Birth Trauma Online Course(s) & Continuing Education
Access the latest clinical skills and research for Birth Trauma for PREGNANCY, LABOUR & CHILDBIRTH professional training. These Birth Trauma online courses provide practice-changing skills and valuable perspectives from leading global experts. This Birth Trauma education has been accredited for a variety of CEUs / CERPs and can be accessed on-demand, at your own pace.
Parijat Deshpande is the leading integrative high-risk pregnancy specialist, somatic stress & trauma professional and speaker and author who guides women to improve their pregnancy complications so they can reduce their risk of preterm birth. Her unique neurobiological approach has served hundreds of women to manage pregnancy complications and reclaim a safety and trust in their bodies that they thought was eroded forever. Parijat is the author of bestselling book Pregnancy Brain: A Mind-Body Approach to Stress Management During a High-Risk Pregnancy. She is also the host of the popular podcast Delivering Miracles®️, that discusses the real, raw side of family-building including infertility, loss, high-risk pregnancy, bed rest, prematurity and healing once baby comes home. Parijat professional training is in clinical psychology and she is a Certified Trauma Professional and Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist for individuals.
Birth trauma is a preventable complication of pregnancy and providers play a critical role in this prevention. Preventing birth trauma not only supports a positive birth experience for the birthing person, but sets the foundation for optimal post-pregnancy health. This is because birth trauma is a catalyst for various long-term health issues for the birthing person including attachment difficulties, chronic pain, chronic illness, autoimmune diseases, postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, as well as an increased risk of pregnancy complications in future pregnancies. Through the study of somatic and somatosensory modalities, as well as years of client work in the high-risk pregnancy population, I have seen clients at risk for pregnancy complications and preterm birth defy medical odds and protect themselves from a traumatic birth in their pregnancies after loss or preterm birth. This presentation will cover the three most important roles of a provider in the facilitation of birth trauma prevention.
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Maureen Campion MS LP is a licensed psychologist and relationship expert. She specializes in the early years of parenting and building securely attached families. Through her weekly newsletter Notes from a Marriage Geek and workshops she offers inclusive, research based marriage and parenting education. She turned her personal birth trauma experience into a passion for guiding couples through their healing and is the author of Heal Your Birth Story. Find Maureen at Marriagegeek.com
While we know how joyous and beautiful birth can be, we also know that about 10-15% of women experience something traumatic at birth. Birth trauma impacts mothers, babies and those that care for them. Psychologist Maureen Campion has been offering her Healing Birth Stories workshop for 9 years and turned her professional and personal work into a book that supports women and families on their healing journey. She offers compassionate and effective tools to support both survivors and the professionals that work in this field. Come join us as we delve into the tough emotions around birth and explore our own trauma while looking at healing and transforming the stories we carry around birth.
Maternal Experience of Helplessness as a Precipitator for Traumatic Birth: Recognition & Strategies to Mitigate Helplessness and Avoid Trauma
Billie has been serving birthing families for 35 years as a mentor, breastfeeding counsellor, childbirth educator, doula, and traditional birth attendant. She is the Founder and Director of Birth Trauma Ontario, an agency that advocates on behalf of parents for universal training in trauma-informed care for all perinatal health care providers and provides training and skills development for primary and allied health care professionals. Billie authored the world's first accredited certification course for becoming a trauma-informed professional specific to caring for the perinatal client. She has devoted decades to following the research that explores issues of maternal and infant health, birthing safety, and midwifery and obstetric practices in the context of culture and structural violence. She has educated doulas, midwives, physicians, nurses, and lactation counsellors in over 120 countries. Billie has been blessed with a very full life with 7 wonderful children, several amazing in-laws, some adorable grandchildren, a couple of decades of homeschooling, and hundreds of families who invited her into their families as they welcomed their precious babies.
