In this class we will discuss blood pressure, pulse, lab tests, assessing reflexes, and general health observation skills. Learn things about these basic skills you may not know.

We will learn about Leopold’s maneuvers as well as other fetal palpation techniques to determine both position and station, including how to check for the cephalic prominence. We will explain how to listen to the fetal heart with a fetascope and pinard horn, and how to use these tools successfully at all stages of labor.

Identify and examine the clinical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of prenatal care. We will learn how to evaluate and nurture the emotional, physical and psychological well-being of pregnant and birthing women. As with all prenatal care, the goal is to have a healthy baby and birth. We will share some unique ways to facilitate great outcomes in our own practices.

Women who are coping well with labor have some things in common: relaxation, rhythm and ritual (the 3 R’s). Debra will describe the 3 R’s and the many ways women experience them. Comfort measures for labor such as the gate control theory of pain, hot and cold compresses, music, massage/touch, acupressure, aromatherapy and the birthing ball will be discussed. Positions that facilitate rotation and descent in first stage and help to rotate and ease back labors will be demonstrated. Techniques for second stage, such as the support squat, dangle, toilet, “tug of war,” the rope, and lap squatting will be shown with time for hands-on practice. This intensive course will make us better midwives or doulas. Registrants at previous conferences have raved about it, calling it fun and informative.

Learn the art, the essence and the basics of midwifery care in this full-day workshop designed for the aspiring and beginning midwife. Our experienced teachers share their wisdom and love of midwifery in a way that will nurture your interest and make you feel welcomed to the world of birth. They will teach the basics of normal pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.

This class teaches how to be helpful to your senior midwife and the etiquette of apprenticeship.

The first time a pregnant woman talks to a midwife by phone, what can she expect? What does she hear? What does she need to learn? The first time the woman meets the midwife for an interview, what does she feel? What should she take away from that meeting? At the first prenatal appointment, what does the woman need to “get”?

Think like an herbalist. Why does motherwort work on both the heart and uterus? Why is peppermint useful for both the sinuses and the stomach? What are herbal actions and how can the knowledge of actions be applied to midwifery practice? In this class, we will learn how and why the herbs that have been friends of mothers and midwives throughout time nurture, nourish and give first aid during the childbirth year. We will learn some basic skills for preparing and formulating herbal medicines to treat common conditions and learn to make infusions for internal and external applications. This class has more tips and remedies than most of us get in all of our schooling. Participants will receive an extensive reference booklet.

Childbirth practitioners are finding it necessary to learn “birth” Spanish in order to effectively serve the entire population of their communities. Join Naolí in this participatory presentation that will assist you in learning correct pronunciation. You will learn a visual and auditory approach, as well as cultural information that is essential to the practitioner. This course is fun and will help you in your birth practice.

This class will help you develop your skills if turning doesn’t work and the parents and midwife decide to do a vaginal or home breech birth. Breech birth is not for beginners though everyone is welcome in this class. You never know when one will surprise you. We will discuss basic skills as well as a hands-off approach. A complete discussion of frank, footling and complete breech and how to stay calm will be included.

Join Cornelia in this part of the breech workshop to learn how to work with breeches in water. Breech birth in water is safer, in part because it improves fetal oxygenation by increasing uterine blood supply during immersion. Frank breeches need no special maneuvers because water eliminates gravity. Mobility of the mother in water allows better interaction of the baby through the pelvis and any maneuvers that may be required are easier in water. Come and fine-tune your skills at this important workshop. Cornelia uses many video clips that add dimension and understanding to her course.

From earliest history, women have shared their personal experiences of strength and healing. Stories wrapped with love and trust in the birth process have transmitted wisdom and confidence to each generation. Come to share or just to listen.

(You do not need to be present in Part 1)

In this class we will review complete physical exam skills, with attention to making the exam a valuable experience for both client and practitioner. How is she doing, physically, emotionally, in her life as a whole? Is she healthy, or does she have chronic health problems? Is she under ongoing care with another practitioner? Taking medicines or herbs? Is she happy, sad, busy or stressed? What are her aims in coming to you for an exam? With this as a background, we examine the complete exam, head to toe, system by system, with particular focus on obstetrical and gynecological functioning as appropriate.

