It’s that time again, folks: have you decided which conference(s) you’ll be attending this year to supplement your knowledge of perinatal issues, make new connections with professionals in your field(s) of interest and boost your motivation for the wonderful work you do? If not, then peruse the following list. If you know of a conference that should be on this list, but isn’t, PLEASE ADD THE APPROPRIATE INFORMATION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION (links to web pages too, please!)
~ Childbirth Education ~
Lamaze’s Annual Conference: Safe and healthy birth: The music of our head, heart and hands
Nashville, TN Oct 26-28
Regional Association of Childbirth Educators of Puget Sound (REACHE): Birth * Baby * Breast * Business
Mount Lake Terrace, WA March 9
Health Connect One’s Fifth Annual Conference: Leap Into Action
Learn about current federal policies that affect mothers, babies, and families, and how community health workers and community-based maternal and child health programs are impacting the field.
Arlington, VA Feb 28-29
Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association (CAPPA) Annual Conference
“Together we can build bridges for better birthing outcomes around the world”
Kansas City July 19-22
National Association of Childbirth Educators (Australia): Generation Now - the fears, the fantasy and finding the balance
Sydney, Australia October 2012
Mid-Pacific Conference on Birth and Primal Health Research: An international, interdisciplinary conference featuring speakers such as Michele Odent, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Elizabeth Davies, Ina May Gaskin, Sarah Buckley, Pablo de Queiroz Santos (obstetrician-Sao Paulo), Hiromi Inoue (obstetrician, Tokyo), Jan Tritten (editor—Midwifery Today), Vicki Penwell (midwife, “Mercy in Action, Phillipines) and many, many more…
Honolulu, HI Oct 26-28
~ Midwifery ~
Midwifery Today’s Two Annual Conferences:
1. “Midwifery: Skill, Wisdom, Culture, Love”
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA April 11–15
2. “Midwifery: Care for a Global Future”
Bad Wildbad, Germany October 17–21
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) Regional Conferences:
-
Coming into the Light (Region 5)
Tempee, AZ Feb 17-19 - Asilomar, CA Sept 27-30
American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) 57th Annual Meeting
Long Beach, CA June 2-7
Association of Radical Midwives National Meeting
Wigan, UK March 24
International Day of the Midwife
worldwide May 5
~ Doulas ~
Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association (CAPPA) Annual Conference
“Together we can build bridges for better birthing outcomes around the world”
Kansas City July 19-22
Doulas of North America (DONA) 18th Annual Conference
Cancun, Mexico
Northwest Doula Conference
Renton, WA May 8
~ Perinatal Mental Health ~
The Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health Biennial Conference: Taking Action Around Childbirth Together
Paris, France Oct 3-5
Postpartum Support International (PSI) 26th Annual Conference:
Minneapolis, MN June 19-22
~ Improving Maternity Care Research & Advocacy Groups ~
Partners in Perinatal Health 22nd Annual Conference
Norwood, MA May 15
Perinatal Advisory Council: Leadership, Advocacy & Consultation’s 16th Annual Conference: “Quality of Life for Families XIV: Improving the Outcomes of Pregnancy”
Los Angeles, CA June 6-7
~ Nursing ~
March of Dimes’ 37th Annual Perinatal Nursing Conference
Lisle, IL March 1-2
Various topic tracks will be featured at this conference, including: Public Health, High Risk Newborn, Lactation, L&D/Mother Baby. CEU’s/contact hours available for nurses and lactation consultants.
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses’ (AWHONN) Annual Convention.
36 contact hours available.
Washington DC June 23-27
~ Medical Conferences ~
American College of Gynecologists (ACOG) – 60th Annual Clinical Meeting
San Diego, CA May 5-9
American Academy of Family Physicians:
1. Congressional Conference
Washington DC May 14
2. Family Centered Maternity Care Course
Portland, OR May 8-11
~ Public Health ~
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs’ (AMCHP) Annual Conference
Washington DC Feb. 11-14
~ Lactation Support ~
International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA): Call to Action: New Perspectives in Human Lactation
Orlando, Florida July 25 – 27
To see an entire years’ worth of breastfeeding support-related conferences, go here: http://www.breastfeedingconferences.com/ (U.S. and international conferences listed)
~ Others /International~
Sociology of Reproduction Mini Conference, in conjunction with the Eastern Sociological Society’s Annual Conference
NYC Feb 23-26
**To view PDF of the Sociology of Reproduction’s Mini Conference, go here: ESS-2012-SociologyOfReproductionMiniConference.
