Eugene Conference 2017

Midwifery Today Conference

Eugene/Springfield, Oregon • April 5–9, 2017

“The Heart and Science of Birth”

Wednesday • April 5, 2017 • Pre-Conference

9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Choose one: A1 – A4

A1
Midwifery Issues and Skills, Part 1
Carol Gautschi, Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos, Anne Frye, Suzanne Thomson, Maryl Smith and Fernando Molina

Note: Two-part class, A1 and B1; you may sign up for one or both days. Midwifery is an art that requires practical thinking, information, a strong intuitive sense and emotional understanding. Learn how all these elements combine and work together creating a firm foundation of good care.

9:00 am – 10:00 am
Establishing Client Relationship
Suzanne Thomson

Relationships between midwife and client help create trusting birth experiences, with different outcomes in care by standard OBs and attentive midwives. Women’s bodies function differently when trust exists; bonds between mother and child are affected by bonds the midwife and mom share.

10:00 am – 11:00 am
Waterbirth and Using Water in Labor
Carol Gautschi

We will explore the many benefits and ways of using water in birth and discuss its unique properties—psychological as well as physical. Waterbirth is an option for a woman to give birth undisturbed and with dignity and helps to create transitional ease for both mother and baby. Attending births in water is a joy.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Understanding Zika and Its Effects on the Baby
Maryl Smith

Come learn the newest research on the how the Zika virus is affecting mothers and babies.

1:15 pm – 2:45 pm
Miraculous Beginnings
Fernando Molina

Miraculous Beginnings is a celebration of pregnancy and birth where moms and dads have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be conscious participants in this miraculous creative process. When parents, together with their midwife or other health care provider, celebrate the gift of conceiving, schooling in the womb and delivering a child, we all become part of this magical process. From this perspective, pregnancy and birth are what they are meant to be—a joyful and sacred event where mom, baby and dad actively participate in the miracle of creation.

2:55 pm – 4:25 pm
Pelvic Anatomy
Anne Frye

On a good day, female pelvic soft-tissue anatomy is a confusing and overwhelming topic of study. This is because, historically, descriptions and nomenclature have varied so widely among sources and the area is extremely difficult to depict in two-dimensional drawings. The recent availability of technologies that allow examination of the tissues in healthy living subjects has revealed a wealth of new information regarding the actual anatomy, which, in many cases, differs greatly from the established teachings. However, this exciting new and more accurate information is still largely absent from textbooks and classrooms. Anne will help you peek inside the pelvis, revealing parts that are (and aren’t) there, how they work together and, most importantly what they look like. A discussion of clitoral anatomy and the levator ani complex will be included.

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Self-care for Birth Practitioners
Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos

Learn to maintain personal relationships in your birth profession and balance that with your family responsibilities.


A2
Two half-day classes with Elizabeth Davis. (You must sign up for both.)

9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Physical Exam and Prenatal Assessments in the Holistic Model of Care
Elizabeth Davis

Elizabeth will present classic physical exam and prenatal assessment skills in the holistic model, with attention to making these assessments valuable experiences for both client and practitioner. Beyond physical, emotional and psychological evaluations, holistic care personalizes these by putting the woman in charge of articulating her health status. Learn valuable tools for doing this while assessing a woman’s well-being head to toe, with particular focus on obstetrical and gynecological functioning.

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Pelvimetry and Its Application in Labor
Elizabeth Davis

This session will feature hands-on practice of the endangered art of pelvimetry with instruction on how to use this skill appropriately. We will explore its relevance in terms of psychological preparation for birth, promoting labor progress, correcting malpresentations, and assisting breech birth. Take advantage of this opportunity to acquire or refine a skill increasingly hard to come by in most midwifery training settings, taught professionally and compassionately by Heart & Hands instructor Elizabeth Davis. Note that pelvimetry practice requires participation in a small group setting.


