It may be the lazy days of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, but that doesn't mean that childbirth educators can't continue to learn and grow in their field while enjoying the season. Here are two great online learning opportunities that will provide value to you and ultimately your students. They can be done from literally anyplace in the world where someone had internet access. Consider it an opportunity to increase your skills while relaxing poolside?

PostBirth Warning Signs

The Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care has a regular teleconference series that has been quite exceptional at addressing current issues affecting maternal morbidity and mortality. I have participated in several in the past and have found them evidence-based and accurate, with uniquely qualified presenters who are specialists on the topics I am interested in. The next presentation is on July 18th from 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT.

Improving #PostBirth Education: Effectively Educating Patients on Postpartum Complications will discuss the leading causes, trends, and effects of postpartum morbidity and mortality, describe recommendations for standardizing the education all new mothers receive about the symptoms of the most common postpartum complications and share next steps for improving #POSTBIRTH discharge education.

I covered this topic in a previous Science & Sensibility blog post, An Acronym that Can Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in the Postpartum Period. 61 percent of deaths related to childbirth occur in the postpartum period and most of those occur in the first 42 days after birth. Addressing this issue is critical because research has shown that the quality and quantity of patient education received by those who have given birth is quite variable in both quality and quantity.

Join Debra Bingham, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Director of the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement and Associate Professor, University of Maryland, School of Nursing and her colleague, Allison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG, Associate Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of North Carolina for this one hour presentation that includes a Q&A at the end. Childbirth educators need to make a commitment to adequately cover warning signs that could signal a serious concern after someone has given birth. This teleconference with accompanying slides will help you to be sure that you are providing relevant based information to your classes.

While you are registering for this presentation, consider signing up to receive notices of future events as well. I have participated in several and find them very useful. You may use this link to register now.

Make Learning Stick

There is an interactive webinar, Brain-Based Presenting: Getting the Brain to Pay Attention, presented by Sharon Bowman on Tuesday, July 24th, 2018, from 2:00 - 3:00 PM EDT. Sharon Bowman is best known for her Training from the Back of the Room concept which aims to increase learning and retention by assisting educators in using principles that support active learning. Sharon has reams of books and other materials for the educator, offering guidance and suggestions for making learning active and fun. I took this specific webinar earlier this year and found it to be immediately applicable to my childbirth curriculum.

The learning objectives for this one-hour activity include:

• Using a dozen brain-based presentation strategies that will immediately make your content more engaging and memorable.
• Explaining what makes the brain pay attention and what makes the brain go on 'auto-pilot.'
• Applying brain-based presentation principles to any learning environment, whether face-to-face or online.
• Accessing a variety of excellent, brain-based resources to enhance your own presentations, meetings, and training programs.

There is always something for everyone in Sharon's materials, including her blog, website, in-person training or online offerings and if you haven't explored her offerings, this webinar is a great orientation to her useful content. Childbirth educators need to make the learning stick, as our students will need to retain the information often for several weeks or months before they need to put it to use during labor and birth. Sharon Bowman can help us to increase material retention. Register for this interactive learning activity here.

Conclusion

Childbirth educators should always be seeking out new and updated learning opportunities to confirm that we are up to date on best practices on the topics of maternal-infant health and effective teaching strategies. Here are two free online presentations that can help us to do just that. Consider registering for one or both and letting me know what you think after you participate.

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