**Multi-disciplinary conference: Breathing New Life into Maternity Care
Melbourne, Australia May 24-26
Don’t forget: If you are aware of a conference worthy of being on this list, please add the relevant information via the Comments box below…
Comments
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Sign in nowHello- I just wanted to note that the references for these articles do not work. I’m very interested in looking at the articles and would appreciate an active link.
Thanks!
Dear Ms. Turner-lee:
Thank you so much for your comments. Racial disparties in the health field are huge and will continue to be until cultural competency is widely spread throughout the medical community. So many preconcieved ideas, thoughts, sterotypes exist that it is amazing that healthy babies, youth, adults and pregnant women even exist..My daughter, who is African American, had health insurance, prenatal care, and education, and a job; the medical staff INSISTED that she be induced… even though she protested and did everything BUT walk out. ( the reason she didn’t walk out, I can only imagine is because we in this cultural-are taught that doctors know best,… so we disregard our own instincts and most times subcum to their pressure.. My daughter was obviously struggling with what to do and when I asked her if she trusted her doctor, ( an African American woman) she said yes…then I asked “so what’s wrong?”… she said ” I just don’t like their attitude”….
Racism is alive and well in the medical institution as well as permeating all the other institutions here.
My daughter reluctantly agreed ( certainly NOT informed consent) to being induced with cytotec. Ten hours later both my daughter and granddaugher were dead. She is not the only case like this I am positive.
Thank you for your comments and insight…. hopefully the medical profession is listening…
Dear Ms. Oden,
I am SO sorry for your loss! This is a tragedy indeed. I could say many things but I think your story speaks volumes for itself. Again, so sorry for your loss and yes, let’s hope the medical community is listening.
Darline Turner-Lee
[...] tomorrow’s final post in this series, I will suggest federal, state and institutional level policies which [...]
[...] occurring between 37 and 40 weeks (Flam, 2011). This topic was discussed heavily in last week’s series by Christine Morton and Kathleen Pine. This step, championed by the local March of Dimes chapter, [...]
I am a mother of 2 and have had two c-sections. The first in 2002 was an emergency section due to a placental abruption. Everything was fine after this then I had another c-section in 2007. I had a drain fitted after for a few days then after release from hospital I got an infection in my scar so had to go back in. After the section I was told there was a lot of scar tissue and if I had another section it would have to be done at 37 weeks to avoid any complications. After this there was a small hole left in the scar which bled with every cycle. After 10 months of this I finally had an operation in which they said they had found quite a lot of endometriotic tissue which they removed. Everything was fine for a couple of years then started to get pain in my scar. I went to the doctor and she referred me to a gynaecologist. I had a tissue scan which showed where the blood was apparently leaking from and where it was pooling. I was told that I could have surgery but advised against it because it would most probably come back, so at the moment I am running my Microgynon packs through and having a period every 3 months so I don’t get the pain as often and was told to take some Ibuprofen to ease the pain. Also, when I do get my period I only bleed for about a day and then nothing, but have the pain for about a week. I’m not sure if I should just carry on like this or try having keyhole surgery as I read this is the best way to get rid of the tissue. I haven’t had this done before because my scar was cut open in the last surgery.
Its great to read other stories and know that I’m not the only one suffering since a c-section! Any advice would be great thank you.
I am not a doctor or midwife, so I cannot give you specific advice, but I can tell you that the authors of all the medical journal articles I have read on cesarean scar endometriosis (also called “endometrioma”) agree that the only curative treatment is wide excision of the endometriotic tissue. Whether that can be done as a “keyhole” surgery is a question for your ob/gyn.
I always speak about baby blues and PPD in my prenatal classes where we discuss the need for good supports. Thanks for the websites…this is tremendous. We are hoping to start a PPD support group here and this will be a great resource.
In my discussions, we always discuss supports and attachment. We talk about birth as a continuum, not an event. And I am trauma informed, so my work reflects that–which I think cannot be over estimated!
There is PLENTY of room for improvement in my curriculum since I hardly acknowlege the possibility of postpartum depression prenatally except when discussing placenta encapsulation (which I do not personally offer). Talking about placentophagy with couples these past few years has been a way to discuss the hormonal changes and energy needs of new mothers and to reflect with them about the needs of some mamas for additional “nourishment” (emotionally, physically and spiritually) in the postpartum period. I think this has been my indirect way to approaching the subject and I’ll look forward to reading contributions from those of you who do this more directly! One aspect I do treat with more diligence (and may contribute overall to less problems for mamas)is what I call “who does what”. We review with detail who walks the dog, services the car, makes the appointments, takes out the trash, picks up the drycleaning, shops for food/housewares/gifts, and all the other gotta do’s of life NOW and then we anticipate that with the new baby there is going to be a redistribution of getting them done! A nice practical conversation begun during class with me then becomes their homework. Obviously this isn’t a panacea for the myriad reasons a women may feel overwhelmed or sad but it definitely reflects my reality as a mother whose husband traveled over half the time. I suppose we teach what we have lived no?
