Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
September 18, 2020 | by: Linda Harmon, MPH
On Sunday, September 20, 2020, Lamaze International will officially turn 60 years old. Sixty years ago, on that exact day the organization was officially incorporated. Today we are still going strong, advocating for safe and healthy birth, helping families feel strong and informed with evidence based information, Supporting educators to be the best they can be as they work with families, leaning in to fight racial inequities and the horrific impact they have on Black, Indigenous and People of Color families and collaborating with global agencies, governments and corporations to improve the experience of growing families. Imagining the number of families that Lamaze International has touched through its members and directly to the public is breathtaking.
Linda Harmon, our Lamaze International Executive Director for the past three decades, was kind enough to put together this remarkable timeline looking at some key points in the organization’s history.
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September 15, 2020 | by: Janelle Durham, MSW, LCCE
My colleague, and occasional Connecting the Dots contributor, Janelle Durham, MSW, LCCE, may be someone you know through her well-known website Transition to Parenthood, where she has shared childbirth class teaching activities and ideas generously for over 20 years. Today, she shares a story about what is really important when running a perinatal class in a great story about her recent teaching experience. - Sharon Muza, Community Manager, Connecting the Dots
September 10, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Gestational hypertension is a major concern as people move through their pregnancy. Abnormal blood pressures indicating a hypertensive disorder is a significant cause of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes worldwide. Preeclampsia along with infection and hemorrhage are the three largest cases of maternal mortality currently. It is thought that 1 in 4 deaths that occur from hypertension/preeclampsia in pregnant people are preventable. A new study was just released “A new definition of gestational hypertension? New-onset blood pressures of 130 to 139/80 to 89 mm Hg after 20 weeks of gestation” that attempts to predict those pregnant people who may be at risk of experiencing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.
September 08, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
The global pandemic created by COVID-19 has had significant impacts on pregnant, birthing and postpartum families. Isolation, lack of social support, financial challenges and health concerns all contribute to the stress that expectant families are experiencing. Many childbirth classes and postpartum support groups, along with prenatal care visits with health care providers have pivoted to virtual offerings and in-person connection is limited at best.
September 02, 2020 | by: Andrea Lythgoe, LCCE
Better Childirth Education By Design Series: Andrea Lythgoe discusses an easy to follow template for writing clear and useful "terminal" learning objectives. Your first step in design is to decide what your overall goal for your classes is. Instructional designers call these “terminal objectives” as they are your end goal. It is important to write your objectives about what the STUDENTS will come out of the class with, so that your class remains focused on meeting their needs over what you do for the class.
August 27, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza
To close out National Breastfeeding Month in the United States, it is only appropriate to have August's Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators be focused on an activity focused on breast/chestfeeding. Additionally, since many people are still needing to conduct virtual classes due to COVID-19 risks in their communities, I decided to offer up something that can be done either virtually or in person, depending on your own circumstances. Please enjoy this simple and quick breast/chestfeeding quiz that you can share with your classes. To find all our monthly Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators, follow this link.
August 25, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
In the United States, August is National Breastfeeding Month. The last week of the month is observed as Black Breastfeeding Week (BBW) to raise awareness of the importance and celebration of breast/chestfeeding for Black parents and babies. If you are not sure why such a week is needed, you can read this beautifully written and informative post by Kimberly Seals Allers that effectively answers that question.
August 18, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
As National Breast/Chestfeeding Month continues in the United States, there is a very positive update to the just released Healthy People 2030 goals. The Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) project "sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade" for residents of the United States and updates the 2020 goals. These newly released objectives include two lactation goals for new parent/baby dyads: Increase the number of infants who are exclusively breast/chestfed at 6 months and increase the number of infants who are nursing at 12 months.
August 13, 2020 | by: Molly Giammarco, MPP
In partnership with the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus (BMHC), Lamaze hosted a webinar, Evidence-Based Childbirth Education: A Critical Strategy in Improving Birth Outcomes & Reducing Maternal Health Disparities, in July to discuss the growing role childbirth educators have in reducing maternal-health disparities. The webinar featured U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (North Carolina) and Lauren Underwood (Illinois), BMHC Co-Chairs; Tara Owens Schuler, M.Ed., LCCE, FACCE, Lamaze Diversity + Outreach Committee Chair; and Melissa Harley, AdvCD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, CLC, FACCE, DONA International President.
August 11, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just launched a new campaign called HEAR Her. The mission of this new effort is to reduce the number of people who die during pregnancy or the first year after giving birth, currently estimated at over 700 individuals annually in the United States. Research indicates that over 60 percent of those deaths are preventable. Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) disproportionately die at higher rates than their white peers. Often, Black and Indigenous parents’ concerns are disregarded, minimized or ignored and situations that could be addressed are left untreated until it becomes a matter of life and death.
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