By Cara Terreri, BA, Community Manager for Lamaze International's Giving Birth With Confidence blog

Many of you may be busy preparing to sit for the exam that, will, upon passing, bestow the credentials; Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) after your name. The exam will be held during the 23-25th of April, 2014. For some of you, this has been a long time coming and you have been working steadily working towards your goal. For others, it has been a whirlwind of workshops and prep and observed teaching. Regardless, now the exam date is nearing. We have been following Cara Terreri, the community manager for Lamaze International's parent blog, Giving Birth with Confidence, on her journey to become Lamaze certified in a regular series on this blog. Read all of the posts to get the back story on Cara's childbirth educator journey. Today, Cara updates us as she is counting down the days to the exam. If you were considering taking the exam, but thought you missed the deadline, please be aware that the registration deadline has been extended until March 17th! There is still time for you to register! Contact the Lamaze International Certification Associate for questions and information about the process or to register for the April exam. -Sharon Muza, Science & Sensibility Community Manager

As the April Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator exam date draws closer, I finding myself knee deep in studying. Of course, this is on top of finishing certification requirements for DONA, serving existing doula clients, teaching private childbirth classes, blog writing and management at Giving Birth with Confidence, and of course, my personal life. But who doesn't have a full plate these days?

There are times when I question my choice to take on this path at a time when my children are young, my days are full, my patience is worn, and my energy wanes. And then, I wrap up teaching a class to first-time parents, and the dad turns to me and says enthusiastically, "Wow, I feel like I learned so much in a short amount of time - this was awesome!" There's nothing like instant positive feedback to feel a renewed sense of purpose. I never thought I would enjoy the experience of teaching as much as I actually do - I love helping families build their own path to birth and discover confidence that previously didn't exist. It is because of this desire that I feel an even stronger imperative to complete my Lamaze certification. It's important to demonstrate to families that what I teach is evidence based and proven. This is the foundation of today's Lamaze.

So here I am, committed to my path, and working to fit it all in. I spend my evenings and mornings huddled over the Lamaze Study Guide, with a notebook at my side, jotting down important items - in particular, anything that is unfamiliar or not yet a solid part of my knowledge bank. The Study Guide has been most helpful in identifying several new (to me) reading materials (as well as many that are familiar, including resources from Science & Sensibility! It's designed in such a way that reading resources are either hyperlinked directly from the PDF so you can easily click through to the source, or they are included at the end each module. Each module also contains in-depth review questions to that serve as a quiz on the material just covered.

Perhaps most valuable to my confidence in preparing for the exam is the 20+ hours I've spent already teaching couples (not to mention the countless hours I've spent preparing and researching my curriculum and setting up my business). I feel confident that a good portion of the exam will be testing information that I know, live, and breathe on a daily basis. Of course, there is always more to learn, but I do feel more prepared than if I had not been teaching.

As this is my last update until after I sit for the exam, I would appreciate any words of encouragement - or better yet, study tips! Thanks for taking interest in my journey and supporting me along the way.

Cara- I wish you good luck on the upcoming exam. I know you are well prepared and understand the material. My tip for you is to know that you have done your best to prepare, you are ready, and I hope that you feel confident when you test. Just like labor and birth - one question/contraction at a time! To all of you who are also preparing at the same time, I wish you well and much success on this next big step. I invite readers to share their best tip and well wishes for Cara and all the others registered for the exam, in our comments section below.- SM

About Cara Terreri

Cara began working with Lamaze two years before she became a mother. Somewhere in the process of poring over marketing copy in a Lamaze brochure and birthing her first child, she became an advocate for childbirth education. Three kids later (and a whole lot more work for Lamaze), Cara is the Site Administrator for Giving Birth with Confidence, the Lamaze blog for and by women and expectant families. Cara continues to have a strong passion for the awesome power and beauty in pregnancy and birth, and for helping women to discover their own power and ability through birth. It is her hope that through the GBWC site, women will have a place to find and offer positive support to other women who are going through the amazing journey to motherhood.

Published: March 10, 2014

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