A3
Mexican Traditions and Techniques
Angelina Martinez Miranda

Midwifery in Mexico is an ancient profession which continues to be practiced in most Mexican rural areas, with techniques going back thousands of years. Angelina will discuss and demonstrate traditional positioning, remedies, techniques and customs. She will demonstrate massage techniques and how to use a rebozo, a tool used in all parts of the childbearing cycle to prevent and deal with complications. Discover simple techniques that promote healthy pregnancy and birth. This course will add greatly to your knowledge with time for hands-on practice under Angelina’s watchful guidance. Bring a rebozo if you have one.


A4
Two half-day classes with Sister MorningStar and Gail Hart. (You must sign up for both.)

9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Basic Disaster Birth Support
Sister MorningStar and Gail Hart

This training is designed by midwives to prepare members of a community to assist women in labor and birth during emergency conditions when transport to a hospital is not an option. Learn what to do and what not to do to help a woman when emergency conditions prevent her from reaching her planned site for birth. Role playing will be a part of this session. EmerGently guides and brochures will be available. What CPR is for hearts, Basic Disaster Birth Support (BDBS) is for birth!

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Newborn First Breaths (NFB)
Sister MorningStar and Gail Hart

Mothers are critical and superior contributors in helping with baby’s first breaths, even for slow-to-start babies. Western medicine often forgets about the humanity of the newborn and the mother. Remembering the humanity of the newborn and understanding the natural physiology of newborn and maternal transition upon birth is a hallmark of midwifery knowledge and experience. Learn five distinct and observable maternal behaviors that assist in newborn first breaths. Learn what to do and what not to do to give every baby the best chance for a gentle transition from womb to room air as their first breaths. We will study the basic schema and strategies for common complications. Simulated scenarios are a part of this class. NFB is now being taught globally.

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Open to all registrants

Christian Midwives Meeting
Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos and Carol Gautschi, facilitators

All are welcome.

Thursday • April 6, 2017 • Pre-Conference

9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Choose one: B1 – B4

B1
Midwifery Issues and Skills, Part 2
Elizabeth Davis, Gail Hart, Sister MorningStar, Marion Toepke McLean and Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos

Note: Two-part class, A1 and B1; you may sign up for one or both days. Midwifery is an art that requires practical thinking, information, a strong intuitive sense and emotional understanding. Learn how all these elements combine and work together creating a firm foundation of good care.

9:00 am – 10:30 am
Village Prenatals
Sister MorningStar

Village prenatals, like elephant circles, have a sole purpose: Women in the community gather out of selfless service to support and encourage the instinctual life of pregnant women who are trying to birth in power against a modern current of fear and an environment of perpetual interventions. We are there to shower them with village attention and support and to bathe them in the sense of belonging and being cherished.

10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Collaborative Care with Survivor Clients
Elizabeth Davis

Having trauma survivors as clients can be challenging. This talk will discuss how best to promote clients’ healing and autonomy, with the understanding that a team effort of multiple professionals may be necessary for complete care. Ways to build an effective network that respects participants’ expertise and client confidentiality will be explored at length, with an emphasis on the client as the prime coordinator of her care.

1:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Labor Dystocia
Marion Toepke McLean

Set the stage for good births in prenatal care. Learn to identify your own risk criteria. Learn to look, listen, know and act to prevent problems. Develop ways to inform and educate your clients about complications. Review the midwife’s role before, during and after transport. Learn about how to handle specific complications as they arise.

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Understanding Preeclampsia
Gail Hart

The puzzle of preeclampsia is finally being solved. Learn the latest theories of how preeclampsia develops, new criteria to detect the condition, and how to discern between the various hypertensive states of pregnancy. Knowing more about these puzzling conditions can help us identify those at risk, reduce the incidence, and improve outcomes.

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Birth and the Human Future
Marion Toepke McLean

Pregnancy and birth affect the future of mother and baby and therefore society. Evidence from the microbiome studies, including studies on behavioral implications of the hormones at birth and on the “opening” of the amygdala with the human gaze, suggest that birthing practices influence mother, baby and their culture long term. Come and learn the latest research on this important topic.

