lamaze when it comes to supporting families through childbirth. However, we do not require our customers to certify with a specific organization and we do not restrict or dictate what our customers teach or how they teach it.* This means, you can use our resources to teach any type of class you desire. 

We recognized long ago that ALL educators needed high-quality, modern, and engaging educational materials, and we set out to produce them.

I have specific questions about how I can use Plumtree Baby resources as a Lamaze educator. How can I get in touch?

We are here for you; no question is too big or too small. Please email our customer service department here if you have specific questions about how Plumtree Baby and Lamaze work together.