Throughout the world, about one-third of birthing women describe their births as “traumatic”. A significant number of these mothers will enter parenthood with symptoms of trauma, including intrusive memories, avoidance, hypervigilance, and health problems. Some will meet all the criteria for post-traumatic stress. This can impact bonding with the baby, breastfeeding, maternal mental health, physical health, dynamics within the family, and increases the potential for adverse experiences and future health concerns for the child. A traumatic experience also impacts her future birthing choices and experiences. Research identifies negative interactions with health care providers, particularly where the mother feels a sense of helplessness, as the most significant risk for a traumatic experience. This presentation examines the experiences of women to identify the key aspects of delivery-of-care that promotes a sense of helplessness. Understanding how routine elements of care can be perceived as disempowering will equip participants to implement significant changes in how care is delivered to reduce the potential for a traumatic experience for the mother.
Shannon Kane is a Registered Social Worker in Calgary, Alberta. She earned her Master's degree of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Shannon is an EMDR trained therapist, and her work is focused on using psychotherapy to support people who have experienced birth trauma and prenatal/postpartum mental health.
She has worked in the area of perinatal mental health and trauma for the past 12 years in settings including: a school for young mothers, outreach mental health, women's shelters, mental health clinics and now runs a private practice which you can find here: www.birthnarratives.ca. Shannon is passionate about supporting families during the childbearing years and keeps busy with her 2 young boys.
Psychological birth trauma is a significant mental health concern to consider when working with perinatal families. Research shows up to 45% of people report they experience some degree of psychological trauma during childbirth. We now know that having a healthy baby is not enough and in my practice I continually hear: “I was grateful and I was traumatized.” This presentation prepares practitioners to know the causes of birth trauma, the symptoms to look out for, recognize how trauma differs from depression and ideas for treatment, including information about EMDR therapy as a treatment. Resources for continued learning will be shared.
“It Was Right but so Wrong:” Helping Families Make Sense of Difficult Births with Trauma Sensitive and Prenatal and Perinatal Healing Approaches
Kate White is and award-winning craniosacral and massage therapist, prenatal and early childhood educator. She is trained in somatic therapies, prenatal and perinatal health, lactation, brain development, infant mental health, and has specialized in mother-baby dyad care using somatic prevention and trauma healing approaches for nearly 20 years. She is a mother of two children, holds a BA and MA in Communication, is a Registered Craniosacral Therapist in the Biodynamic Craniosacral method and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her work combines somatic therapy with brain development to help give families with babies and small children the best possible start. She is Founding Director of Education for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health from 2013 – 2018 where she managed a large online educational program for professionals. She currently co-directs this program, administering an online program for parents and parent professionals, runs a private practice and offers her own seminars through the Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs, ppncenter.com.
Topic: Best Practices in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Somatic Health for Optimal Birth Outcomes - [View Abstract]
Topic: Integration of the Science of Safety and Resilience into Perinatal Care: A 5 Step Process - [View Abstract]
Topic: The Science of Safety and Trauma Specific Recognition to Improve Birth Outcomes: What Does It Mean for the Midwife? - [View Abstract]
Topic: “It Was Right but so Wrong:” Helping Families Make Sense of Difficult Births with Trauma Sensitive and Prenatal and Perinatal Healing Approaches - [View Abstract]
Recent reports suggest that the percentage of mothers who experience birth trauma is much higher than previously realized. Those of us who support mothers, babies and birth know that if a mother has an overwhelming birth, it affects her perception of herself, her partner and her baby.Many women carry memories of difficult births their whole lives. This presentation will outline trauma sensitive approaches to helping families heal from difficult births using somatic or body-oriented practices as a base. Recent trends in trauma resolution will be discussed, including trauma informed care in the perinatal period, and polyvagal theory and its application for birth. A new model of obstetric care will be introduced that includes somatic trauma resolution skills, especially what it looks like to weave these tools into medical or private therapeutic practice. It will also include the baby’s experiences to complete a package of holistic trauma sensitive care for the birthing family.