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Trusting Yourself to Trust Birth
Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos

Women’s fear is one of the big dilemmas facing normal birthing in Western society. Eneyda will share ways of helping women turn fear into trust. This is an important component of the art of midwifery.


B2
Breech
Suzanne Thomson, Angelina Martinez Miranda and Carol Gautschi

These teachers are very experienced in breech birth and bring many years of experience to share with you. They will present the mechanism of breech, discuss the most current breech research, and show you basic and advanced breech skills including handling breech complications. This full day of classes offers you plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. A special topic these teachers will address is breech birth in water. New research shows it may be beneficial by improving fetal oxygenation by increasing uterine blood supply during immersion. Normal breech or frank breech need no special maneuvers because water alters the effects of 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.


B3
Using Gentle Tools (Our Hands) to Help Babies Assume Ideal Positions for Birth
Carol Gray

We have all heard the stories. “The labor was long and then we had the cesarean.” “My pelvis was too small.” “The baby was too big.” These are actually the stories of the babies who got stuck in mom’s pelvis in a “wonky” position long before birth and who couldn’t get born normally. There is a lot we can do in advance to help these babies—if we know what to do and start early enough. When babies have room to move they will naturally assume ideal positions to facilitate a timely, efficient labor and a normal birth. I will teach gentle techniques for assessing and releasing restrictions in the maternal abdomen, pelvic floor, lower segment of the uterus and uterine suspensory ligaments. This presentation is part anatomy lesson (using slides, anatomical models and our own bodies), part demonstration and part hands-on practice.


B4
Keeping Birth Normal: Fostering the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection among Mother, Baby, Birthplace and Birth Team
Penny Simkin

This workshop is largely based on the upcoming revision of Penny’s Labor Progress Handbook, and explores numerous factors that contribute to the physical and psychological well-being of mother and baby as they prepare for and go through labor and birth. We’ll talk about the environment; parents’ mastery of comfort measures; parents’ understanding of the birth process; emotional and physical needs and how to meet them; how and when to intervene and when to leave well enough alone; taking the trauma out of transfer; and more. We will rehearse techniques to enhance comfort and labor progress. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a rebozo and other favorite comfort items to share.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
General session

Roundtables

Learn from the combined experience of these teachers and the other participants. Always informative, sometimes heart wrenching, roundtables are a unique opportunity to share. Rotating into three different groups, the registrants meet for three different classes. Choose three of the following topics.

New Ideas for Solving Shoulder Dystocia Issues
Sister MorningStar

All You Wanted to Know about Baby Heads
Carol Gray

Cherokee Wisdom
Maryl Smith

Orgasmic Birth
Elizabeth Davis

Children at Birth
Penny Simkin

Midwifery and the Law
Hermine Hayes-Klein

Midwifery and Faith
Ann Olsen

Uncommon Complications
Fernando Molina

Tear Prevention and Management
Carol Gautschi

Using Social Media in Midwifery and Birth
Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos and Jan Tritten

Getting Started with Research
Missy Cheyney

Breech Birth Overview
Suzanne Thomson

Birth Models That Work: Standing the Test of Time
Robbie Davis-Floyd

Diseases that Affect Childbirth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Marion Toepke McLean

Transition of the Newborn
Anne Frye

Rebozo Practice
Angelina Martinez Miranda

Friday • April 7, 2017 • Conference Day One

9:00 am – 10:00 am
Opening general session

The Heart and Science of Birth
Jan Tritten, Marion Toepke McLean and Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos

Scientific data proves midwives help to keep birth safer for mother and baby. “Evidence-based practices” can improve birth outcomes by helping mother remain the center of her birth. Learn the science that supports midwifery methods such as “skin-to-skin contact,” physiological pushing, optimal positions for labor, delayed cord clamping and family bonding. Why do newborns and their mamas seek each other’s eyes in that profound gaze of the early hours of life? Research evidence on communicating through eye contact throughout the life will be shared. Midwives use their heads and their hearts!

