Barbara Essman

Aloha, my name is Barbara Essman.  I was born and raised on the island of Oahu and currently live on the island of Kauai.  I have two children and two grandchildren.  I worked in the early childhood education field for over 30 years and have taught at the local community college and the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the early childhood education departments.  I have degrees in family resources and human development.  I have taught childbirth education classes, infant massage, and doula courses.  I am a massage therapist working mostly with women during and after pregnancy.

As a consultant with The Sacred Birthing Foundation I can assist with parenting issues especially in the first years of life and getting to know each other.  New parents often want a gentle listening ear as they move into the roles of new mom and dad.  I have learned through my own children and many others that parenting is not about children – it is about the parent and what they bring from their early life into their parenting role.  How do all these early experiences affect you as a new parent?   And what will you bring to parenting that your parents gave you?

I have spent many years as a massage therapist working with pregnant women.  This has given me much experience helping women work through pregnant related issues that sometimes interfere with labor and birth.  I have helped women through many of the issues their doctors don’t begin to touch on.   All those pregnancy related questions that many doctors don’t have time to answer I am willing to hear and help you find answers for.  We can go beyond the physical needs of your pregnancy and get to the emotional and spiritual levels that will move you to a place of peace and calm as you wait for the day of the birth of your baby.  When questions are answered and worries and fears are understood birth can be gentle, soft and even pain free.

I can also bring understanding to the all important birth story.   How were your birth story and the story of your baby’s birth integrated into your life?   Are there things that happened during the birth of your child that may help you understand your child at a deeper level?   I can help you sort through the birth story and release hidden feelings that may not be allowing the full potential of your love to flow through from you to baby and baby back to you.