Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
February 02, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
In honor of Black History Month, everyone has a responsibility to be knowledgable about Black perinatal organizations that are led by amazing Black maternal-infant health professionals. We need to identify both local and national, that are uniquely qualified serve Black expectant families. Can you commit to adding information on your organization’s website so that Black people who are growing their families can find and access Black medical providers and perinatal professionals to serve them if that is their desire? Now is the time. Lives depend upon it.
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January 30, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Welcome to 2021 and the continuing global COVID-19 pandemic. For most of us, we are one month shy of a full year of conducting virtual childbirth classes. Hard to believe I just typed that statement, but it is true. I have tried to seize on the advantages that have come with having the families in my classes participating from the comfort of their homes and incorporate that opportunity into our class time together. This month’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators idea builds on that statement and offers you something fun and quick to do with your families no matter if you are meeting with them once or over a series of weeks. I hate to waste even a minute of learning time with the classes I teach, whether in person or virtual. “So much information, so little time” drives me make every second count for the families who are getting ready to meet their babies! I ask families to bring an object from their home to class that they share virtually with others when we first start our time together. Read more to get some ideas on how you can do this too! You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators posts here, for lots of creativity and ready to use teaching ideas to make your classes fun and exciting to teach and to take!
January 26, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published a study, “Pandemic-related pregnancy stress and anxiety among women pregnant during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic” that found that anxiety and stress was more common than it had been before with the combined stressors of pregnancy and new parenting and the complications of dealing with COVID-19 pandemic concerns.
One of the ways that this increased stress and impact of PMADs can be moderated is by information, awareness and screening. Childbirth classes are a great source of all three of these components that contribute to lower PMAD rates. Unfortunately, the number of people currently attending childbirth classes is reduced due to restrictions on public gatherings and appropriate concerns for personal safety and health. People may not be aware that many childbirth classes have moved to virtual platforms and are still available.
January 20, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Childbirth educators and other perinatal professionals are being asked time and time again by pregnant and lactating people if it is appropriate and safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Initial testing for the vaccines did not include pregnant or lactating volunteers and there is limited information on efficacy, safety, impact on the fetus or human milk. Resources to help you answer these questions today on the blog.
January 20, 2021 | by: Katie McGee, PT, DPT
Tearing during childbirth is one of the most common concerns of pregnant people. While over 90% people birthing through their vaginas for the first time do develop some tearing, most tears are not serious and heal on their own or with a few stitches (Smith et al., 2013).
But what about those more significant tears? It is true that large tears do happen. Fortunately, research has shown us that there are ways to reduce the risk of tearing during a vaginal birth. Some of these ways of preventing tears can be done before childbirth, while others are done during childbirth.
January 20, 2021 | by: Cara Terreri
Covid has changed so many things. What it hasn't changed is a pregnant/birthing/new family's need for support and resources. Thankfully, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum professionals have stepped up to the challenge and now, nearly everything can be provided virtually.
January 07, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Google has announced that they are committed to providing specific information and screening tools when someone uses their search engine to search on the topics of perinatal mood disorders. This is the fourth mental health self-assessment directly available from Google Search. Previously, people who searched for information about anxiety, depression and PTSD were directed to screening tools. Now perinatal mood disorder screening tools will be provided too.
January 05, 2021 | by: Andrea Lythgoe, LCCE
Today, please enjoy the seventh and final post in the series: Better Childbirth Education By Design, a special Connecting the Dots series written by skilled educator LCCE Andrea Lythgoe. Andrea has been a frequent contributor to Connecting the Dots over the years with some very popular and informative posts. Instruction design is a field that applies systematic approaches to planning education. Lots has been written about its use in a wide variety of fields, from K-12 education to higher education, corporate training and even the US military. In this series - Better Childbirth Education by Design, Andrea introduces readers to a very common model of instructional design, called ADDIE, and demonstrate how childbirth educators can use this process to create and refine your childbirth classes. Today, Andrea discusses evaluating your course offerings to help you evaluate and adjust your curriculum. To find the entire Better Childbirth Education By Design series, follow this link. - Sharon Muza, Connecting the Dots Community Manager.
December 29, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Black birthing people are more likely to die in childbirth and postpartum than their white counterparts. Black babies are less likely to reach their first birthday. It’s a big problem with some simple ways for us to help combat it. Encourage Black Lamaze Childbirth Educator Candidates to submit their books lists to The Doula Book Project. Consider finding a childbirth educator, doula, or midwifery student in your area to support.
December 11, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
In 2017, a travel ban targeting people from countries that were predominately Muslim was instituted through an Executive Order signed by the President of the United States. A newly published paper indicates that this Executive Order can be associated with an increase in preterm births for pregnant people from the seven targeted countries who were living in the United States at the time.
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