10:00 am – 11:30 am
General session

Deconstructing Modern Illness: Idiopathic versus Iatrogenic
Chandler Marrs

What if everything we know about health and disease is wrong? More often than not, our definitions of health have been guided by external forces and systems of thought that are inherently biased, even though they claim the objectivity of science and evidence. These biases not only impact our views on what is considered healthy versus what is not, but in many ways, these biases define what questions are acceptable to ask. This talk will explore how we know what we think we know about modern health and illness and ask whether current practices, particularly in women’s health, are not causing more disease processes than they solve.

11:30 am – 12:30 pm
General session

Research on the Science of Birth
Missy Cheyney

In this session, Missy will review the state of birth science and evidence-informed practice for a variety of midwifery client sub-groups. Her presentation will highlight the newest data on safety and relative risk for: women laboring after cesarean, older than average women, women of size, and women carrying twins or presenting breech. Missy will conclude with some reflections on contextual and clinical ethics and shared decision-making in higher risk births.

12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Lunch option

Friday Lunch Social

Come and connect with your fellow conference attendees and speakers for a lovely lunch that will surely refuel you not only through nourishment but also through networking. The light fare will include soup, salad and a choice of three delicious sandwiches. Vegetarian options will be available. $15 for conference registrants, $25 for non-registrants, payable with conference registration. Seating is limited so we advise advance registration, as there may be no payments taken at the door.

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Choose one: C1 – C4

C1
Newborn Babies Need Love, Microbes and Stress
Fernando Molina

According to emergent scientific disciplines, we know the following: Newborn babies need maternal love; this need has been ignored for thousands of years (routine separation of mother and babies, delayed initiation of breastfeeding, etc.). Newborn babies are supposed to be colonized by friendly microbes that immediately educate their immune system; until recently all microbes were considered enemies. The stress induced by uterine contractions has a positive role to play in the development of human beings; until recently the word “stress” had an exclusively negative connotation.

C2
Using Rebozo in Prenatal Care
Angelina Martinez Miranda

Identify and examine the clinical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of prenatal care, in the traditional Mexican style. We will learn many “new” old ways of prenatal care. As with all prenatal care, the goal is to have a healthy baby and birth. We will learn about some unique ways to facilitate great outcomes in our own practices. We will learn the skills needed to offer rebozo techniques to many of our clients.

C3
Research in Midwifery
Missy Cheyney

Do you have a research question you have always wanted to be able to answer? Do you secretly like statistics or feel like you would be good at ethnographic writing? During this session, Missy will discuss ways you can get involved in cutting-edge midwifery research. From serving as a content expert on an ongoing project to designing your own original research module, Missy will cover the basics of getting started. From submitting human subjects review protocols, to funding, publication and graduate school, find out how you can be part of a growing body of research that is helping to reshape US maternity care.

C4
Prolonged Labor
Gail Hart

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 progress. Learn methods to help detect the pathological labor from the simple prolonged labor. What is the myth and reality? How long is “too long” and how do we know the difference between too long and normal?

4:15 pm – 5:45 pm
Choose one: D1 – D4

D1
Tradition and Profession: A Blend That Works
Robbie Davis-Floyd and Angelina Martinez Miranda

This session will focus on bringing our traditions into the modern world. These teachers draw on a rich tapestry of birth in traditional cultures, weaving in midwifery knowledge with Robbie’s studies of many cultures of midwifery and birth. Robbie and Angelina strive to come up with the best possible blend, always considering each woman unique. Their great love of that process is sure to kindle your passion for birth.

D2
Healing Birth Trauma for Mother and Midwife
Penny Simkin

Approximately one woman in four describes her child’s birth as traumatic, which may interfere with long-term mental health and relationship with family members, including the baby. This also appears to be true even for people who plan out-of-hospital birth. Penny will explore the debilitating effects of birth trauma on the mother and family, and discuss prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum indicators of risk for postpartum PTSD and preventive strategies. Furthermore, though we do not have data on the experiences of out-of-hospital birth midwives with traumatic birth, we know that maternity nurses and hospital midwives sometimes suffer secondary traumatic stress after attending traumatic births. Penny will report relevant research findings on this condition and discuss ways to minimize its negative impact on midwives, doulas and others who attend out-of-hospital births.

