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Share Your Favorite 2013 Birth Conferences with Science & Sensibility

January 16th, 2013 by avatar
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flic.kr/p/dnHK6S

Science & Sensibility is in the process of compiling a comprehensive calendar of all the 2013 conferences that might be of interest to our wide variety of readers and we want your input.  Do you belong to an organization that is having a conference in 2013? Do you have a favorite conference that you look forward to attending year after year?  Is there a dream conference that you have always wanted to attend that you think our blog readers might like to know about?

I love to attend conferences, (Lamaze International’s is one of my very favorites) and love to read through all my choices every year. I also know that obtaining contact hours and hearing the newest information, brought to me by leaders in maternity care topics is essential to being current and up to date.  Also, it energizes me to be with others who share my professional interests.

If you would like your organization’s conference to be considered for inclusion in our conference calendar of items of interest to birth professionals of all sorts, please send an email to  me with the information listed below.

Yes!  I have a conference you should know about!

http://flic.kr/p/anMSAM

Please send an email to Sharon Muza, S&S Community Manager, with the following information (or as much of it as you have) if you have a recommendation for a 2013 conference to be included in Science & Sensibility’s comprehensive list.

Organization Name

Organization Website

Conference Date

Conference Location (City and State)

Conference Title (if known)

Other information you feel is important

Deadline for submission is Friday, January 24th, 2013.

Childbirth Education, Conference Schedule, Continuing Education, Lamaze Annual Confernce, Lamaze International, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Top Ten Reasons to Become a Member and Join Lamaze International Now!

January 3rd, 2013 by avatar
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Did you know that Lamaze International membership runs with the calendar year?  Did you remember to renew your membership at the end of 2012, or did it get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, along with your normal everyday juggle of work, family and self-care?  Have you considered becoming a Lamaze International member but never followed through or were unsure of how it benefits you?  I would like to take a few minutes to share my “Top 10 List” of why it is simply wonderful to be a Lamaze International member, and how I benefit financially and professionally from my membership every day.

1. Supporting the Lamaze International Mission

The mission of Lamaze International is to promote, support and protect natural, safe and healthy birth through education and advocacy through the dedicated efforts of professional childbirth educators, providers and parents.

I am a childbirth professional, working with birthing families, new doulas and new childbirth educators.  I find that Lamaze’s mission aligns so well with my own, and how I create my classes and work with families and birth professionals.  I am proud to say that I am a member of Lamaze and an LCCE.  I think that many of today’s families and birth professionals can also respect and relate to Lamaze’s mission and find that their values are in sync with what Lamaze offers to the maternity world.  Your membership dollars, combined with other members’ financial support help Lamaze to fulfill this very important mission.

2. Journal of Perinatal Education

The Journal of Perinatal Education (JPE) is a quarterly journal mailed to the home of all Lamaze members and is  filled with relevant, current research that can change the way you teach or practice.  The JPE offers you insights into current maternity trends, access to in-depth articles and the opportunity to learn from international experts.  The JPE is read by childbirth educators, doulas, midwives, RNs, Doctors, Lactation Counselors and other professionals. Additionally, as a Lamaze member, you have access to back issues of the JPE online.

3. FedEx Office Discounts

Being a member of Lamaze International allows you to receive a FedEx Office (Kinko’s) discount that has the opportunity to provide you with significant savings.  All of the discounted services that you can receive at the FedEx Office store along with online discounts have the potential to save you more money than your membership costs.  I am amazed at the level of savings on some of the products and services I use for my business printing and shipping needs.

4. Reduced Fees for Lamaze Products and Events

As a member of Lamaze, you receive member discounts when you register for the annual conference, continuing education contact hours, purchase the Study Guide and other Lamaze materials in the Online Education Store, certification materials and test fees for your LCCE or when you recertify for your LCCE.

5. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care Journal Discounts

Birth is published quarterly and Lamaze members receive a 50% discount on both the hard copy journal and the online journal. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care is a multidisciplinary, refereed journal devoted to issues and practices in the care of childbearing women, infants, and families. It is written by and for professionals in maternal and neonatal health, nurses, midwives, physicians, public health workers, doulas, psychologists, social scientists, childbirth educators, lactation counselors, epidemiologists, and other health caregivers and policymakers in perinatal care.

6. Your Lamaze Classes Listed on Lamaze Website

If you are a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and a current Lamaze member, your childbirth classes can be listed on the Lamaze International website for parents, in the “Find a Lamaze Childbirth Class” section so that those families looking for a childbirth class can locate your offerings. Increase your class enrollment with this members only benefit.

7. Full Cochrane Library Access

Lamaze International members have full access to the Cochrane Library, a collection of databases containing independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.  The Cochrane Library is considered the gold standard of evidence based information and if you are looking for the most up-to-date research on topics relevant to obstetrics and maternity care, breastfeeding and newborn issues, this is the ideal place to find the information you are looking for.

8. Lamaze Forums and Community

As a Lamaze International member, you have member access to our professional forums, on-line communities and discussion groups, where you can share teaching ideas, learn how your peers feel and respond to different topics of interest and collaborate with professionals around the world, from the comfort of your own home or office.

9. Members Only Teaching Resources

When you join Lamaze International, you are provided access to teaching handouts and resources to share with your students, and a variety of class-enriching resources to make your course more relevant, useful and informative to the families that you are working with.

10. Supporting Lamaze Improves Maternity Care Worldwide

LCCEs attend the DONA Conference
Photo Credit HeatherGail Lovejoy

When you purchase a Lamaze membership, Lamaze International can pool your dollars with other members’ dollars and use some of this income to support other organizations that are leading the way in changing maternity care around the world for the better.  Lamaze International supports and collaborates with the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) and others.  Additionally, Lamaze can send personnel to international conferences to represent Lamaze International, create networking opportunities for all of us, collaborate with other maternity leaders and further work to fulfill the mission of Lamaze International and improve birth for women everywhere.

Where else can a membership that costs only $115 ( or less, depending on your country of residence) produce such tangible benefits and savings for you and combine with other membership funds to improve maternity care world-wide?  I am proud and excited to renew my Lamaze International membership every year and invite you to renew yours, if you haven’t already.  If you are not a member of Lamaze, then now is the time to join, so that you can reap the professional benefits for the full calendar year.  For a full list of member benefits , please see the member benefits page on the website. Don’t hesitate, join or renew now!

Can you share how being a Lamaze International member has benefited you? Why are YOU a Lamaze member?  Tell us what it means to you in the comments section.

Journal of Perinatal Education, Lamaze International, Maternal Quality Improvement, Maternity Care, Push for Your Baby , , , , , , , , ,

Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators: A Valuable New Resource For Any Childbirth Educator

October 25th, 2012 by avatar
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This is a big weekend for Lamaze International for many reasons.  The 2012 Innovative Learning Forum is happening starting tomorrow in Nashville, TN, and right now, childbirth professionals and those interested in improving maternity care for childbearing women are making their way to Nashville via plane, train and automobile to network, listen to a fantastic line up of keynote speakers, participate in interactive learning sessions taught by creative and dynamic presenters, shop and meet sponsors and exhibitors, enjoy good food, Nashville hospitality and socialize with men and women who share the belief that birth is normal.

If you are not able to join the party in Nashville, you do have the option of participating in the four general sessions presented by the keynote speakers through the virtual conference option.  Either way, there is an opportunity for expanding your knowledge and getting important new information about teaching pregnancy, birth, parenting and breastfeeding topics to expectant families.

New Resource for Educators

There is another exciting event happening at this weekend’s gathering.  Lamaze International unveils a brand new resource for childbirth educators; The Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators. If you are at the conference this weekend, you can preview this toolkit at the Lamaze booth and participate in a contest to be entered in a drawing for the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices PowerPoint Presentation with Videos, a valuable part of the new toolkit.  (More info on the how to enter later in this post.)

The Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators (Toolkit) is a brand new 317 page workbook created by Debby Amis, RN, BSN, CD(DONA), LCCE, FACCE and Jeanne Green, CD(DONA), LCCE, FACCE.  Debby and Jeanne have both held leadership roles in Lamaze International for many years, as well as contribute to other birth related organizations.  Together, Debby and Jeanne are the owners and directors of The Family Way Publications and Childbirth Educator Programs.

I wanted to review this Toolkit and let you know some of the highlights, so that you can be sure to allow time to check it out yourself at the Lamaze booth at the Forum or online, and consider adding the Toolkit to your own personal teaching resources.  After purchasing, I was easily able to download an electronic version of the Toolkit to my laptop.  For the purpose of this review, I chose to print out the Toolkit for easy access using my substantial Lamaze/FedEx discount that I receive as a benefit of being a Lamaze member.  An educator could easily chose to keep the electronic version handy and just choose to print out any handouts that will be utilized in class.

What’s Inside

The Toolkit is divided into 8 sections, starting off with “Dynamic Childbirth Education.”  Immediately, ideas are jumping off the pages on different methods of curriculum development, the components of a great class and preparations you might want to consider even before your class begins. There is something for everyone, no matter if you are a right brained creative thinker or a left brained in-depth organizer.  I found several new ideas for opening my childbirth classes and was excited to give some new things a try the next time I teach.

The Toolkit follows along with The Lamaze Fundamentals for Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting with a section devoted to each one.  In each section, I found a list of selected materials and teaching aids that you might want to consider, along with information on where or how to acquire different items.  Teaching ideas, interactive learning methods, and active learning activities are so abundant throughout the book that it could be very easy to quickly choose a few favorites and immediately have a handful of ways to teach each topic you cover.  Another feature that I very much appreciated was the Lamaze web resources for each topic as well as other web links to useful pages, outstanding online videos and resources to share with class students.  In every section, the Lamaze principles that pregnancy and birth is normal, natural and healthy are apparent and the activities and teaching suggestions reinforce those principals while giving students confidence-building tools and ideas for pregnancy, birth and parenting.

Section V provides class outlines for all kinds of classes, including early pregnancy classes, series classes, and weekend classes, with a lesson plan for whatever your needs might be. Section VI: Resources provides suggestions for dozens of teaching aids and where to locate them for purchase if necessary. Sample presentation slides are outlined slide by slide, should you wish to supplement your class activities.  Lists of websites useful to childbirth educators are included, where no doubt you could get lost for days, mining the different sites for more useful and relevant information for you and your students.

Section VII: Handouts has an extensive collection of share-able handouts and worksheets loaded with fun activities, as well as examples of practical forms, such as sign in sheets, class evaluations, and review material for class participants.  Even items that you might email in advance of class or send as a follow-up to reinforce the material or facilitate discussions.  The 317 page Toolkit wraps up with Section VIII: References with the websites and research articles that support the preceding sections, should you wish to reference the original sources or seek more information.

There is an accompanying Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices PowerPoint Presentation with Videos included with the Toolkit.  This presentation is modifiable and includes over 80 colorful slides and embedded videos.  Or you may choose to purchase the PowerPoint Presentation alone for a reduced price.  The Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators (including PowerPoint and Videos) is $175 for Lamaze members and $350 for non-members.  Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices PowerPoint Presentation with Videos alone is $65/$140. These items are one-time purchases, and you do not need to purchase additional license for continued use.

