Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
June 01, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Pride Month is recognized in the United States annually in June. Pride Month was established to honor the Stonewall Riots that took place in June, 1969 in New York City. The Stonewall Riots were a catalyst for people to organize, for the first time in 1970 on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, to protect and honor the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer plus (LGBTQ+) community in the USA and globally.
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May 25, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
This month’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators recognizes that May is Maternal Mental Health Month. A simple activity that encourages pregnant and new parents to reach out for support when they are experiencing some emotional bumps in the road. You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators posts here at this link for free.
May 18, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Currently, the families in your childbirth classes may have more anxiety and concerns around lactation and infant feeding than the typical level of nerves and questions you are accustomed to. The United States is currently experiencing a human milk substitute shortage that is increasing stress and worry amongst those who are still pregnant about what they will face after their babies are born. Some families are planning to bodyfeed their infants. Others may be choosing a mixture of human milk substitutes along with their own milk and a third group may not be planning to provide human milk at all but rather rely on purchased human milk substitutes. Regardless of what their intentions are, families are concerned about not being able to provide adequate and appropriate nutrition for their newborn when they arrive and what alternatives will be for their babies. News headlines, social media channels and communities of parents everywhere make it impossible to ignore the elephant in the room when you gather with your classes.
April 27, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
This month’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators activity is aligned with Cesarean Awareness Month, which is observed annually in April. It is short and to the point, and helps families identify the cesarean rates of their chosen birth location. With this information, families can have conversations with their health care providers about how to avoid a cesarean that is not medically necessary.
April 11, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Black Maternal Health Week is observed annually every April 11 through 17th since 2018. This week of awareness and activism was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) to bring attention to the increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates that impact Black birthing people and their babies at significantly higher rates than non-Black families.
The theme of this year’s Black Maternal Health Week is “Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families and Black Systems of Care.” Black families deserve to have access to Black care teams, and that includes childbirth educators. We know that outcomes are better when a Black parent can receive perinatal care from a Black midwife or doctor. As a childbirth educator, there are several things that you can do to center Black birthing families and help Black. You can use this checklist to see where you can implement or change how you practice. This is an opportunity to increase your efforts if you already have some of the suggestions below in place.
March 28, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Discussions about the role of birth and postpartum doulas happen early on in my childbirth classes, when we talk about what makes for a satisfying birth experience. There is often confusion about what a doula does compared to a midwife. People also worry about the role of the partner or other family member when a doula is present. Some parents who are planning to have an epidural or even a planned cesarean question the need for professional doula support. This CBE activity helps clarify the unique role of the doula.
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 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!
November 30, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Talking about difficult subjects in a childbirth class requires both sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Various unexpected outcomes, including experiencing an unplanned cesarean, may cause anxiety and fear for both the pregnant person and their support or partner. Using visual aids that accurately and effectively demonstrate the surgical component of a cesarean can diffuse anxiety and make way for understanding. Using this video of a cesarean surgery, that is recreated using play-doh, is an effective way to present this topic without increasing (and quite likely decreasing) the anxiety that class members might feel around this topic.
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