Also, like most experienced educators I have my “go to” list of local professionals if a family asks for help. I suppose my strength lies in “being there” for families in the days and weeks after the birth via visits, phone calls and emails. Mothers-to-be whose births I will be attending, come to my home in the final two months of pregnancy to form community with the other women who have already birthed. These mother baby gatherings occur every month and there is always time before and after the multi hour visit for a mama to approach me privately with a concern.If someone doesn’t attend then I call to find out why! I may not have the training of a psychologist but she has the confidence of knowing a very loving, experienced and interested person is listening. Finally, I can’t help but wonder if having experienced safe and respectful birth hasn’t gone a loooonng way in reducing the incidence of PPD in the women I have worked with over the years. Certainly I have never in 800 births had anyone who suffered post traumatic stress syndrome! That alone has to have reduced the number of PPD. Even as I write this short contribution I am reminded of the woman with whom I have nearly daily contact (since late November) whose baby died at 2 months. I was the doula for her first baby but was not available to accompany her for the recent birth. When her daughter died though, she wrote me immediately and called. Perhaps “mental health” wasn’t listed on the curriculum guide but the discussions, anectodal stories, and underlying belief system…you are important, you’re baby needs you whole, you may need additional support to meet this new lifestyle….contribute to forming a safety net what mother’s will seek when they need it. Certainly a baby’s death put her at risk of becoming seriously depressed and despondent and so far she is coping in healthy ways.
Joni,
I really value your input, with your lengthy experience attending births, as a mother, and a birth professional working in a different setting (Mexico) than many readers of this blog site. The personal contact you describe both before and after a woman’s birth is HUGE in supporting her emotionally–and creates a bridge that is easier to walk across if/when she needs extra support.
Your discussion in class of the “who does what” is an excellent suggestion, and likely one that many first time expectant couples don’t recognize the need for. It is hard to explain to expectant parents all the ways life will change following baby’s arrival–implementing these types of conversations is so fruitful and hopefully just a starting point for couples to springboard off of.
Thank you for sharing!
@Snorkel
Um… no, it is NOT “clutching at straws” … it is factual to identify flaws in any study and consider them for what they are. Henci simply states that there IS the possibility of perinatal deaths due to congenital anomalies, which were NOT excluded in any setting.
Furthermore, we actually can not conclude (from the home birth transfer data) that poor perinatal outcomes after a home birth transport are a direct result of PLANNING a birth at home or beginning labor there. Risking women OUT of labor & birth and home is the entire point! We move to a higher level of care to safeguard the mother and baby. That doesn’t remove the risk as it then exists for that mother and her baby.
A midwife, for example, might identify fetal stress/distress during the course of labor and transport the mother appropriately, risking her out from further laboring/birth at home. That stress/distress event is not necessarily the CAUSAL factor in the actual outcome however. As we all know… some depressed babies will still do well, needing only close monitoring but require few other interventions and result in a healthy birth and baby; while others, despite closer monitoring and necessary interventions will continue to spiral precariously downward, requiring cesarean delivery to potentially safeguard their health (although C-sec does not guarantee a live, healthy baby is ANY circumstance)…
My point is… just because a home birth TRANSPORT OUTCOME ends in a perinatal morbidity or mortality does not MEAN that the DECISION to plan a home birth and begin labor at home is CAUSAL in the OUTCOME. If that were the case, then we could suggest we transport healthy, low risk, planned hospital birthing women to a birth center or home to birth and still use the same rationale “the decision and plan to birth in hospital” as CAUSAL in those hypothetical outcomes.
I believe that it is a serious FLAW in the study to base the OUTCOME of transports on the PLAN and ONSET of labor LOCATION as CAUSAL. You really can’t prove that.
Hello Henci, could you clarify the grammar in one of the sentences of this article? It is: “Confidence intervals overlapped, which means that differences were not statistically significant, i.e. unlikely to be due to chance.”
Does that mean differences WERE or WERE NOT “unlikely to be due to chance”? I was confused and this seemed important. Thanks!