No matter if you are a new educator, or one who has been teaching for years, I think you will be amazed at the sheer number of practical ideas, creative teaching methods, effective activities and course outlines that will be new to you and create excitement for you to mix things up with some of the Toolkit ideas.  I have just about 10 years of teaching childbirth classes under my belt and I found myself taking notes of new things I can’t wait to try!  You can teach an old dog new tricks.  I can only imagine how valuable a tool like this would have been when I was just starting out!  The days and days of work it would have saved me in preparing to teach my classes. Even now, I feel like it is fun for both students and myself, to mix things up, it keeps me on my toes and enjoying my work, and lets me offer fun and effective learning opportunities to the families I work with.  This Toolkit is a wonderful and fresh way to share the all the new messages, such as “Push For Your Baby” and others that Lamaze worked so hard to make just right!

I Am Lamaze Photo Contest- Win a Healthy Birth Practice Power Point presentation with videos

Lamaze Forum Attendees: show your pride! Share a photo of yourself at the conference via social media and you’ll have a chance to win a Healthy Birth Practice Power Point presentation with videos, just one of the resources in the brand new Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators. The full toolkit is a comprehensive online toolkit (312 pages), which offers interactive teaching strategies, ready-to-use handouts, class outlines, and an 88 slide complete PowerPoint presentation on the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices with teaching notes, and a full range of teaching resources. The Lamaze Toolkit also includes access to the easy-to-use resources and an online community with a discussion forum for sharing tips with other educators. Be sure to stop by Lamaze booth #104/106 to take a “test drive!”! Retail value of the Power Point Presentation is $65 for members and $140 for non-members.

There are three ways you can be eligible to enter:
1. Twitter: tweet a photo of yourself at the Forum and tag @lamazeadvocates and #lamaze12 to be eligible
2. Facebook: Post a photo of yourself at the Forum and tag LamazeEducators or post your photo to our wall:
htttp://www.facebook.com/lamazeeducators.
3. Email a photo of yourself at the Forum to info@lamaze.org and we’ll post it to our Facebook album.

A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Sunday, October 28!

 

Added Bonus: Toolkit Forum
 There is an added bonus for anyone who purchases the Lamaze Toolkit for Childbirth Educators; Full access to a specialized forum on the Lamaze website, where you can interact with other community members who have also purchased this resource.  Have discussions, share ideas, successes and improvements you made, ask questions and learn how others are using this valuable tool.  Reach out and collaborate virtually with others who are also using the Toolkit in their classrooms.
If you are at the Innovative Learning Forum, stop by the Lamaze Booth and “test-drive” this new resource.  Remember to enter the drawing for the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices PowerPoint Presentation with Videos during your stay in Nashville, to be awarded on Sunday, October 28th.  Or you can purchase the Toolkit here on the Lamaze site.  Once you have had a chance to take a peek, either at the booth or once you return home, let us know what you think and how your classes have changed using the resources available to you.

 

 

Book Reviews, Breastfeeding, Childbirth Education, Continuing Education, Evidence Based Medicine, Films about Childbirth, Films about Pregnancy, Healthy Birth Practices, Healthy Care Practices, informed Consent, Lamaze 2012 Annual Conference, Lamaze Method, Push for Your Baby, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

Early Bird Prices for 2012 Lamaze Innovative Learning Forum Ends 9/24! Are You Registered?

September 18th, 2012 by avatar
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The 2012 Lamaze Innovative Learning Forum is scheduled for October 26-28 in Nashville, TN and now is the time to sign up for this exciting learning and networking opportunity. This year’s conference theme is “Safe and Healthy Birth: The Music of Our Head, Heart and Hands” and Lamaze International is offering a new approach, which includes more opportunities for interaction among attendees with lower costs and less time away from work and family. Contact hours good for Lamaze, Nursing, ACNM, IBCLC re-certifications will be awarded for attendance at this continuing education event.

The internationally recognized General Session speakers include Ina May Gaskin, (Birth Works, Why Don’t More People in the U.S. Know it?), Dr. Jack Newman, (The First Hour),  Steven B. Frye, (Adult Learning and Conceptual Change: Putting Theory to Practice), and Abby Epstein, (The Accidental Birth Advocate).