D3
Mythology in Midwifery and Obstetrics
Gail Hart

Many busy birth practitioners find it difficult to keep up with new research and even more difficult to separate fact from myth. Let’s look at the newest data, information and research and update our knowledge about some common issues. What’s the “real deal” about postdates, fetal testing, active management of labor or third stage, probiotics, vitamin supplementation, anti-hemorrhage medications and more? Every birth practitioner seeks to do The Right Thing. But how do we know what the right thing is when the definitions, protocols and recommendations are constantly shifting?

D4
Twins
Suzanne Thomson

Suzanne has extensive experience with twin birth. She 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 “how to” as well as the telling of amazing birth stories is a gift of this highly-experienced midwife.

5:45 pm
Open to all registrants

The Power of Women book signing by Sister MorningStar

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Open to all registrants

Tricks of the Trade
Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos and Jan Tritten

Share the techniques you’ve perfected in your practice or bring your burning questions to this roundtable of pertinent tips on a wide variety of topics. Previous sessions have included facilitating effective contractions, dealing with prolonged labor, preventing perineal tears, helping the slow-to-start baby and holistic first aid. This is always a much-appreciated session, for its sense of sisterhood as well as its information. “Worth at least two weeks of academic training,” said one participant.

Saturday • April 8, 2017 • Conference Day Two

9:00 am – 10:30 am
General session

Best Beginnings: Homebirth, Midwifery and the Microbiome
Penny Simkin

The more we learn about the human microbiome and its lifetime impact on the health of parents, their infants and even future generations, we recognize even more benefits to homebirth and midwifery care than we suspected even five years ago. The fast-growing understanding of how microbes affect human health and disease is the result of the Human Microbiome Project, which was established in 2008. Penny will discuss findings from microbiome research that have implications for maternity care, and examine “microbiome-friendly” and “microbiome-challenging” practices. She will also question some midwifery practices that may adversely impact the microbiome.

10:30 am – 12:00 pm
General session

Do You Feel Safe as a Midwife or Doula?
Hermine Hayes-Klein and Missy Cheyney

Women need to feel safe, in order to safely give birth. But don’t providers need to feel safe and supported themselves, in order to create a safe environment for their clients’ labor and birth? This session will use participatory exercises to unpack the reasons why midwives can feel unsafe as they do their work to support women in childbirth. We will also explore strategies for moving midwifery toward a place where all midwives can feel secure and supported in their work.

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Choose one: E1 – E4

E1
Posterior Arrest
Elizabeth Davis

Not all babies in posterior positions experience an arrest during labor. Discover why some babies pass through the pelvis just fine, and why others get stuck at the inlet. Learn about hands-on maneuvers for addressing posterior arrest that are non-invasive and available to anyone, as well as internal repositioning maneuvers that every midwife should know. Case histories will be presented, and special circumstances explored.

E2
Malpresentations
Angelina Martinez Miranda

Angelina, using Mexican rebozo, will show us methods for prevention of malpresentation. She will teach how to use your hands to identify the lie of the baby and how to identify different types of presentations. Angelina will present rebozo techniques to resolve problems. Techniques for labor and pre-labor will also be covered. Hands-on practice will be included. Bring a rebozo if you have one.

E3
Do You Feel Safe as a Midwife or Doula?
Hermine Hayes-Klein and Missy Cheyney

Building on information in the general session of the same title earlier this day, Hermine and Missy will follow up in this small group session with those who need more help and information on this important subject, including legal challenges. This session will use participatory exercises to unpack the reasons why midwives may feel unsafe as they do their work to support women in childbirth. We will also explore strategies for moving midwifery toward a place where all midwives can feel secure and supported in their work.

