Whether you are heading off on your own Journey or supporting others as they navigate the modern maternity landscape, The Birth Map boldly goes where no birth plan has gone before.
Created by Catherine Bell, this website serves as a hub of research, support and opportunity.
The process of creating a Birth Map is called Birth Cartography®. Birth workers can train in the way of the Birth Cartographer, and very soon parents-to-be will be able to participate in Mapping Your Birth and Beyond.
Register for free Member Access to unlock resources, a forum, The Game of Birth and The Birth Map. Let the Journey be Awesome!
Catherine is the author of The Birth Map: boldly going where no birth plan has gone before, available in print and as a download, she offers Birth Cartographer Training to birth workers, and private birth mapping zoom sessions .
EXPLORING BIRTHMAP.LIFE
There is a wealth of resources and information, gathered over many years, stored on the site.
A great place to start is What is Birth Cartography where you will find a presentation about the concept. This concept evolved from birth plans. The process outlined is going to be tested as part of my PhD. My goal is to improve the communication between women and their care providers, facilitating truly informed decisions. Based on Respectful Maternity Care and Effective Communication, Birth Cartography creates an individual birth map. Like an Advanced Care Directive, this map allows for various scenarios and it’s primary aim is to ensure a full understanding of all possible pathways.
The Blog is a work in progress, with a decade of content to explore. I am updating posts and posting new content each month. You can sign up for notifications of new content if you like.
In the Member Area, there is much to explore. Flip through The Birth Map and play The Game of Birth (online version).Join a monthly zoom chat on the 4th Friday of each month, twice for 1 hour, the zoom room will open. We will play the game of birth, talk birth mapping and get to know each other. Time slots have been chosen to try to cover as many time zones as possible.This space allows you to explore resources and forum (for birth and beyond). It is Your Community. This is a growing space.
The Book is The Birth Map: boldly going where no birth plan has gone before. This is the book I was unable to find when I began my journey into mothering. The book began as a list of all the questions I and my mother-friends wish we’d know to ask in advance. In documenting these questions I realised, it was not answers we needed. It was the actual questions. We needed to know what we needed to know…so we could determine for ourselves the direction we needed to go.
Mapping Your Birth
You can request a one hour Mapping Your Birth session with Catherine via zoom. Read The Birth Map first and then use this session to explore your pathways. We will play the game together and identify the key questions to ask your care provider.
Affiliate Opportunity
Do you love The Birth Map? If you are often referring people to the book, you can become a birthmap.life affiliate and receive 10% of any sales that result from your referral.
This includes my training and Mapping Your Birth sessions.
Birth Cartographer Training
I am very happy to be offering training via zoom on the 10th of each month. Register here There is an early bird offer if you book before the 3rd. Once you register, you will be sent a copy of The Birth Map and The Game of Birth. You will also receive access to the online training.
See all the offerings here:
There is No One Way
There is Your Way
Birth Cartography assumes nothing and prepares for anything
Your Birth, Your Way: no matter what.