Traditionally, the midwife “tunes in” at the initial interview, prenatally and during the crescendo of birth. Intuitively, she reads the needs of motherbaby, artistically co-supporting with open hands, one of life’s most momentous rites of passage. She prepares herself both emotionally and spiritually to serve her client in humility with the sincere belief in her, in birth, without fear, yet vigilant, evaluating normal vs. abnormal—nudging positive direction without judgment. This is not a technological event, this is a sacred space to be held, embraced and released at the appointed time.

Explore ways to help women complete the circle—from cesarean through vaginal birth. VBAC pregnancy, labor, birth and healing will be discussed.

This will be an overview of complications with insights on how to prevent them and what to do if they occur.

Western medicine often forgets about the humanity of the newborn. The connection between motherbaby and loving, calming environmental participants plays a part in successful resuscitation. Remembering the humanity of the newborn is a hallmark of the midwife. Let the baby receive its breath without interference of bulbs and/or over-management—simultaneously communicate with her the importance of breathing and resuscitate if necessary. We will show you how.

As midwives we play an important role in informing women so they can make the right choice for themselves and their babies. We need updated knowledge on the subject. Learn the secrets of establishing breastfeeding from a Norwegian midwife.

We will discuss when to suture and when to consider other methods. The use of Super Glue and seaweed will be discussed.

The observation of cultural traditions and their impact on pregnancy and birth is fascinating. Naolí will discuss positioning, remedies, techniques and customs from Mexico. The origin of these techniques and traditions goes back thousands of years. We will learn how to use a rebozo, a very useful tool in all parts of the childbearing cycle. Discover simple techniques that promote healthy pregnancy and birth. In this hands-on class you will learn many “new” old techniques you can apply immediately to your practice. Time for hands-on practice will be provided.

For many pathological conditions and personality traits, the critical period for interaction between genes and the environment takes place during the pre- and perinatal periods. This is why, at a time when “gene expression” is becoming a familiar keyword in the scientific literature, we cannot separate the issues of fetal life, birth and health. Michel will explain the reasons for this and the contents of www.wombecology.com.

Although the cesarean has become easier, faster and safer than ever, there are serious reasons to try to rediscover the basic needs of laboring women and newborn babies. After thousands of years of cultural interference and half a century of wrong messages transmitted by different schools of “natural childbirth,” we must rely on the physiological perspective.

Labor outcomes depend on women going into labor healthy. Ina May and Gail will discuss preventing labor complications with prenatal care. Learn how individual care and good communication can positively affect labor. They will also share the protocols and techniques they use to help the mother move through the first stage of labor. This discussion will include prolonged rupture of membranes, failure to progress, abnormal labor patterns, and non-medical intervention and more. Second stage is a time of watchfulness and sometimes mounting tension. Listen to these experienced midwives discuss constructive and effective ways to handle both normal and difficult situations. A discussion of shoulder dystocia and malpresentation will be included. Bring your questions and experiences in what promises to be an exciting day!

We will cover basic prenatal massage strokes, body mechanics, and precautions and contraindictions of prenatal massage. These include Swedish and support massage strokes you will need for prenatal, labor and postpartum care. You will learn how to use your hands and body correctly in all the support positions you use, as well as the physiological and energetic contraindictions of hands-on support for pregnancy, labor and postpartum care. Elaine will teach massage techniques in a variety of positions midwives assume to support the laboring woman. You will learn hand-saving and body-saving techniques for when you are on the floor, in a tub and in other difficult positions at a birth. This is a whole mini massage course. Bring one or two pillows, a flat sheet and a small hand towel.

All are welcome.

A roundtable of pertinent tips on a wide variety of topics, from facilitating effective contractions and preventing prolonged labor and perineal tears, to helping the slow-to-start baby, to alternatives to drugs. We will use the midwifery and massage modalities to share information. This session is always much-appreciated, for its sense of sisterhood as well as its information. “Worth at least two weeks of academic training,” said one participant.