E4
Group B Strep and Vaginal Health
Gail Hart

Do you know the new CDC recommendations for reducing group B strep (GBS) infections and how these recommendations affect your practice? How can we best protect our clients while balancing protocols and individual care? The antibiotic prophylaxis is only one method to reduce strep infections. Let’s examine the evidence, as a key to understanding optimum vaginal health and reducing the risk of infection and protecting the microbiome.

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Choose one: F1 – F4

F1
A Recent History of American Midwifery: What Your Pioneering Predecessors Did to Give You the Chances You Have Today
Robbie Davis-Floyd

Drawing on the results of her 10 years of research on American midwifery, published in Mainstreaming Midwives: The Politics of Change (2006), Robbie will describe the development of nurse-midwifery and direct entry midwifery in the United States, and the creation of two direct entry certifications, the Certified Midwife and the Certified Professional Midwife. She will also examine the complexities, political strife and efforts at resolution that have characterized the evolution of midwifery in America. Other topics include successful legislative strategies, the tensions between the social activist midwifery movement and midwives’ professionalization projects, and “renegade” midwives who practice outside of state protocols.

F2
Resolving Shoulder Dystocia
Gail Hart

Do you know that the clues of the impending development of shoulder dystocia can help us actually prevent its occurrence? Gail will discuss the mechanical and physical causes of shoulder dystocia; the associated risk factors; the symptoms and signs to predict it; how to prevent it; and how to remedy it. She will analyze tools and methods used to overcome panic reactions and demonstrate effective treatments.

F3
Beyond Captivity: Birth Intelligence, Not Intellect
Sister MorningStar

There is an innate intelligence that guides and protects the complex unfolding of birth. In captivity something of that intelligence is lost. Bring your questions and experience and together we will discover how to realign with the fierce intelligence, beyond the intellect, that seeks to protect the body, mind and soul of motherbaby in any setting, any circumstance, and any culture. We plan to rediscover the secrets of nature that bring birth and long-term well-being to motherbaby. Birth is the beginning of everything else.

F4
Breaking Off Our Engagement with Engagement—Or, Let’s Drop the Idea of Dropping!
Carol Gray

In this session Carol will make a compelling argument for an idea that is not mainstream—even among radical homebirth midwives. The baby who can’t descend into mom’s pelvis and get born presents a problem. The baby who drops deeply into mom’s pelvis and stays there long (days, weeks or months) before the onset of labor presents an even bigger problem. Babies know how to position themselves for birth. They ought to be able to bob in and out of mom’s pelvis until labor begins. When they drop down and stay there it’s because they are stuck. In this session Carol will show the anatomy and the biomechanics of this problem and describe the aftermath, which may include torticollis, plagiocephaly, breastfeeding difficulties, scoliosis, cesarean birth, inductions, etc. She will also give some resources for how we can help.

5:15 pm – 6:30 pm
General session

The Power of Ritual: How People Think, What They Believe and Why
Robbie Davis-Floyd

This presentation will explore the nature and uses of ritual in rites of passage and in daily life, with special emphasis on its roles in engendering belief, enhancing courage, effecting healing, and transforming individual consciousness. In the medical realm, ritual takes on special importance. It defines appropriate procedure, indicates proper training and competence, and serves as an essential buffer against the fear of dealing with out-of-control natural processes. Ritual’s courage-enhancing and habituating effects can be used wisely in medicine.

8:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Open to all registrants

Jenaguru Full Moon Marimba

For the past six Eugene conferences, participants have enjoyed this high energy and entrancing Zimbabwean marimba music. Come dance, sway, stomp and sing with this marimba band from Kutsinhira Cultural Arts Center in Eugene.

Sunday • April 9, 2017 • Conference Day Three

9:00 am – 10:15 am
General session

The Deeper Physiology of Birth: Intuition, Entrainment, Bonding and Healing
Elizabeth Davis

In ways we are only now beginning to appreciate, the physiology of birth enhances intuitive abilities in both the mother and her supporters. Heightened oxytocin levels prompt bonding among all members of the birth team, including care providers. This deep level of connection/entrainment supports the emerging family, but it can also pose problems for birth attendants who lack effective techniques for processing difficult births or other personal traumas. Birth is meant to open us fully to the beauty of life—that is why we love it so—but at the same time, it may also reopen emotional wounds, activate unhelpful coping mechanisms, and cause further trauma. Parents and practitioners alike need tools for healing so that the culture of birth and family may reach its highest growth potential.

