Pregnancy, Labour & Childbirth Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Acupressure is the application of pressure to acupuncture points. It originates in ancient traditional Chinese medicine, based on the concept of meridians or channels carrying QI , or energy, throughout the body. In good health Qi moves smoothly, through the channels, however excess, deficiency or blockage of Qi may cause pain and illness.

Acupressure is used as a technique for unblocking these occlusions, and restore good health. The stimulation of these points has effects on blood flow to the uterus, cervical dilatation movement of the baby, release of endorphins and oxytocin helping the mother to relax, promoting physical and emotional wellbeing. Acupressure can be used from 37 weeks to encourage beneficial hormonal responses for labour preparation and encourage the baby to move into an optimal position. Learn more about the results of recent research on the use of acupressure during labour and delivery and how acupressure can be incorporated into your care of clients.

A certificate in midwifery acupuncture has been available in New Zealand since 2007. This short course was specifically developed for midwives and run through an acupuncture school. Midwives successfully completing this qualification receive elective education points and may incorporate acupuncture into their midwifery practice. In June 2008, a maternity acupuncture service began operating within the Hutt Valley Hospital outpatient department, offering women access to free acupuncture care for pregnancy and postpartum period. This was the first and, to date, the only clinic of this type within a New Zealand hospital. This clinic is also run through The New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, with fourth year students providing treatment under supervision. This presentation reports on how acupuncture is used by the New Zealand midwives and in this outpatient’s clinic. It will also cover the current evidence base for acupuncture in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

ADHD impacts 1/30 females, and stimulants are among the most commonly prescribed medications during pregnancy, with an estimated 1% exposure prevalence. Research on ADHD and pregnancy is emerging and imperfect but shows that there are risks to the birther and fetus. Midwives need to be aware of the impacts of ADHD on pregnancy, and the risks and benefits of medication during pregnancy and lactation. Midwives, particularly those working in the continuity of care model, are well positioned to offer education and referrals regarding non-pharmaceutical supports and strategies for managing ADHD in pregnancy.

Attendees will come to understand the underlying physiology behind antenatal surveillance methods, including non-stress testing, biophysical profiling, amniotic fluid assessment, and fetal Doppler velocimetry. Many pregnant families have difficulty understanding the nature of antenatal fetal surveillance, and have even more challenge deciphering the results. This lecture will help practitioners effectively counsel pregnant patients on result interpretation and provide tools to help families make educated decisions based on the antenatal fetal surveillance results.

Beneath the surface of every labor and delivery room interaction between physicians, nurses, and patients (as well as their partners) vibrate the pressures of power. Who is in charge? Regardless of the stated beliefs or legal truth about who IS in charge, the dance between the characters in the labor room often plays out archetypally. Archetypes are a recurrent symbol or motif found in literature, art, or mythology that live within the unconscious influencing how individuals behave, think, and feel. While many archetypal energies are possible during labor, the dominant archetypal energies active in a labor room tend to vacillate between that of Caretaker, Orphan, Ruler, Hero, Innocent, and Warrior. Nurses, often drawn to the career to help others, connect with the Caretaker archetype. However, due in part to hierarchical structures within the hospital setting, nurses can be left feeling unseen, undervalued, or powerless activating the Orphan archetype. Comparable patterns can be observed in obstetricians with the Ruler and Hero and in parents with the Innocent and Warrior archetypes. Without consciousness of the power dynamics between these archetypal energies, satisfaction in both the process and outcome is often fleeting for parents and can lead to burnout in professionals. Greater understanding of the needs of each activated archetype provides individuals needed guidance in how to better navigate labor room power dynamics and why doing so matters profoundly.

For health care officials aromatherapy is becoming a tool many clients and patients are relying on, learn what can be used to support clients and patients safely. Often with any sudden popularity with a modality unsafe practices can be found and safe information needs to be available to health practitioners. Learn what essential oils and aromatherapy is and how you can explore the health benefits of this modality with your clients.

