Birth Advocacy Online Course(s) & Continuing Education
Access the latest clinical skills and research for Birth Advocacy for MIDWIFERY professional training. These Birth Advocacy online courses provide practice-changing skills and valuable perspectives from leading global experts. This Birth Advocacy education has been accredited for a variety of CEUs / CERPs and can be accessed on-demand, at your own pace.
Conscious Caregiving Transforms the World
Whapio has been an Independent Midwife and Educator since 1985. In 2001, she founded The Matrona to provide an entry-level Holistic Midwifery program for aspiring midwives. In 2005, The Matrona became a non-profit organization dedicated to providing accessible and affordable birthing wisdom to midwives and birth workers, especially in Mexico and other Latin countries. Currently, The Matrona offers an Accessible Doula Program in the US and Mexico whereby doulas are certified and return to their communities to assist families.The Matrona also offers an online Holistic Midwifery Program.
Whapio speaks frequently and passionately about the consciousness of birth.
"Consciousness is the missing element in caregiving that could really raise the bar...understanding the conscious aspect of birth and subsequently responding to the desires of what women and families want.
I believe if we made consciousness a priority many of the unnecessary and archaic practices that endanger a woman's body and soul would naturally fall away. More women and families would have empowering and satisfying experiences and this will be the blueprint through which we transform the earth through birth."
We will view birth through the lens of a physiological and transformative event that is satisfying and empowering rather than a painful ordeal that must be endured. More and more women are aware of the transformative potential of their births and are showing up. They are now looking for caregivers...doulas, doctors, midwives, nurses...who can accompany them, witness them and not interfere. They are seeking deeply connected conscious caregivers.
We will focus on 4 salient points:
1. Women do not give birth in 'ordinary consciousness' but rather in a deeper and authentic state of consciousness that expands their perspective.
2. What is that deeper state of consciousness, how can we language it, how can we get there and be in tandem with women rather then need to manage them?
3. All women have instinctual responses to their births, whether they access them or not. They much appreciate being validated, trusted and not disturbed in acting on their instinctual responses.
4. How can we as caregivers trust birth, trust women and trust ourselves to validate a woman's instincts and nurture and facilitate her to unfold these responses?
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Fighting for Normal Birth in an Alternative Facts, Post Truth World
Hannah Dahlen is a Professor of Midwifery in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). She is also the Higher Degree Research Director. Hannah has had national and international success with grants. Hannah has published more than 120 papers and has given papers at over 500 conferences and seminars with half of these being invited keynote addresses. Hannah has strong international collaborations. She is co-founder of the international research collaboration EPIC (Epigenetic Impact of Childbirth). In November 2012 she was named in the Sydney Morning Herald’s list of 100 “people who change our city for the better”. She was named as one of the leading “science and knowledge thinkers” for 2012 due to her research and public profile. Hannah has a strong profile in the profession of midwifery. She is a past National President of the Australian College of Midwives and she sits on several peak National and State committees. Hannah currently supervises 11 higher degree students, mostly investigating women’s birth choices. Hannah is an endorsed Eligible Midwife working in a private midwifery group practice Midwives@Sydney and Beyond in NSW.
In this presentation the current state of normal birth around the world will be described and the backlash and politics around the issue explored. The long and short term benefits will be reported along with new emerging research on the issue. Key strategies for optimizing normal birth both in a practical and political sense will be discussed.
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Midwifing the Midwife: Key Elements to Scaling Up and Sustaining our Workforce
Dr. Breedlove is a past president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. In 2017 she formed a consulting company, Grow Midwives LLC, to educate Physicians and Hospitals and support Midwives in the design and scaling of best practices in collaborative care models. Prior to consulting she was on faculty 17 years as Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Shenandoah University and University of Kansas School of Nursing. She co-founded the first free-standing birthing center in Topeka, Kansas in 1979, the first Midwife service in Kansas City, Missouri in 1994, and established the University of KS Midwifery program in 1999. In 2016 she co-founded March for Moms with Dr. Neel Shah and has served as President three years. March for Moms is a new non-profit organization working to align and coordinate the efforts of families, healthcare providers, policymakers and other partners acting to achieve the best possible health and well-being of all mothers. In 2019 over 40 stakeholders joined for the third national rally on the Washington DC Mall. In 2018 Dr. Breedlove edited and launched a book for first-time parents navigating the first six weeks of pregnancy titled, Nobody Told Me About That!
Topic: Postpartum Pause: Identifying Gaps In Preparedness for Parenting - [View Abstract]
Barriers to accessible, affordable and respectful midwifery practice exist in every country. These barriers inevitably reduce the ability for midwives to provide their full scope of care and can impact the scaling up or sustainability of the workforce. Barriers range from pay inequity to lack of recognition, to regulatory practice barriers and poor reimbursement for services. Regardless of the contributing barrier, there are fundamental steps that can be strategically planned to advance change. Although midwives may lead the call for change, purposeful planning is the focus of this presentation. Have you documented a current, compelling story about why – what is the issue and why is it important? What barriers are the most pressing, and, what can you bring forward as a proposed solution? Who are your supporters on the side that perhaps should be promoted as front and center advocates? Do you know how to organize an effective public advocacy movement? Are you skilled in the art of negotiation – getting everyone to YES? This presentation aims to guide midwives to critically evaluate the process of self-preparedness in order to scale up and sustain the profession. Information to "midwife the midwife" beyond clinical expertise toward a voice and champion for change.
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Cristen Pascucci is an advocate for human rights in childbirth. She is the founder of Birth Monopoly and working on a documentary film exposing the epidemic of obstetric violence and the state-sanctioned suppression of midwifery in the U.S. With a background in public affairs, Cristen has led multiple consumer-based advocacy campaigns to get birth trauma and institutional mistreatment in maternity care into the media. Today she teaches birth and healthcare workers about their patients' human rights.
In this session, we'll explore a deeper understanding of what obstetric violence is and the many ways it manifests to undermine and harm birthing people—as well as puts their caregivers and support teams in compromising positions. We'll discuss how birth professionals can avoid committing or contributing to obstetric violence themselves and how they can help make trauma informed care--including self-healing--the industry standard.
The Ethics & Realities of Forced Cesarean Surgery
Jen Kamel is a VBAC strategist, national speaker, and founder of VBAC Facts®. VBAC Facts was born out of her own frustration as a cesarean parent attempting to understand the medical literature and political barriers surrounding VBAC. Her mission is to increase VBAC access through educational programs, legislative action, and amplifying the consumer voice. She envisions a time when every pregnant person seeking VBAC has access to unbiased information, respectful providers, and community support so they can plan the joyful birth of their choosing in the setting they desire. She travels the country presenting her signature program, “The Truth About VBAC” and speaking at various regional and national conferences, including Human Rights in Childbirth, DONA International, and the Indiana Midwives Association. She has testified multiple times in front of the California Medical Board on the importance of VBAC access and is a board member for the California Association of Midwives.
Are women forced into cesarean surgery? How is this possible? When does it happen? Why does it occur? And what do forced/coerced cesareans really look like? This session will explore the extreme disconnect between medical evidence, national guidelines, ethical responsibilities and the current maternity care system. We will focus on the role of hospital “VBAC bans” which restrict access to vaginal birth after cesarean and mandate repeat cesarean as well as the public health fallout of such policies. We will review how forced cesareans can occur in the face of national guidelines that denounce them while professional ethics simultaneously affirm and honor the autonomy of the pregnant person. Finally we will close with how we can turn the tide, create change, and improve the care our clients and children will ultimately receive.
