You are eligible to apply to be a Kopa Birth® Independent Affiliated Educator if you have met the following requirements:

• Prospective instructors must hold current certification as a Certified Childbirth Educator.  Maintaining your status as a Certified Childbirth Educator is an ongoing requirement for all Kopa Birth® Instructors.  Certifying organizations can include Lamaze International, ICEA, CAPPA, and others.  (Please contact us before submitting your application if you would like to verify your Childbirth Educator Certification.)
• You have your own business website to which Kopa Birth® can direct clients. (This can be a simple website built using a free platform like wix or weebly, if necessary.)
• Although not required, it is preferred that educators have experience teaching childbirth classes as a certified childbirth educator before teaching Kopa Birth® childbirth classes.  If you are a newly certified childbirth educator, it is preferred that you have worked previously in a birth setting as a nurse, doula or other birth professional.

The Kopa Birth® Online Training Program includes all of the information you need to present and market your Kopa Birth® group and private classes with confidence. And, you can complete your training from the comfort of your own home, 24/7.

Upon completion, educators are enabled to teach official Kopa Birth® group and private childbirth classes in their local area.  They can use the title “Kopa Birth® Independent Affiliated Instructor” as they market their services.  They are also given provisional use of all digital presentation materials, online supplementary materials for their clients, marketing materials, and use the Kopa Birth® logo on their website.

The materials include the following:

• Online, in-depth training in the Kopa Birth® curriculum
• Detailed Instructor scripts and outlines to teach the 4-Week Course, Intensive Class, and all 3 of the Private Class formats
• Files of the digital class presentations that class members view while you instruct.  You will receive digital presentation files for the 4-Week Course, Intensive Class, and all 3 of the Private Class formats
• Links on our website to your course registration pages
• Promotion of your services on the Kopa Birth® Instructor directory
• Inclusion of your courses on regional landing pages (regional pages are specific to the largest city in close proximity to the your location)
• Unlimited Instructor access to view the online course, including limited access for clients who miss portions of the 4-Week or Intensive courses
  
• Online access for all of your clients to download course materials and audio tracks, and to view supplementary videos
• Personalized, professional marketing materials (business card, brochure, printable resources for midwives and doctors offices, social media banners, etc.)
• Use of the Kopa Birth® Logo on your own website.

As an already certified childbirth educator, the Kopa Birth® Online Educator Training Program simply aims to train you in the specifics of the Kopa Birth® curriculum. The goal is to prepare you to teach Kopa Birth® classes with confidence. You must complete the following:

• View the 4-Week Course presentation
• View the Intensive Class presentations
• View the marketing presentation
• Complete all quizzes
• Complete 2 skype trainings with your Kopa Birth® mentor. In each training, you will be asked to teach sections of the course material. You will know the subjects in advance so that you can prepare. Your mentor will give you positive feedback to help you improve your presentation of the course. Each skype training will take no longer than 1 hour.
• Provide Kopa Birth® with links to your website and/or course registration page.
• Provide Kopa Birth® with info needed to create your individualized marketing materials

If you work consistently, the training can be completed within a matter of weeks. You can begin teaching classes as soon as you have completed the training.

If you prefer a slower pace, you do have up to 1 year to complete the program.

The cost of participation in the online training program and to become a Kopa Birth® Educator is $499.

Kopa Birth® aims to prepare couples to approach natural childbirth with calm and confidence. While our clients give birth in a variety of settings, Kopa Birth® classes offer specific instruction about how to prepare for natural birth in a hospital setting.

Kopa Birth® classes prepare couples with tools for natural birth, yet we do not discourage the use of pain medication or other necessary interventions.

While it is not required for our educators to have experienced natural childbirth, it is preferred. It is very normal for couples to ask their childbirth educator about their own birth experience. Your positive natural birth experience can be a source of reference during classes and can serve to inspire confidence in what you teach.

Kopa Birth® Educators receive all of the training and resources they need to present powerful natural childbirth classes. They have access to the following valuable resources:

• Detailed Instructor Manuals to enable you to teach Kopa Birth® group and private classes with confidence
• Training videos to help you present the course material with ease
• A powerful curriculum that is updated yearly
• Digital presentation materials to enable you to teach all Kopa Birth® group and private classes
• Online access for all of your clients to download resources and view supplementary videos
• Professional marketing materials to help you grow your business
• Promotion of your services on the Kopa Birth® Educator directory
• Inclusion of your services and personal website on regional landing pages

There are ongoing costs associated with use of the Kopa Birth® curriculum. This includes a printed course manual, downloads of the Meditations & Imagery for Labor audio tracks, and access to online supplementary videos and other online content for each client.

Educators must purchase one student package for every client they teach using the Kopa Birth® curriculum and brand name. The cost of the package is currently $35 per client.

With the purchase of the student package, you will be mailed a course manual and receive access to enroll your student in their online content.

Class rates are determined on a local level by each individual instructor. We require a minimum fee of $150 for the Intensive Class and $225 for the 4-Week Course, although it is certainly acceptable to charge more than those rates.

Instructors are asked not to offer predatory pricing to significantly undercut other Kopa Birth® instructors in surrounding areas.

Kopa Birth® does not guarantee clients for your classes. However, we strive to help you fill your classes through our local landing pages and other referral sources.

Every Kopa Birth® group or private client receives 4-month access to view supplementary online videos and downloads.

Some of the online resources are intended to reinforce the instruction that couples are receiving in-class. This includes videos reviews of all of the breathing techniques, sensory techniques, and other coping tools Instructors present.

Other videos and downloads supplement your course by providing valuable instruction that educators often do not have time to present in class. This includes additional information about epidurals, cesareans, and labor inductions. It also includes videos of other medically-heavy topics such as clinical management of the birth of the placenta, Group B Strep treatment, and cervical ripening agents.

The online resources are a helpful way for clients to practice and reinforce new skills learned in class, and to present information that Instructors might not have time to cover in detail.

Relaxation is the foundation of the labor coping tools taught in Kopa Birth® childbirth classes. The Mediations & Imagery for Labor audio tracks are one resources that couples can use to practice the skill of relaxation at home.

Each client receives access to Meditations & Imagery for Labor through their online account. The audio download offers 6 calming, birth-focused meditations and is over an hour long.

Annual renewal of your status as a Kopa Birth® Independent Affiliated Instructor includes the following (subject to change):

• Proof of current Childbirth Educator Certification
• Submit at least 2 testimonials from recent clients
• A personal evaluation of your own teaching, including where you are excelling and areas in need of improvement
• A signed statement that you are aware of the latest updates to the Kopa Birth® curriculum and that you are teaching using the most current Kopa Birth® resources available (curriculum updates are done on a yearly basis)
• Your personal suggestions for improvements that you think could be made to the Kopa Birth® curriculum for the following year

Annual renewal is due on June 1st of each year.  The annual renewal fee is $99.  You will receive any required training and updates to the curriculum at no additional cost to you.