There is growing evidence that fear of childbirth (FOC) is an issue of importance for women’s emotional and psychological well-being. For some women symptoms are severe and disabling. A previous traumatic birth experience, sexual abuse, and traumatic childbirth stories of others and media may contribute to fear of giving birth.

Fear of childbirth has negative implications for women’s experiences of pregnancy and birth including longer labour, increased likelihood of augmentation of labour, emergency caesarean section, and elective caesarean section.

Access to services for women with fear of childbirth appears to be inequitable and various approaches and interventions are used. Assessment tools are available and readily implemented in practice to identify women fearful of childbirth and the severity of fear feelings, however a trauma informed approach to talking with fearful women is essential to discover the factors related to the fear and the commencement of a therapeutic relationship.

There is some evidence about interventions to help women fearful of childbirth. The webinar will assist midwives and nurses working in maternity know how to respond to fearful women and provide practical information about what to do, what to say and what not to say to support women experiencing fear of childbirth.

Parental-foetal attachment is the emotional attachment between an expectant parent and their foetus and is a complex concept. Midwives have a vital role in promoting parental-foetal attachment. The presentation will outline the importance of promoting parental-foetal attachment and how expectant parents can connect with their babies in utero. This presentation will discuss how expectant parents have been supported during the pandemic to manage their fear, anxiety and stress, parental and partner separation.

It will conclude with the use of the items of antenatal attachment scales to discuss and suggest ways of promoting antenatal attachment to expectant parents. By collaboratively working between midwives, midwives can identify those that may be at risk of poor parental-foetal attachment, and ensure that coordinated, consistent and seamless care is provided for these families.

Normal birth has been plagued for 67 years by attempts to make it shorter based on arbitrary timelines. A systematic review of cervical patterns of low risk women have called into question the universal application of clinical standards based on an expectation of linear labour progress in all women. The WHO has affirmed that Friedman’s Curve of 1954-55 and the one centimetre an hour dilation threshold should no longer be used to identify adverse outcomes, as it is not evidence-based.

Now, in the era of fear of vaginal breech, attempts to gauge the safe length of second stage in vaginal breech is based on research in hospitals where induction and augmentation are widely used and the amount of time permitted for second stage has already been artificially cut off by assumptive hospital protocols.

The largest sample of upright vaginal breech birth (UVBB) to date was done in a Frankfurt hospital that uses protocols that do not arbitrarily limit second stage but nevertheless produce good outcomes. This suggests that hospitals that use very strict timelines may be producing a self-fulfilling prophecy of what is “normal” that imposes time limits not necessarily required to keep birth safe. Manoeuvres used to rectify problems, such as fundal pressure and “the Crowning Touch” will be demonstrated at this presentation—with their indications based on the failure of the physiological cardinal movements of the breech to transpire after several contractions, or when concerns about the fetal condition or maternal stamina arise. Reviewing problems with how proposed timelines in the breech have been developed and their shortcomings, it will be argued that focus should be on the condition of the fetus and mother rather than the clock.

Becoming a parent is a process of profound maturation, one that requires expectant parents to grow into decision-makers for their growing families. Teachers and experts in the childbirth and parenting fields naturally want to share their hard-earned wisdom with expectant parents. However, doing so without awareness may be unwittingly reinforcing the idea for new parents, that experts “out there” hold the knowledge needed to be make decisions in the best interest of their growing family. This effectively keeps expectant parents in the energetic position of the child (the one who receives guidance) rather than supporting them to grow into the position of the parent (the one who makes decisions and acts). If we want to help the expectant parents grow into autonomous and self-guided parents, educators must practice in such a way that inspires the growth needed in the parent rather than simply fill them with information. Flipping from the authority of teacher and expert to mentor or guide, reduces the hierarchical nature of the relationship and can help awaken the inner authority of the parent-to-be. Understanding this dynamic along with a few basic tools can help you better support your clients as they stretch into parenthood.