Friday, September 12
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
When the Bough Breaks: Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Cheryl Beck, DNSc, CNM, FAAN
Listen to a preview of her plenary session.
Dr. Beck is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing. Appointed to the President’s Advisory Council of Postpartum Support International, she is a certified nurse-midwife as well as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Over the past 20 years, Beck has focused her efforts on developing a research program on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and she is currently focusing on subsequent childbirth after a previous traumatic birth as well as the effect of DHA on postpartum depression.
4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Pregnant in America: Creating Change in Birth
Steve Buonaugurio, Writer, Director, Producer
Listen to a preview of his plenary session.
Trained as a sociologist and teacher, Steve Buonaugurio’s personal and professional life has been guided by his favorite question, “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?” When Buonaugurio and his wife were expecting their first baby, he realized that something was terribly wrong with the way the U.S. maternity care system treats women. He realized that while he wanted to take care of own his family, his goal was to help create a better birth environment for all families. Buonaugurio set out to write, direct and produce a film to advocate better birthing. Pregnant in America is the answer to his favorite question and an important documentation of his family’s journey and our current place in birth history.
Saturday, September 13
8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Giving Birth in Brazil
Ricardo Jones, MD
Dr. Ricardo Jones is a member of and medical advisor for the Portuguese Association for Humanization of Childbirth and the National Association of Doulas (ANDO) in Portugal, while also serving as a spokesperson and international advocate for the humanization of childbirth. Additionally, he is a representative of the International MotherBaby Friendly Organization (IMBFO) to Brazil and collaborator of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative. In his 2004 book, A Man Made of Glass, Jones describes his personal transformative journey into a feminine approach to birth, discusses the foundations of technocracy in the western world and analyzes the projects that offer humanization to childbirth.
Sunday, September 14
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Baby-Led Breastfeeding: How Infants Learn to Breastfeed
Christina Smilie, MD, FAAP, FABM
Board certified in pediatrics since 1983, Dr. Christina Smilie left primary care in 1996 to found Breastfeeding Resources in Stratford, Connecticut, a private medical practice limited to the specialty of breastfeeding medicine. She has been a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine since its inception and was awarded fellowship in 2002. Smilie currently serves on the Academy’s board of directors and is an advisor to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding and the Health Advisory Council to the Professional Advisory Council of La Leche League International.