In this discussion we hope to discover best practices found throughout the world. We will outline growing trends and discuss how we can draw out the best of these ideas with the intent of identifying valuable customs underlying them. We can glean many excellent traditions that are already established in various countries and infuse them into the current birth world.

[This video is driven by an interview with Robbie Davis-Floyd which was shot 11 years ago.] Although Robbie’s hairstyle has changed, her truth hasn’t. In 1998 she said, “94% of births in the US are attended by obstetricians with only 6% attended by midwives. We need to flip the numbers.” Of course, there are gorgeous homebirths in this video delivering the same message.

Learn from amazing video footage about the subtle reflexes the mother and baby exhibit in birth and shortly after when born naturally in water. This class will help you sharpen your powers of observation.

Over a twelve year period, Christina van Duijn gave birth to her four children at home. Now she wants everyone to be educated and empowered to do the same.

One of the keys to joy in midwifery practice is autonomy. Autonomy is very important in protecting the mother from the devastating experience of medicalization in birth. It is essential that midwifery be an autonomous profession. Learn specific ways in which autonomy can help birthing women reduce unnecessary and risky intervention in birth and keep joy in midwifery practice. This is one of our most important issues in midwifery.

In 1975, at a time when the births became more and more difficult, Michel published a paper in La Nouvelle Presse Médicale about intracutaneous injections of sterile water in the lumbar region to treat intense back pains associated with failure to progress. Also in the 1970s, and for the same reasons, Michel introduced the concept of birthing pools. This is how a review of alternative methods of pain relief during labor will start.

What happens if you leave a second-degree tear unstitched? Learn about the technique of using super glue instead of stitches. Scientific analysis and updates on this subject will be covered. Learn ways to facilitate healing with herbal baths and poultices and how to prevent tearing in the first place. Disturbing new trends in tear prevention threatens the autonomy of midwives. Learn the truth behind the rise in 3rd and 4th degree tears that lead to the use of Ritgens maneuver.

In medieval times, placenta powder and essences were part of holistic care by midwives in cultures around the world. If stored correctly, the placenta can be used after birth to prepare baby creams, cream gravidarum or labor-inducing preparations. This is a very helpful medicine for postpartum depression. Teach families you care for how to make the most natural remedy from their placenta. Learn how to dry placentas. Come learn about this important modality. The book Placenta: The Gift of Life by Cornelia Enning makes a perfect resource for this important class.

Gail will explain and discuss the mechanical, physical and emotional causes of shoulder dystocia. She will describe symptoms and signs used to predict it. She will analyze tools and methods used to overcome panic reactions, demonstrate effective treatments and cover the latest research. You will become well-informed about aspects of shoulder dystocia, including causes, incidence rates, prevention and solutions. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you need to be ready.

Betty-Anne will focus on the advantages of assisting a breech with the mother on her hands and knees or on her knees leaning over a bed in a more upright position, vs. having the mother on her back. In these positions the baby's arms generally don't get extended, avoiding the need to perform a maneuver popularized by the Norwegian obstetrician, Loveset, and used by most practitioners who need to extract the arms when the mother is on her back. Forceps have not been needed in the unit in Frankfurt either when the mother is in this position. Betty-Anne will show video of maneuvers she has observed in Germany, and had experience with herself.

Learn massage techniques that relax the pregnant body while helping to open the pelvis and create an easier birth. Our teachers will explain why massage is essential for pregnant and birthing women and show practical application. They will discuss the importance of healing touch as a preventative tool and safe remedy for pregnant, laboring and postpartum women.

Gail and Michel will share their brilliant insights and findings on the hormonal states of mother and baby and the interaction that occurs. They will cover how we can facilitate the process without disturbing motherbaby. Their teaching on this subject makes it a fascinating class. These insights can help you improve your practice.

Many episodes of excessive blood loss are either preventable or foreseeable and easily controlled. It is important to facilitate delivery of the placenta with patience. Learn techniques and approaches that render the need for pharmaceuticals rare. Learn what problems may arise in third stage and how to be prepared to attend them. Bleeding, various problems with placenta retention and other issues will be discussed. You will learn how to assess and deal with bleeding in a way that will increase your confidence.