In between general sessions, you will be treated to Interactive Learning Sessions, where the topics of Maternal Safety, Infant Safety and Evidenced Based Teaching and Practice will be highlighted in the categories of Head, Heart and Hands.  Leave these sessions full of ideas to take back with you and implement to make your classes, client relationships and professional knowledge more effective and useful to all.

Morning Learning Sessions, Exercise Sessions, Film and Poster Presentations and a full Exhibit Hall present additional opportunities to learn, shop, connect and participate in all the 2012 Lamaze Innovative Learning Forum has to offer.

The social event of the conference, “Papas and Mamas Sing For Healthy Birth” Benefit Concert is a partnership between Lamaze International and Attachment Parenting International to benefit and celebrate healthy birth scheduled for Saturday evening.  The concert will feature Grammy winner Delbert McClinton and The McCrary Sisters.

You can save $145 dollars on the forum registration fee if you register by Monday, September 24, 2012, when “early bird” registration closes. This represents significant savings and a great value for your continuing education and conference dollars.

Choose to attend the pre-Forum workshops and attend a Lamaze Childbirth Education Seminar facilitated by DUKE AHEC or the Lamaze Evidenced-Based Nursing Care: Labor Support Skills Workshop facilitated by Judith Lothian and take advantage of the bundled registration fee for the specialized workshops and the 2012 Forum, saving yourself $100 in the process.

Stay a few extra days in Nashville and treat yourself to a DONA International Birth Doula Workshop led by Patricia Predmore, DONA International Birth Doula Mentor. Attendance at this workshop and the Forum saves you $50 over purchasing the two registrations separately.

Click here to register for the conference and get “early bird” rates when you register to attend by September 24, 2012.  You can also connect with other Forum attendees to find a roommate or two to share in your hotel costs at the beautiful Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel and take advantage of the special Lamaze Forum room rate.  You do not want to miss the childbirth education event of the year.  Sign up now.

 

Babies, Childbirth Education, Conference Schedule, Continuing Education, Evidence Based Medicine, Films about Childbirth, Films about Pregnancy, Healthy Birth Practices, Healthy Care Practices, Lamaze 2012 Annual Conference, Newborns, Push for Your Baby, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Six Healthy Conference Practices” Will Lead To Success At The 2012 Lamaze International Innovative Learning Forum!

August 14th, 2012 by avatar
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Lamaze International’s “Six Healthy Conference Practices” will help you to have the best conference experience possible when you attend the 2012 Lamaze International Innovative Learning Forum, thereby insuring a rewarding, satisfying and fun learning opportunity.

This year, Lamaze International is offering childbirth educators and birth professionals, including lactation consultants, doulas, midwives, physicians, perinatal fitness instructors, perinatal education managers, L&D nurses and more, a unique opportunity to enjoy a rich and participatory learning experience in the beautiful city of Nashville, Tennessee on October 26-28, 2012 at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel.

The theme of the the Innovative Learning Forum is “Safe & Healthy Birth: The Music of Our Head, Heart & Hands” and is a wonderful recognition of the varied and extensive contribution Nashville has made to American music.  Nashville is known as “Music City” for good reason.  The Nashville Tourism website sums it up beautifully:

There’s a place where music lives. A place where music hangs its hat and puts its feet up on the furniture. A place where people don’t just talk about songs and CDs and lyrics, but live them night and day. That place is Nashville. Music City.

But, while music is the lifeblood of Nashville, visitors will also find a city of culture and history, of haute cuisine, of pro sports, outstanding academics, natural beauty and pure Southern charm. Nashville is a place where the past and the future peacefully coexist and build, one on the other, to create a destination that appeals to the interests of every visitor. This city is alive. You can feel its pulse when you walk down its sidewalks. And, fortunately, you can also hear it almost anywhere you go.

While exploring the city and all it has to offer during breaks in the Learning Forum will surely be enjoyable, the real music (and magic) will be happening in the conference location, where men and women from around the world will be gathering to share, learn, discuss, collaborate, plan and dream about supporting pregnancies, labors, births and parenting experiences that are grounded in science, and offer safety and respect to all families on the road to parenthood.

