Guess what? We have a new Titus 2 mentor

[Burris]

During my recent 'net travels, I came across a new blog at titus2mentoring.com

It's authoress is no ordinary woman: Her name is Andrea Schwartz, who has been active in the homeschooling movement for 28 years; Andrea Schwartz, who has authored four books; Andrea Schwartz, who is a “seasoned woman of faith and a “sought-after-guest lecturer.â€

Her Titus 2 webinars and mentoring relationships are delivered free of charge – a fact that initially caused me to give her the benefit of the doubt. In fact, it was my admiration for this kind of charity - it's so rare in those circles - that caused me to examine the woman and her ministry more closely in hope they would make for a good addition to the links list on my own site. (When I post links to my 'Recommended' section, I am endorsing them – so I like to learn as much as I can about something before suggesting it to others.)

The first place I stopped was at Andrea Schwartz's blog. It was here that I decided her link wouldn't go on my site:

In one outing alone, when I was running errands, I shared with God that I was looking for a parking space in a very crowded lot. He heard me. Had you been a fly in my car, you would have heard me respond with “Thank you, Lord.†Later when I began backing out of that tight parking space, I realized after I had checked my blind spot, that a woman with a walker had moved behind my car and I just missed hitting her. Another hearty “Thank you†proceeded from my mouth. “Hitting her right now would have been very inconvenient for me, Lord.†Immediately a correction arrived, Not to mention for her!

Okay, so she's more than a little bit self-centered. Irritating, certainly, but not infuriating.

No; INFURIATING came about when I clicked over to Andrea Schwartz's other website, Law of Grace Doula Services.

We've discussed poorly trained “childbirth experts†before, here, but I think this may be the first time I've come across one so honest in her sadism:

“Education, however, is NOT the only area where Biblical considerations have been usurped by so-called 'experts.' Like education, modern medical childbirth procedures, along with how, when, and where a child will be birthed, merit reevaluation from a scriptural perspective.

“Far from being a neutral area of life, the issues of labor and delivery, and the customary practices routinely followed, will either reflect the wisdom of God's created order or they will reflect a humanistic makeover of that order.â€

...and...

“In Genesis 3:16a, God promises Eve that He will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. This is a direct response to Eve's disobedience. The Bible consistently associates pain with childbearing. In fact, the pain itself is due to Eve's rebellion against God. It should be noted that the Scripture does not contain any directive for women to avoid this pain through the use of anesthetics. These facts, while not decisive in themselves, do steer us to inquire further....â€

...and...

“One young mother described it this way, I think the pain is meant to remind a woman of what happens when she lives life on her own terms, and that should make her even more determined to raise that baby she has just delivered to live life on God's terms. Thus, rather than being [???] pain, this is useful pain. Pain that will help her to count the cost of the endeavor before her to raise her child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. While this is anecdotal evidence, not an explicit appeal to Scripture, it is representative of a different way of thinking about childbirth that bears further scrutiny.â€

So there you have it: a lot of dangerous, cruel, cheap ideas decked out in $5 words and false claims of respect for logic.

And how was Andrea Schwartz trained, you ask?

Andrea Schwartz is a veteran homeschooling mom of 28+ years, having educated all three of her children through high school. She began assisting women in labor back in 1989 and continues to enjoy helping women gain confidence as mothers during their pregnancy and throughout their early weeks and month of parenting...

Her only slightly-better trained daughter is her business partner.

What a shame that vulnerable women, some of whom have no choice (because of finances or for some other reason), must entrust their lives to the type of individual discussed above.

[Marian the Librarian]

Andrea Schwartz's name pops up a lot in connection with Chalcedon (i.e. the Rushdoony crowd). She's done several interviews for their "Law and Liberty" podcast series, with Dominionist luminaries like Joe Morecraft and John Robert Moore. IIRC, she's also interviewed the Botkinettes - perhaps for Kevin Swanson's radio broadcast, but I'm not certain of the details.

chalcedon.edu/search/?query=podcast&page=22

She's a piece of work along the lines of Nancy Campbell - all ga-ga over women's woooombs, and their bay-beez.

[Mountain Girl]

“One young mother described it this way, I think the pain is meant to remind a woman of what happens when she lives life on her own terms, and that should make her even more determined to raise that baby she has just delivered to live life on God's terms. Thus, rather than being [???] pain, this is useful pain. Pain that will help her to count the cost of the endeavor before her to raise her child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

I just thought it was because the uterus is contracting as hard as it can to push a large solid object through a small space. Silly me. What about other kinds of pain? Is a headache or a sprained muscle an admonition?

[Burris]

Andrea Schwartz's name pops up a lot in connection with Chalcedon (i.e. the Rushdoony crowd). She's done several interviews for their "Law and Liberty" podcast series, with Dominionist luminaries like Joe Morecraft and John Robert Moore. IIRC, she's also interviewed the Botkinettes - perhaps for Kevin Swanson's radio broadcast, but I'm not certain of the details.

chalcedon.edu/search/?query=podcast&page=22

She's a piece of work along the lines of Nancy Campbell - all ga-ga over women's woooombs, and their bay-beez.

Here I thought I knew my fundies and yet this one escaped me. At least Campbell just sticks to writing and speaking without also feeling the need to play doctor with no real training.

Schwartz reminds me of that nutbar Carol Balizet.

[abba12]

Here I thought I knew my fundies and yet this one escaped me. At least Campbell just sticks to writing and speaking without also feeling the need to play doctor with no real training.

Just felt the need to point out here that a Doula is not, and never claims to be, a medically trained person. That's what midwives are for. Doulas are supports. They know things about relaxation, natural pain relief, emotional support etc. They can help advocate for a labouring mother and will help with anything from emotional encouragment, to back pressure during contractions, to even cooking some food for the tired labouring mum.