Here’s a few more on this website http://mana.org/conf.html:
MANA Region 5: Feb 17-19 in Phoenix, AZ
MANA 2012: Sept 27-30 in Asilomar, CA
Int’l Breech Conference: Nov 9-11 in Wash DC
Thanks for the summary of Beck’s study and profound description of this alarming experience for women and families.
Dear Madam
I am a father form India. my wife underwent c section yesterday. i want mext birth vaginally naturaly. what precautions should my wife take for the same. how can we strngthen the uterus scar. also what information should i take from my doc right now hich shall be useful for future VBAC. thanking u in anticipation
Thank you, Annie. Your comment truly speaks to the value of qualitative research to give a woman’s experience voice in research. This is what Cheryl Beck has masterfully offered to the quantitative data on all perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Take care, Walker
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Thanks for sharing this research, Walker. I’m looking forward to reading the interview. It is encouraging to see qualitative studies on PPD. It’s kind of like counting the grains of sand that buried us, but it’s heartening, just the same. There’s solace (not just strength) in numbers.
Yes. Women know those grains of sand buried within. And we have knowing of the essence of the experience of them in others–this is where qualitative research feels like a gasp of air, an urgent inhale of reality while we all swim around in this ocean of quantitative science telling us about us! Measuring, counting, tabulating experiences… Empirical, quantitative science is the host for the majority of conversations about women’s bodies, and I often feel we assimilate just to survive, be heard, or earn a living.
I am so happy that women like Cheryl Beck have reached across the numbers and included, pragmatically, the voices of women in the research about the women.
Sorry about the double negative. “Statistically significant” means that a probability calculation shows that the difference between groups was unlikely to be due to chance. The difference in mortality rates was *not* statistically significant, which means it may have been due to chance. The thing with calculations of statistical significance, though, is that they never rule in or rule out chance absolutely. They just quantify how likely or unlikely it is that chance caused the difference.
wow, awesome blog article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Hi Walker – Lovely review of Cheryl Beck’s qualitative research (I love qualitative research!). And looking way forward to your interveiw with Ms. Beck! thanks for keeping us posted!
Thank you, Walker, for this fine synopsis of Cheryl Beck’s first groundbreaking study of Postpartum Depression. Women’s words are extremely powerful in conveying the true meaning of their lived experiences. It’s interesting that when one woman’s words reach others who are going through something similar, they can be comforted to realize they are not alone and to begin healing by reaching out to others. And care providers who read their words with an open heart and mind will bring wisdom and empathy into their practices.
Here’s to the Queen of Qualitative Research, Cheryl Beck!
Thanks for your interviews Walker, introducing Cheryl to LI community is so appreciated. I hope I get to meet her in person someday! Looking forward to #3.
Hi Annie,
I was so struck by her insight that prevalence rates for PTSD could be as high as 18%. And the universal presentation and incidence globally while not shocking, is a good reminder of how desperately we need to prevent, screen, and treat PTSD following childbirth.
Walker and Cheryl, thank you for this fascinating and informative interview series.
With regard to PTSD: why are we not regarding transvaginal ultrasound as an aggravator? Word on the street is that women hate this; the device is like – excuse me – a dildo on a gun. Yet nobody’s taking feedback from patients. They’re told, ‘It’s best for your baby’ (despite lack of evidence. We should be adapting the technology to the patients, not forcing the patients to accept the technology. This is a form of institutional rape & has got to go. http://vaginal-ultrasound.com/
Such a great piece,Darlene.
History is an invaluable component to deeper understanding. The treatments of Silas Weir Mitchell dominated mental health as well. Confinement became the core theme in Foucault’s post positivist work on madness. Clearly there are so many links…thanks for a great article.
Thank you for this interview and clarification of the screening roles. I was quite concerned about the blurring of roles in this matter. I use EMDR for release of birth trauma, it is an evidence based psychotherapeutic method for PSTD and other trauma used by the Department of Defense for veterans and also endorsed by the Israeli and Irish governments.
Great article with many links and implications. Yes, why are women confined? A rhetorical question on my part and one with many levels.
Great feedback from all. Thank you. While I can’t speak for Cheryl, from my own experience, I agree completely with you Dr. Hikel regarding the intrusive nature of the transvag US. Particularly for women with hx of CSA–the mixed messages are so confusing and the emotional outcome deleterious.
Kathy, thank you for your input. I am hoping to bring an article/interview with Phyllis Klaus regarding her work with EMDR and birth trauma as well. Thank you for sharing your use as well. And I hear your concern regarding the blurring of roles and screening. I really appreciate Cheryl’s clarity, and hope we all engage in ongoing conversations about screening and prevention.