The Six Healthy Conference Practices include:

1. Taking advantage of pre-conference workshops that maximize your learning and minimize your travel expenses.

Participate in a pre-conference workshop for nurses by attending the Lamaze Evidence-Based Nursing Care: Labor Support Skills Workshop with Judith Lothian, PhD, RN, LCCE, FACCE on Thursday, October 25, or the Lamaze Childbirth Educator Seminar presented by the Lamaze Accredited Childbirth Educator Program at Duke AHEC, Wed., October 24-Friday, October 26.

2. Enjoying presentations by four well-known keynote speakers, leaders in the field of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and parenting.

The keynote speakers this year will be offering information on four topics of interest to birth professionals;

  • Maternal Safety will be addressed by Ina May Gaskin, PhD (Hon.), MA, CPM.
  • Evidence Based Teaching and Practice will be highlighted by Steven B. Frye, PhD, MA, MDiv, ThM.
  • Infant Safety will be covered by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC and
  • Media and Marketing will be presented by Abby Epstein

3. Participating in learning opportunities all weekend long that earn you continuing education and contact hours.

Join your choice of interactive learning sessions, with a list of presenters who are guaranteed to be engaging, dynamic and memorable. Attend film showings, review the poster presentations and participate in morning exercise sessions throughout the weekend.  You will leave energized and exposed to new research and trends and teaching ideas sure to enrich your own classes.  The learning opportunities will be bountiful during your entire time at the conference as Lamaze provides you with an interactive breakdown of the preceding keynote sessions into three different perspectives: Head, Heart and Hands.

4. Getting a taste of Nashville and southern hospitality by joining in on Friday and Saturday night organized social events.

The best restaurants in Nashville have Lamaze International at the top of their reservation list, with tables reserved just for conference attendees on Friday night all around town.  Saturday night finds you kicking up your heels and tapping your toes to the best line-up of singers, songwriters and musicians the city has to offer at the “Music City Celebration.”

5. Networking, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones can be a top priority.

The opportunity to meet and mingle, share tasty refreshments and explore the exhibit hall and its many shopping opportunities with other birth professionals will be another highlight of this year’s conference.  People come from all over the world to attend (and exhibit at) the Lamaze International Conference every year, and this year will not be any different.  Meet the board members and staff of Lamaze International, attend the annual Lamaze membership meeting and applaud this year’s FACCE inductees.  There will be plenty of time to circulate, meet your colleagues from across the globe and discuss all the conference going-ons.

6. A 2012 Virtual Learning Forum experience is available for those who can not attend in person this year.

Lamaze International recognizes that not everyone who would like to attend the annual conference is able to join in person every year.  This year, if you find that traveling to the conference is not possible, please consider attending virtually from your home or workplace.  Better yet, join in with other professionals in your community and share that experience.  You will be able to register and participate virtually in the four keynote presentations, so you do not have to miss these exciting learning opportunities.

Register now! Early Bird Ends 9/24.

If you have not yet registered for the 2012 Lamaze International Innovative Learning Forum, please do not hesitate to register now!  Early registration allows you to take advantage of early bird conference pricing,which will save you significantly on conference fees,  guarantees you the special conference rate on housing at the hotel and will help you to have plenty of time to prepare travel plans and arrangements for what is sure to be a fun and exciting time in Nashville. Be sure to follow the Six Healthy Conference Practices to enjoy what will be the best conference ever!

Are you planning to go?  Do you need a roommate? What is getting you excited about the upcoming Innovative Learning Forum?  Will this be your first conference?  What have you enjoyed about previous conferences you have attended?  Share your plans,  thoughts and hopes for this conference in our comments and let us know that we can expect to see you! 

Childbirth Education, Conference Schedule, Continuing Education, Healthy Birth Practices, Healthy Care Practices, Lamaze 2012 Annual Conference, Lamaze News, Science & Sensibility, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,