It's true that some people choose to have an UNASSISTED homebirth with a doula in attendance, but if only a doula is present it is, indeed, unassisted. A midwife is the one with the medical knowlege to oversee the birth, who actually handles that side of things. A doula is also not just for homebirth, but are often used in hospital. Think of them as a birth partner the same way your husband is, except actually trained with more knowlege and experience.

I have actually hired a doula for my birth, and we had a long discussion about what a doula is and is not (she wanted to be clear I wasn't planning an 'oopsie' homebirth with her in attendance), so I felt the need to speak up here, people need to know the difference between midwives and doulas. I'm not saying this woman is right or wrong, just saying that by calling herself a Doula she is, in no way, claiming any medical knowlege or responsibility in birth, only support on an emotional and natural physical level.

[DistantStar]

I have a pregnant coworker who is planning on hiring a doula for a hospital birth; she wants somebody there whose job is to help her and by extension her husband out without being deeply emotional involved. I think having a doula there is a brilliant idea, if not a nutty fundie one who thinks pain in labor is holy or some shit. I don't know why it's considered a crunchy thing to hire a doula, it makes perfect sense. Especially in a hospital situation where the staff simply doesn't have time to handle all the stuff a doula can.

[SealFan1963]

“In Genesis 3:16a, God promises Eve that He will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. This is a direct response to Eve's disobedience. The Bible consistently associates pain with childbearing. In fact, the pain itself is due to Eve's rebellion against God. It should be noted that the Scripture does not contain any directive for women to avoid this pain through the use of anesthetics. These facts, while not decisive in themselves, do steer us to inquire further....â€

Yes, let's note the fact that anesthetics had not been invented yet!

When are these Fundies gonna get a clue that the Bible is over 2,000 years old, thus lots of things don't apply anymore.

I always thought the end result of childbirth was a safe delivery for the mom and the child, however that happens. Guess that doesn't apply in Fundie world either.

[Jessica]

See if she had gone through any real doula training programs, she would have learned that her role as a doula is to advocate for the birthing woman, no matter what her choice is, not damn the women for chosing unBiblical interventions or push her own preconceived ideas on the mother.

[Burris]

I should have been a little more specific in my criticism: Schwartz's page left me with the impression she provides service at otherwise unassisted home-births. She calls herself a doula but I suspect, assuming her state regulates midwives, that she chose her job title to avoid legal entanglements. (Google her page and you may come to agree with my theory.)

[Wolfie]

I should have been a little more specific in my criticism: Schwartz's page left me with the impression she provides service at otherwise unassisted home-births. She calls herself a doula but I suspect, assuming her state regulates midwives, that she chose her job title to avoid legal entanglements. (Google her page and you may come to agree with my theory.)

If they are doing that, they're hiding it very well on their site- as it includes photos that appear to be in a hospital and testimonies of people who say that her daughter met her at the hospital, or mention their midwife.

[Myfanwy]

... I realized after I had checked my blind spot, that a woman with a walker had moved behind my car and I just missed hitting her. Another hearty “Thank you†proceeded from my mouth. “Hitting her right now would have been very inconvenient for me, Lord.†Immediately a correction arrived, Not to mention for her!

Hitting an old lady using a walking frame would have been inconvenient! Inconvenient, seriously? And God had to remind her that the old lady might have been inconvenienced too?? Idiot. Please do tell, when would it be convenient to hit someone in a shopping centre car park?

[Burris]

@ Wolfie: If so, then I stand corrected. I had focused on the pages where they describe their professional experience and their philosophy on the value of a painful birth. I got the 'experts are actually bad for you, so DIY' vibe.

ETA: Check out the second quoted portion written by Schwartz in the OP.

[chaotic life]

See, here's my first problem. I don't believe ANYONE has any business setting themselves up as a mentor or parenting expert. I think if you are calling yourself such in the first place, then your ARROGANCE is greater than your common sense.

I have twenty years of experience homeschooling, but I'm not about say I'm a mentor or an expert. I'm just me. If someone wants to ask me about my experiences, then I'll gladly share. If not, then not biggie to me. As for her doula services, I would hope most people would know to look for certification that she doesn't hold.

[formergothardite]

Hitting an old lady using a walking frame would have been inconvenient! Inconvenient, seriously? And God had to remind her that the old lady might have been inconvenienced too?? Idiot. Please do tell, when would it be convenient to hit someone in a shopping centre car park?

Wow! I'm sure it would have been way more inconvenient for the old lady if she got run over. Getting stuck in traffic=inconvenient. Running over an old lady=disaster.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Oh well, let us cut her a break-- obviously she and God are besties whereas the old lady with a walker might not be that close. God looks after his close friends and in his infinite wisdom he figured that it might be good for his best friend to get a parking spot and that it would be an inconvenience to his best friend for her to runover and kill a little old lady. I'm sure God is working 24/7 on Andrea's behalf to make her life pleasant and any little bumps in the road that Andrea experiences are for teaching reasons. Guess there were no lessons to be learned from driving over a little old lady.

[2xx1xy1JD]

It strikes me as bad marketing for the QF lifestyle to emphasize the pain of childbirth, unless you are attracting women who are into BDSM and want a biblical cover for it.

[shesinsane]

Yes, let's note the fact that anesthetics had not been invented yet!

When are these Fundies gonna get a clue that the Bible is over 2,000 years old, thus lots of things don't apply anymore.

You mean like how the Bible says NOTHING about computers or the internet, yet the fundies use them daily?

[emmiedahl]

It says in the same place of the Bible that man shall live by the sweat of his brow. My husband works at a decidedly non-physical job in air conditioning, so I will consider obeying these verses only when the menz do it.