Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
November 13, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Many childbirth educators new to Lamaze International have just finished the fall testing period and now wait to find out if they can add the credentials Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) to their name. When you are a new childbirth educator, it feels as if there is so much knowledge and information that you must remember and you worry about how you will be able to recall all the important content when facilitating your first classes without looking like a fumbling fool while clutching handfuls of notes and papers. This is a completely normal feeling, and the reality is, even experienced educators don’t hold all the information in their head and often rely on notes to be sure they are providing accurate information to class members. Here are five recall hacks that can help you be the professional educator you are right from the start.
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November 07, 2019 | by: Hillary Melchiors Ph,D, MPH, LCCE, CD(DONA)
Rebecca Dekker has a PhD in Nursing and uses her research knowledge and skills to summarize the medical evidence about birth related topics through her company Evidence Based Birth, which is helpful for both the consumer and the perinatal professional. “Babies Are Not Pizzas” is Dr. Dekker’s first book, and it details her journey to realizing that there is a lack of evidence based medical policies and procedures specifically surrounding pregnancy and birth in American hospitals.
November 05, 2019 | by: Molly Giammarco
To support its growing advocacy platform, Lamaze launched the Advocacy + Collaboration (A+C) Committee earlier this year to help navigate, develop, and monitor state, federal, and local advocacy efforts related to CBE. The timing for this new Committee is perfect as discussions around improving maternal and childbirth outcomes continue to gain momentum among communities, clinicians, and all levels of government.
This movement creates many new opportunities for Lamaze advocacy. Led by Jill Wodnick, the A+C Committee is developing a toolkit to help advance state and local maternal and child health priorities, integrate CBE into state Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Programs funding, and further engage health departments, perinatal collaboratives.
October 31, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Halloween is a holiday that lets a pregnant person truly shine! When someone is pregnant, there are so many creative and fun options for costumes that incorporate and celebrate the newest family member. If you teach childbirth classes that are scheduled during the week of Halloween or even better, on Halloween, you may see your class participants arrive ready to celebrate with an amazing costume. You can even encourage costumes and make a party out of it.
October 29, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
This month’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators is all about using “weighted” babies in childbirth classes. In this post, we look at three easy ways to incorporate a life-size baby whose weight of 7 ½ or 8 pounds approximates the average weight of a newborn in the USA. Using a doll with a the same weight as a newborn really helps new families to have some practice with something that will be similar to their own newborn in just a few weeks.
October 24, 2019 | by: Cara Terreri
Recently, Lamaze International signed on to endorse The White Ribbon Alliance's Respectful Maternity Care Charter. This charter clearly defines the rights owed to women and newborns when receiving maternity care in health care facilities worldwide.
A charter, like this one and many others before it, is created to give an organization or country a set of guidelines, rights, principles, boundaries, and/or a foundation. When rights are clearly defined, they can be defended! Historically, we have not identified childbearing people and newborns as a specific, vulnerable populations that needs special rights. But the truth is, mothers and babies are being mistreated, injured, and killed during the time around birth in countries around the world -- they need special protection.
October 22, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
A new category of products that create a false sense of security with parents of infants and has been linked to infant deaths. “In-bed sleepers” are being used by parents who want to “safely bed-share” in order to facilitate easier nighttime feedings and comfort for their babies. Examples of popular brands of these products include “DockATot,” “Baby Delight Snuggle Nest Infant Sleeper.” and “SwaddleMe By Your Side Sleeper” which have all been linked to fatalities by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Learn more on Connecting the Dots.
October 17, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Childbirth educators and other perinatal professionals work hard to share evidence-based information and resources in a culturally sensitive manner. They also strive to strike a balance with families’ expectations and the accurate realities faced during the transition to parenthood with a young infant. This webinar, “Lullabies and Lactation: Navigating Breastfeeding and Safe Sleep” presented by Lyndsey Hookway, Bsc, RNC HV, IBCLC, is an amazing resource for childbirth educators and other perinatal professionals who want to provide families with resources grounded in research while acknowledging the challenges that having a new baby brings.
October 15, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, and today, October 15th is World Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day. If you work in any capacity with pregnant and new families, you will have an opportunity to support a family at some point who will experience the tragic loss of their baby during pregnancy or as an infant. Here are ten things the childbirth educator or perinatal professional can do to provide resources and support should this happen to a family you are working with.
October 10, 2019 | by: Cara Terreri
The United States has a problem with expectant and new parents dying. A big problem. We are one of only two countries where the rate of maternal death is going up instead of down. The United States is ranked 55th in the world for maternal mortality, despite being #1 in the world for the amount of money being spent. And what's worse: African American parents are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than non-Hispanic white women. It is estimated that 60 percent of maternal deaths are entirely preventable. Here is how you can help!
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