10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Choose one: G1 – G4

G1
Combatting Fear in Midwifery and Birth
Sister MorningStar and Elizabeth Davis

Fear in pregnancy and birth can have many consequences for both the family and health care provider. This class will help you define, understand and move through the fear that confronts us. Learn ways of helping women, including midwives and doulas, free themselves from the cycle of fear and pain in order to experience the miracle of birth.

G2
How the Moments of Birth Affect the Future
Fernando Molina and Marion Toepke McLean

Each birth is unique and the motherbaby relationship sets the pattern for much of life. Respect for the dyad and nurturing the natural process of birth can bring optimal health. Physiological birth is the secret to lifelong health.

G3
Newborn Assessment and Care
Anne Frye

Sharpen your skill in handling the newborn. Learn how to assess and then how to handle newborn complications, including how and when to transport. Anne’s classes are always evidence-based and full of updated information.

G4
Integrating Normal Birth into Hospital Setting
Marion Toepke McLean

Many women desire hospital births. They are unaware of the institutional demands and interventions waiting for them. By being personable, attentive and informative, we, as nurses, midwives, doulas, doctors and family, can help to keep the birth family centered with less intervention. Learn ways to work within the hospital while maintaining birth integrity. Review common concerns in hospital settings that can create a cascade of interventions. Talk about ways to bridge the gaps between home and hospital when transport is necessary.

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Choose one: H1 – H4

H1
Prenatal Care to Prevent Birth Complications
Carol Gautschi

The relationship between midwife and client helps to create a trusting birth experience. Learn how women’s bodies function differently when trust exists. Learn the heart of care during the prenatal period and how that affects the birth. Learn how good nutrition can prevent complications. We will explain how our philosophy and elements of care can help to avoid complicated birth beginning in the prenatal period. Birth complications can be prevented by helping women achieve physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

H2
Homeopathy for Pregnancy and Birth
Ann Olsen

Join Ann as she offers an introduction to the history and science of homeopathy, including a brief explanation of how remedies are prepared and the meaning of the varied potencies. We will explore some of the most common remedies and their effective uses in pregnancy, birth, postpartum and newborn care.

H3
When the Healer Is Healing, Too
Maryl Smith

This class is uniquely designed for midwives, doulas and other birth practitioners who desire to develop deeper self-awareness of the ways their own life trauma impacts their care for others. It is for those who are looking for effective methods that will assist them in guiding clients through the healing journey while their own heart is healing. Although the focus will be on sexual abuse, this content can be applied to emotional, physical or spiritual abuse, domestic abuse, neglect, social marginalization, abandonment and even recent birth trauma as a care provider. In short, anyone can benefit from the content.

H4
New and Old: Techniques for Controlling and Preventing Hemorrhage
Gail Hart

It is important to understand the full process of third stage and to facilitate the delivery of the placenta correctly. Let’s look at the evidence and learn techniques used where routine oxytocics are not accessible and which render the need for pharmaceuticals rare. You will learn about how to assess third stage and deal with complications to reduce the risk of excess blood loss. Gail will explain how to assess and deal with bleeding in a way that will increase your confidence—by actually estimating with real blood in and on different materials such as on pads and in water. She will also talk about using the placenta, cord and membranes for hemorrhage control.

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm
General session

Embracing the Heart and Science of Birth
Fernando Molina and Robbie Davis-Floyd

We need to preserve and protect normal birth while maintaining balance with what is lifesaving and available in each birth situation. Our attempt to strive for this balance affects how we care for birthing women, and is guided by the heart and science of birth. Let heart and science walk hand-in-hand.

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Closing General session

Closing words and singing circle

Let’s unite for the benefit of motherbaby, families and each other.

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