Plain peoples emanate mystery, intrigue, challenges and folklore. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to work in an Amish or Mennonite community with little in the way of amenities and challenges that go beyond the typical? These teachers represent thousands of births in the Mennonite and horse-and-buggy Amish communities! Hear of their experiences in assisting plain and “English” (non-plain) birthing women. Come hear their wisdom and about what has given them the strength to endure assisting all these babies!

Women’s and babies’ human rights have been overlooked in today’s birth environment. We need to take a long hard look at our practices and protocols and make sure we are putting motherbaby first. We need to speak out for a widespread and radical change in the way we approach birth. Join us to see in what ways we can propose good birth practices that respect human rights. It is way past time. Join us in a review of the many different ways we can be with women giving them respect, dignity and informed decision. First, do no harm.

This class will address why we need to reclaim twins, breeches and VBAC. We’ll talk about who we are and why we need to be experienced, proficient and calm in skills and heart to be midwives. Learn about a precedent-setting court case that may help make midwives the practitioners of choice for these births.

Join the Motherbaby International Film Festival in previewing new and “emerging” works about our favorite topic: birth. Come enjoy fantastic and inspiring films.

Many blocks have formed against midwives being able to practice the true art of midwifery. Come and learn what they are and how to stay true to motherbaby and their real needs, not the whims of the medical field.

The expressive art therapies can be a bridge between the unconscious and conscious minds which encourages participants to gain a deeper understanding of fears and stress. Using the modalities of music, art, movement, and writing, participants will experience expressive arts projects that can be used during the childbirth year with mothers. Note: You don’t need to be a musician or artist to attend this session!

Gail will discuss ways of pushing and the transformation of the perineum. She will include maternal positions and effects on the mechanism of labor. She teaches this in a clear and comprehensible manner that helps you truly understand the baby’s path through the pelvis and out into the world with the least resistance.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a powerful yet subtle method of hands-on healing. A gentle CST treatment for a pregnant mama can help a less-than-ideally-positioned baby assume a good position for birth. CST can resolve some of the most perplexing breastfeeding difficulties and even shift a baby out of the dreaded infant colic cycle. Learn how the structure and function of the body are interrelated and why CST should be a routine part of perinatal care. Carol explains CST in a way that people can understand and we’ll even do a little hands-on practice.

Sphincters are useful in explaining how birth works. Learn to prepare your pelvic muscles for birth. The Farm Midwifery Center takes the art of birthing a step further. See the power of homebirth inoculate the culture against fear in birth. Everybody knows how sphincters work. Could you poop uphill, do it on command, open it no matter how much you are on display?

Lisa has over 50 years experience as a midwife and herbalist. You will add immensely to your birthkit by taking her classes. Slides will be shown for plant identification and there will be demos for making herbal tinctures, oils and salves and homeopathic solutions from pellets. Come and learn some new tips and uses for your favorite remedies. This class is for everyone.

The midwife is the key in the natural process of birth, and it is her knowledge and keen insight that helps women conquer their fears about birth. From a rich, holistic perspective, we will learn new observational tools for maintaining women in good health and preventing risks. Janice will explore the physiological and emotional issues of pregnancy and birth.

The study of homebirth published in 2005 in the British Medical Journal continues to be accessed every 24 minutes and downloaded every 2-1/2 hours. It has been followed by a number of homebirth studies in Europe and North America that corroborate the findings of good outcomes in low-risk women. The initial rationale given to not publish some of these other studies is ironic and will be discussed. Regardless of initial reticence, they have been finally published in credible medical journals. Any medical body that opposes it would have to be categorized as “so last century.”

Learn to recognize and facilitate the nuances of the birth process that take births around hurdles and continues the process in the most flowing way possible. A number of exercises that graphically demonstrate how “energy” moves and what blocks it will be presented. “What you resist persists”: We will talk about how the practitioner’s fears keep manifesting until we heal them outside the birth arena; why positive affirmations help and how to individualize them for each woman’s language patterns; why forgiving the past releases space in the pelvis.