Tomorrow Cheryl shares about doing research (my favorite part) and it is so interesting. Hope you enjoy it.
we really do not have much to offer in terms of treatment for preterm labor, preeclampsia, vaginal bleeding, etc and so providers can feel that at least they are doing something, right!?
In researching this topic, it was amazing to see that there really is little to no scientific backing for bed rest. Pretty darn amazing given that 3/4 of a million are prescribed a baseless prescription annually! But like Judith has said, it may be that providers need to feel like they are doing something. But the NEED to feel like you are doing something and actually DOING something (i.e. effecting change and creating a positive outcome) are two very different things. Although the road is slow, there is research being done and hopefully more evidence based treatments for high risk pregnancy complications will be implemented in the near future.
This is a very interesting topic and I think the discussion will only increase as more women choose to delay parenting to concentrate on careers. As women rightfully gain more equal rights in the workplace, although this is a slow process, childbirth will be delayed. It’s positive to see that studies are being undertaken, so we can analyse the risks involved and avoid heartbreaking situations like miscarriage. However, we should take into account the circumstances of each study and analyse the merits of their findings. Some researchers may have predetermined ideas that they wish to portray through their data and that is something we should be wary of.
FYI: recent article. Women with preterm premature rupture of the membranes do not benefit from weekly progesterone
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002937810010252
“data included in the study suggests a higher neonatal death rate (for both home and hospital births) compared to perinatal death rates. This, of course, is not possible as neonatal deaths ought to be included in the perinatal death numbers—therefore the data here are paradoxical in nature.”
Isn’t the definition of “neonatal death” a death occurring in the first month whereas “perinatal death” is death in the first week? If so, the neonatal numbers would be higher than or equal to the perinatal numbers and this isn’t paradoxical at all.
Another excellent prenatal yoga teacher program is Karen Prior’s Mamaste Yoga!
@Carla Harless Yes, she does have a good program. It was one of the ones I looked into when I was looking to take my prenatal teacher training.
Useful to know. Thanks for posting.
Not really interested in Yoga…but exercise is nice.
[...] Part 1 we talked about how to help your client choose a prenatal yoga class; in Part 2, we will look at [...]
I have taken yoga classes and weight training classes when pregnant, and I really think that the weight training helped me more than the yoga. Maybe it’s just because I’m not as into yoga. I think that learning to relax while lifting weights and working all of those muscles really helped me have a fast and relaxed first birth experience. I’m sure the yoga didn’t hurt, though!
Thank you for talking about Yoga and Lamaze together. They are so complementary. I have only been practicing faithfully for a year myself but have had almost a complete relief from two years of joint pain so I am personally convinced about the benefits of Yoga. These articles gave me some resources and some ideas for incorporating yoga principles with Lamaze principles. I hope as my childbirth business expands I am able to offer my clients prenatal yoga as well. I will guide some of my wonderful yoga instructors to your recommendations for prenatal certification.
Yoga classes should include asana (physical postures) that are weight bearing. Warrior (standing lunges) are weight bearing, Downward Dog, bears weight on your hands, etc. So, a good prenatal yoga class should include all – physical, breathing and meditation/relaxation.
Strength training is very helpful as well, pregnant or not.
Ah, I didn’t recommend the programs above. I apologize if my intentions were unclear. I gave them as examples of the variety of duration and quality of programs that are out there. An online at home program is, in my opinion, totally inappropriate and vastly insufficient. There’s no hands on training, with a hands on practice.
A 12 hour weekend program vs. an 85 hr Yoga Alliance program? What’s missing in the 12 hour program? Hours aren’t the only factor, though. Look at the course content too.
To your other points, yes, Yoga and Lamaze are very complimentary. I’m most of the way through a philosphical discourse on the subject on my own blog http://www.shininglightprenatal.com/2011/07/04/integrating-yoga-and-lamaze-how-the-ethical-practice-of-the-yamas-and-niyamas-relate-to-pregnancy-and-childbirth-%E2%80%93-a-bit-of-background/
I kept up my regular yoga practice throughout my last pregnancy and I know it made a difference for me. I strongly recommend yoga practice to my clients and I recommend a few yoga-based breathing exercises to do at home, too.
There is so evidence to support the use of mindbody therapies! If mindbody therapies were a drug, we would be inundated with TV ads about them! Thanks for sharing this info abt yoga and perinatal health.