THIS COURSE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED FOR THE SEP/OCT 2024 EDITION


Please join the WAITING LIST to be the first notified when bookings open for the next round in FEB/MARCH 2025


Hello and Welcome!

My name is Ruth Ehrhardt and I am a mother, traditional midwife, and birth attendant from South Africa.

A little bit about me and the BIRTH FIRST AID COURSE:

My experience with dealing with emergency situations comes from growing up on a farm where we had no electricity or hot water, were far from anything (an hour’s drive from the nearest town on a very bumpy dirt road), and had to learn to make a plan in all sorts of situations. 

My experience with Birth First Aid comes from attending births at home, which, mostly, were smooth and went well but I have had to learn to think quickly on my feet when a baby has struggled to breathe, a mother has lost more blood than she should, or a baby has gotten stuck at the shoulders whilst being born. 

I am also a facilitator and Master trainer of Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Mothers Survive – two modalities for supporting mothers and babies at births in low resourced settings. I spent some years volunteering for Operation Smile’s Education Missions in African hospitals teaching these two courses.

This course has developed from these different experiences as well as the wonderful midwives, doctors, doulas, birth attendants, birthkeepers and of course, the mothers, babies and families who have been my teachers on this path.




WHAT WE WILL COVER IN THE COURSE:


Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Mothers Survive philosophy

Creating and maintaining the basic needs of the mother and baby in an emergency situation

How to create an emergency care plan (without it causing too much adrenaline!) and support transfer to the hospital

Helping babies who are struggling to breathe at birth

Dealing with more than normal blood loss after birth

Preventing and dealing with shoulder dystocia

Cord Issues

Surprise breech

Herbs and homeopathy to support the above 

Storytelling, sharing, and learning from one another’s experiences

Our own recovery (mental, emotional, and physical) 

Creating a support network

Death, loss and Disability



The course is free birth supportive and friendly and open to

ANYONE attending births at home in ANY capacity.


The course is a popular and a rich learning space for the diverse groups of people who have attended the workshops.

THESE ARE THE SCHEDULED DATES FOR OUR LIVE ZOOM CALLS:


All our calls will take place from 11:00 - 14:00 SAST (South African Standard Time).

You can double check your time zone for the first session on the 4th of September 2024 here


  1. 4 September 2024 - Opening call and Preparation for Birth - orientation, introductions to the course, the facilitators and getting to know one another. We will begin by looking at how we can be prepared for birth, have appropriate plans in place, understanding birth physiology and the realms of normal vs pathology in birth, understanding the foundation and importance of protecting and guarding birth, a look at basic skills and tools.
  2. 11 September 2024 - Continuation of Preparation for Birth and Introduction to Helping Babies who Struggle to Breathe at Birth - we continue with the foundations of being prepared for birth and we will begin to share stories and examples, answer questions, and go over demonstrations for Helping Babies who Struggle to Breathe at Birth.
  3. 18 September 2024 - Continuation of Helping Babies who Struggle to Breathe at Birth and Dealing with more than Normal Blood loss after Birth - we continue with the topic of supporting babies who are struggling to breathe at birth and we will introduce the topic of dealing with normal blood loss in mothers after birth. We will share stories and examples, answer questions, and go over demonstrations if needed
  4. 25 September 2024 - Continuation with more than Normal Blood loss after Birth and Introduction to Shoulder Dystocia, Cord issues and Surprise Breech - we will share stories and examples, answer questions, and go over demonstrations if needed
  5. 2 October 2024 - Consolidating Birth First Aid - we will share stories and examples, answer questions, and go over demonstrations if needed. This session is an opportunity to consolidate the course content.
  6. 15 January 2025 - Closing Call - We will meet one last time to discuss, share and answer questions before the course officially closes. 


This schedule is a guideline that follows the course as it opens up in the Teachable platform. We will follow this as best as possible but also take into consideration that what is relevant will arise as it needs to for the participants as the course unfolds, so we do leave space for that.

Example Curriculum


Get a sense of what we will be exploring together over the 4 months together:

  MODULE 1 / Section 1: Introduction and Orientation to Birth First Aid
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  Module 1 / Section 2: Resources, Questions to Ponder and our Zoom calls
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  MODULE 2 / Section 1: Foundations of Birth First Aid
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  Module 2 / Section 2: Undisturbed Birth Physiology
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  Module 2 / Section 3: Resources, Questions to Ponder and Zoom calls
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  MODULE 3: Helping Babies who are Struggling to Breathe
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  Module 3: Resources, Questions to Ponder and Zoom calls
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  MODULE 4: Supporting Mothers with Blood Loss
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  Module 4: Resources, Questions to Ponder and Zoom calls
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  MODULE 5: Shoulder Dystocia, Cord issues and Surprise Breech
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  Shoulder Dystocia
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  Cord Issues
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  Surprise Breech
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  Making the Call to Transfer
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  Module 5: Resources, Questions to Ponder and Zoom calls
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  Module 6: Holding Space for Others and Ourselves
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  Closing and Takeaways
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Birth First Aid testimonial

Student midwife Beth shares her experience of attending the Birth First Aid course