I know you're likely thinking "what the fuck is this shite?" (or something along those lines).
Let's start with a little bit of background history so you can see what I'm going on about:
"The rebozo is a wonderful tool originating in South America (including Mexico, Guatemala and other South American Countries), it is used as an all-in-one garment, a wrap, a head covering, a provider of shade from the sun, a blanket, a baby & shopping carrier, a tool for comfort measures during pregnancy, labour and birth, a massage tool, and much more.
While the original rebozo’s themselves were made before the Spanish invaded they were somewhat different to what they are like now, not only because they were made on a different type of loom but also because they were not used as a hair cover. After the introduction of a new type of loom by the Spanish and the native women being forced to cover their heads/hair with a cloth – as was the fashion in Spain and many other European countries at the time – the rebozo, and this hair cover, were amalgamated into one item by the innovative and resourceful native South Americans, creating the rebozo that we now know of.
Traditional midwives in Mexico use it for anything from helping to move the baby into a better position in the womb before and during birth and to assist with bringing the uterus back down to its normal size after birth (often via belly binding), comfort measures to aid mothers as they work through their labour contractions, as an aid in traditional remedies and therapies, massage and so much more.
We can be very thankful that these traditional midwives have trained other people in their use, and that those people have also trained yet more people in how to safely use them too, allowing many in the wider world to know and be able to utilise the rebozo as a tool for assisting birthing people as they bring their babies into the world. We who teach and use the rebozo thank them for gifting us with this knowledge, for gifting us with the rebozo, so that we might help, teach and support others better and more easily and hopefully aid in improving birth in the process."
OK, now that we've got the brief background history part out of the way lets get down to business!
As a rebozo practitioner my job is to teach YOU (only if YOU want to be taught, of course!) how to use a rebozo safely, regardless of if you are the birthing person yourself or the partner/support person of the birthing person, so that you don't go and do something stupid that you later regret with it.
Now, that being said, not everyone wants to use a rebozo or can see, just from looking at it, what kind of benefit it might have for their pregnancy and/or birth.
For the partners & support people: What if I told you that the rebozo would help to reduce the strain that you WILL put on your neck, back, hands, arms and shoulders? Yep, that's right, in many instances the rebozo gets used instead of your arms, your shoulders, your back etc.
Sounds pretty awesome, and believe me, it is, after 24 hours of supporting someone through their labour you will be very very thankful for being able to use the rebozo to help!
For the birthing people: What if I told you that the rebozo could lift up your belly up enough to help reduce some of the weight of baby at your front and on your bladder? Or that it could be used to ease some types of hip and pelvic pain? Or that it could help to reduce the pressure that your pregnancy might put on your back? Or that it could help with relaxing your neck, that you and your partner/support person could use it to help you get up out of chairs, up off the floor and even out of bed, more easily? Or that, with the use of tennis balls and a wooden spoon (yes I really do mean a WOODEN SPOON!) we can use the rebozo to help reduce the pain of back labour?
The rebozo can help you with all of these and more and I can teach you how to do it.
Enquire now to find out more!
Check out the Victorian class dates and times below (QLD/Brisbane dates will be put up after I get back from Victoria at the end of April!) and sign up via the Eventbrite links - I look forward to seeing you all there!

Rebozo For Comfort Measures Classes
Date & Time: 4th & 15th April 2020, 11am to 2pm
Location: Koo Wee Rup (exact location still to be arranged - hoping to book with the Masonic Lodge within the next 2 weeks)
Cost:
Class ONLY - $200 per couple/birthing person & support people
Class + Rebozo to keep - $300 per couple/birthing person & support people
Birthworkers (Students & other) - $150 each
Classes will last for approximately 3 hours - 2 hours of class with around 1 hour for lunch (sandwich platter lunch included, coffee & tea will be available too!) and chatter in the middle. Babies are welcome however there will not be childcare facilities available so you will either need to arrange care for older children or have someone with you who can care for them while you are doing the class.
Rebozo's can be purchased separately prior to the class or during the class for $140 each incl postage (all rebozo's pre-ordered will be sent via Express Post prior to April for arrival before the classes start), and there will be some available for purchase on the day, and you can arrange to pick up a preordered rebozo on the day too!
April 4th - This class I will be donating 25% of all the fees received (from both registration & rebozo sales) to Our Haven Wildlife Shelter to assist them in saving, feeding and helping orphaned Joey's from the fire affected areas and greater surrounds.
They are registered with the ACNC (Charities Commission) and endorsed as a DGR so all donations are tax deductible.
To donate separately:
NAME: Our Haven Wildlife Shelter
ADDRESS: 26 Haven Way, Golden Beach, Victoria, 3851, Australia
BSB: 633000
Account number: 152037628
SWIFT NO: BENDAU3B
April 15th - This class I will be donating 25% of all the fees received (from both registration & rebozo sales) to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund to assist them in helping those who are affected by emergency situations like fires and flooding in the Gippsland region.
To donate separately:
Visit HERE for full donation details.
TO REGISTER:
April 4th: SIGN UP HERE - Use the early bird discount code EARLYBIRD2 by March 15th to get 20% off your class and/or pre-purchase rebozo!
April 15th: SIGN UP HERE - Use the early bird discount code EARLYBIRD2020 by March 15th to get 20% off your class and/or pre-purchase rebozo!"
Rebozo For Comfort Measures Classes
Date & Time: 8th (Morwell) & 20th (Tecoma) of April 2020, 11am to 2pm
Locations:
Morwell – CoAbility Space, 215 Princes Highway, Morwell, VIC, 3840 – On street parking or free parking at the back of the building
Tecoma – CoAbility Space, 5/1563-1565 Burwood Highway, Tecoma, VIC, 3160 – free all day parking around the back
Cost:
Class ONLY - $200 per couple/birthing person & support people
Class + Rebozo to keep - $300 per couple/birthing person & support people
Birth Workers (students & other) Class ONLY - $150 each
At this stage we only have room for a maximum of 30 registrations for each class.
Classes will last for approximately 3 hours - 2 hours of class with around 1 hour for lunch (sandwich platter lunch included) and chatter in the middle. Babies are welcome however there will not be childcare facilities available so you will either need to arrange care for older children or have someone with you who can care for them while you are doing the class.
Rebozo's can be purchased separately prior to the class or during the class for $140 each incl postage (pre-ordered rebozo's can be sent via Express Post prior to April for arrival before the classes start or can be collected on the day).
April 8th - This class I will be donating 25% of all the fees received (from both registration & rebozo sales) to Our Haven Wildlife Shelter to assist them in saving, feeding and helping orphaned Joey's from the fire affected areas and greater surrounds.
They are registered with the ACNC (Charities Commission) and endorsed as a DGR so all donations are tax deductible.
To donate separately:
NAME: Our Haven Wildlife Shelter
ADDRESS: 26 Haven Way, Golden Beach, Victoria, 3851, Australia
BSB: 633000
Account number: 152037628
SWIFT NO: BENDAU3B
April 20th - This class I will be donating 25% of all the fees received (from both registration & rebozo sales) to Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund to assist them in helping those who are affected by emergency situations like fires and flooding in the Gippsland region.
To donate separately:
Visit HERE for full donation details.
TO REGISTER:
April 8th: SIGN UP HERE - Use the early bird discount code EARLYBIRD2 by March 15th to get 20% off your class and/or pre-purchase rebozo!
April 20th: SIGN UP HERE - Use the early bird discount code EARLYBIRD2020 by March 15th to get 20% off your class and/or pre-purchase rebozo!