Our teachers have extensive experience with twin birth. They will discuss strategies for safe twin birth, including positioning, time of delivery, premature delivery and avoiding postpartum hemorrhage, as well as special aspects of prenatal care.

The sexual energy in birth is like the river water through which the power of birth navigates. For birth to be a satisfying, fulfilling experience that heals and powers a woman into her fullest potential, the flow of her sexuality needs to be as open as possible. We will explore these issues and ways to unblock the sexual energy in birth through storytelling.

Meet two midwives whose amazing but humble wisdom and experience will touch your heart. They do not consider variations of normal a risk, so their experience includes twins, breeches and other variations that many midwives risk out. They have not forgotten that women have been having babies for eons and more tests and technology are not always better. They will help us return to the simplicity of birth while being responsible in doing so.

There is an accumulation of physiological and epidemiological data suggesting that the way a woman has given birth can influence the quality and the duration of breastfeeding. This raises new questions at a time when the caesarean has become easier, faster, and safer than ever (according to conventional criteria). Michel will take this opportunity to repeat that the priority today is to introduce new criteria to evaluate the practices of midwifery and obstetrics.

Back by popular demand: a play written by Michel Odent acted with Michel and Naolí Vinaver, and another written by Betty-Anne called “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Don’t miss these hilarious shows. Come up with one of your own. The cabaret is for everyone to show their many talents whether in song, dance or whatever you do that you would like to share.

Even as more evidence mounts showing the harm caused by unnecessary obstetrical interventions, such interventions continue to increase and cesarean rates around the world continue to soar. How can midwives and doulas help bring needed change to others? Much is happening all around the world that is preventing women from achieving these goals and causing trauma to mothers and babies. Learn what you can do in your community to promote positive birth change. We are all needed to change birth—let’s hone our skills at creating optimal birth care for the women of the world.

The importance of positioning, maternal sense of control and flexibility to approaches will be shared as well as how to do an early diagnosis. Many cesareans occur due to posterior presentation. Prevent cesareans by understanding how to diagnose, prevent and fix posterior presentations. These intimate roundtables give the participant a chance to talk with each teacher individually. This fast-paced fun class will give you options for dealing with posterior presentation.

Women who are coping well with labor have some things in common: relaxation, rhythm and ritual (the 3 R’s). Debra will describe the 3 R’s and the many ways women experience them. Comfort measures for labor such as the gate control theory of pain, hot and cold compresses, music, massage/touch, acupressure and the birthing ball will be discussed. Position and techniques for second stage, such as the support squat, dangle, toilet and “tug of war” and lap squatting will be demonstrated.

Present maternity services in the US are filled with serious faults: undue pressure to birth in a hospital, excessive, unjustified use of dangerous interventions, soaring induction and caesarean section rates with false information given to women about the risks. Women must be told the truth about hospital births and interventions and be given the freedom to birth as they wish.

This class will affirm the knowledge and the power we contain and express through our hands. It will remind you that the essence of midwifery is, after all, its hands-on approach to providing care, support and education. It will give you confidence to use your senses, to keep your heart open, and to listen. Gain skills that involve the sense of touch. The practical use of hands will be discussed; you will be reminded that hands are also tools of emotional support and love.

How do we get a long labor to progress? Long labors may be associated with complications ranging from social or emotional issues to physical problems. We will learn different reasons for prolonged labor, as well as methods for helping women move along in labor. Analysis of myth and reality will also be discussed.

You’ll sit in on three interesting and inspiring roundtables of your choice. Roundtables will include:

Brainstorm with us and your peers on how we can really effect changes in midwifery and childbirth on the global level. Learn about the midwifery and birth movements going on around the world and how you can help. We can make changes for the better with knowledge of global possibilities. We will share techniques, systems, political and educational ideas that will help you further the midwifery model in your sphere of influence.

We have learned about many trends and traditions in this conference. It is our goal to bring the best to motherbaby and family. We will explore how to do by this using the conference experiences as a starting point for promoting better birth practices based not only on evidence but on loving care that midwives and doulas provide.