Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
March 16, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza
There are many benefits to being a member of Lamaze International. You do not have to be a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. You may join Lamaze and receive the same benefits as people who hold the LCCE credentials. You can read all about the member benefits and join Lamaze International from here.
While I appreciate and utilize so many of the valuable benefits that are provided with my Lamaze membership, I really celebrate access to The Cochrane Library, a collection of databases containing independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.
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March 08, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza
Connecting the Dots wanted to share about a very special woman who was just recognized by Time as one of 12 women of the year, 2022. Midwife Jennie Joseph has been named a "Women of the Year 2022."
March 02, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza
The 2020 maternal mortality rates were just released by the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics. The new information indicates that the United States continues to move in the wrong direction, and has had an increase in both the number and rate of people dying in the childbearing year. Black and brown families have rates that are significantly higher than their white peers.
December 28, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
As we close out 2021, a year filled with many challenges, I thought our last Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators post of 2021 can be about meaningful closings as well. Making sure that you end your time together with a group of families with some thoughtful closing rituals is an important piece of a satisfying and effective childbirth class. Here are five ways that you might consider sending the families on their way with confidence and excitement. You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators (almost 80 of them in the series!) for free at this link.
December 22, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Today is another post in the occasional series "Building Your Birth Business." If you are anything like me, you are the kind of childbirth educator who uses the time between teaching the last childbirth class of the year in December and the first class of the new year in January to review and refresh your offerings. Here are ten things you can do to make sure you are on top of your game. Follow this link to find all the posts in the Building Your Birth Business series.
December 16, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza
In late October, Tanya Cawthorne was named President of Lamaze International. Once again, Lamaze is being led by a person from outside the United States. Tanya Cawthorne is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, Doula and Lamaze Program Director based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2018, she co-founded Lamaze Australia, the first international affiliate of Lamaze International. Meet Tanya in this Q&A with Sharon Muza, Connecting the Dots Community Manager.
December 14, 2021 | by: Tanya Cawthorne
A few weeks ago, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) published their annual Australia’s Mothers and Baby Report. The report is a collection of national perinatal data from the previous two years, which in effect means that the 2021 report contains 2019 data, and therefore we are yet to see the full impact of COVID-19 on birth outcomes.
Anecdotally, many birth professionals (midwives, doulas, and childbirth educators in particular) have noted with concern a significant increase in birth interventions - particularly induction of labour, episiotomy, instrumental birth (vacuum and forceps delivery) and cesarean section - with little to no improvement in birth outcomes. The data now backs up what we all suspected was happening and this is not good news for birthing people in Australia.
December 14, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
This time of year is full of gift giving opportunities. If you have a childbirth educator in your life, and want to gift them something that feeds their professional passion, here are five ideas for you to consider that will delight them and serve them well as they teach!
December 08, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
This week in the United States is National Influenza Vaccination Week. With COVID-19 news continuing to dominate global press, it is easy to forget that the influenza (flu) continues to threaten the health of pregnant people, parents and infants, along with all other segments of the population.
December 06, 2021 | by: Molly Giammarco, MPP
This week, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Moms Who Served Act into law, the first of the 12 Momnibus bills to make it to the President’s desk. The Protecting Moms Who Served Act focuses on maternal health among Veterans by commissioning a study to assess maternal-health risks birthing Veterans face and investing in Veteran Affairs’ maternity-care coordination.
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