Breastfeeding Makes All the Difference: Breastfeeding’s Role in Overcoming Adversity

We do not live in a perfect world. Many new mothers have experienced abuse and adversity as children. Recent studies have found that breastfeeding helps mothers mother—even when there is a history of abuse. It not about the milk; it’s the physical act of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding improves maternal sleep, lowers the risk of depression, lessens anger and irritability, and even attenuates the negative effects of past sexual assault. Breastfeeding offers mothers a chance to do things differently. When it comes to overcoming adversity and stopping the intergenerational cycle of violence, breastfeeding makes all the difference.

Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA specializes in women’s-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology, and has won many awards for her work including the 2019 President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma Psychology.

Dr. Kendall-Tackett has authored more than 470 articles or chapters and is author or editor of 39 books. Her most recent books include Depression in New Mothers, 3rd Edition (2017, Routledge UK), Women’s Mental Health Across the Lifespan (2017, Routledge US, with Lesia Ruglass), The Phantom of the Opera: A Social History of the World’s Most Popular Musical (2018, Praeclarus). She is editor of the Clinical Lactation Monograph series, which has 11 volumes including Breast and Nipple Pain, Milk Supply, and Tongue-Tie (Praeclarus).

Continuing Education Units: One(1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (R) CERP’s PENDING

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Detecting Bias in Research with Andrea Lythgoe

Between the time a researcher starts conducting research and the time you share that research with your clients, there are numerous places where bias impacts the process. This one hour webinar will give you some tools to help you to recognize and detect the sometimes surprising source of those biases. Being aware of bias can help you give your clients the best possible research based information.

Andrea Lythgoe is not a math person and has been working to help other people who aren’t skilled in math to be able to critically read research with her site understandingresearch.com for over ten years. Working at a research study during her undergraduate education sparked an interest in research that hasn’t faded yet. She has been a childbirth educator since 1997 and a doula since 1999.

Currently, she has her own doula and childbirth education business, runs Doulas In Training, teaches natural childbirth classes at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, and is doing graduate education in Instructional Design.

Continuing Education Units: One(1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (R) CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Save Babies with Us: A Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Talking to Expectant Parents about Fetal Monitoring with Megan Aucutt

This one-hour webinar will demonstrate how to implement Count the Kicks into their own practice with the goal of improving birth outcomes. It will show educators how to utilize the free kick counting tools and resources available to them. This webinar describes the powerful stories of what happens when expectant parents, particularly at-risk populations, learn to track fetal movement and how they can use that knowledge to help save babies.

Megan Aucutt joined Healthy Birth Day, Inc and Count the Kicks as the Associate Director of Programs in July 2019. Megan is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and an emphasis in Global Health. She has over 10 years’ experience with non-profits and governmental work; with a focus on grant writing and reviewing, coalition building and educational program development. Her true passion is maternal and child health; Megan believes that knowledge truly is power. She used the Count the Kicks app during her pregnancies and has three healthy and rambunctious children. She is proud to be part of such an important organization with a powerful mission of saving babies.

Continuing Education Units: One(1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (R) CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Take Your Classes Online: A Fun, Non-Threatening Tutorial with Amy Haderer

Session Objectives:

• Helpful software and how to link it up (Calendly, Zoom, ConvertKit, Zapier etc.)
• What to prepare before class
• How to run an engaging online class
• Post-class follow-up
• Recording and editing evergreen online classes/content (for passive recurring revenue)
• Marketing your course
• Go-to action items to get started

Amy Haderer is a childbirth assistant (doula), artist, birth activist, mother of six, and founder of Motherboard Birth. Ever since the birth of her first daughter, Amy has been passionate about guiding families through the challenging landscape of their birth experience. For over a decade, Amy has provided hands-on support to hundreds of families during the childbearing year. Amy saw a need for better education and better communication between parents and their care team. She is passionate about helping parents understand their options and make decisions based on the best available information. Amy is passionate about reducing disparities in maternal health outcomes by building tools for parents, tools for providers, and a platform to connect the two.

Continuing Education Units: None

Registration Price: Free for all ICEA certified professionals and those pursuing ICEA certification

Pelvic Girdle Pain with Gina Conley, CD(DONA), MS

This one-hour webinar explores the causes of pelvic girdle pain and possible strategies to alleviate this common prenatal discomfort. Pelvic girdle pain can be subcategorized into: pubic symphysis dysfunction and sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and ranges from mild to severe or debilitating.
This webinar discusses the approach to minimizing pelvic girdle pain to alleviate this common prenatal discomfort with a three-step approach: strengthen, stabilize, and support.

Gina Conley, CD(DONA), MS, is the owner of MamasteFit in Aberdeen NC, providing prenatal and postpartum fitness training both in person and online, childbirth education classes for expectant families and birth professionals, and birth doula services. She has worked exclusively with prenatal and postpartum clients since 2017, and has developed numerous fitness programs that address pelvic stability for women in the motherhood transition. She has dedicated her time to developing her expertise in the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and childbirth to improve prenatal comfort, birth outcomes, and aid in postpartum recovery.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Reproductive Anatomy and Pelvic Structure with Brittany McCollum, CCE, CD

This one-hour webinar explores the reproductive system from a childbearing standpoint with an emphasis on understanding the role of each organ and structure in the dynamics of the labor and birth process.

The foundation of basic anatomy is complemented by a deeper look at the landmarks of the bony pelvis and the role of soft tissue and pelvic dynamics on descent and rotation of the baby through childbirth.

Brittany Sharpe McCollum, CCE, CD, is the owner of Blossoming Bellies Wholistic Birth Services in Philadelphia PA, providing childbirth education classes, birth doula services, and dynamic labor support and pelvic biomechanics training workshops for birth professionals and expectant parents. She has been offering birth-related services since 2007 and continues to work towards change in the maternity care system by providing expectant parents with the tools to be actively involved in their care and through her work facilitating evidence based fetal positioning and pelvic dynamics workshops and webinars to clinical and non-clinical care providers.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Breastfeeding Your Baby with Donna Walls, RN, BSN, ICCE, IBCLC

This one-hour webinar focuses on breastfeeding basics including how to teach strategies that can help mothers to be successful at nursing their babies. Discussions include frequency and duration of early feedings, the importance of skin to skin contact and assuring a correct latch.

Donna Walls, RN, BSN, ICCE, IBCLC has been a Registered Nurse since 1972, and since 1974 has worked with pregnant and new families. She became a Certified Childbirth Educator in 1984 and a Certified Lactation Consultant in 1987, working as a clinical lactation consultant from 1987-2017. She developed and opened the Family Beginnings Birth Center, a center for natural birth within a hospital in 1996. She also served as the team leader for the successful Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative designation in 2008 at Southview Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. She served on the board of the International Childbirth Education Association from 2009 until 2018, the last 4 years as Director of Lactation.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Childbirth Education: Being Marginalized, Being Lost, and Making a Comeback with Penny Simkin, PT

Celebrated instructor and renowned author Penny Simkin, PT leads this webinar which explores the present and potential contributions of childbirth education.

Through her research, Penny has discovered that current scientific findings regarding effectiveness of childbirth education indicate little demonstrable benefit in improving obstetric outcomes. Studies are inconsistent and too small to give meaningful results.

In this webinar, Penny discusses the essential information and skills that parents must have, along with a study design that would be adequate to demonstrate the usefulness if childbirth education in improving obstetric outcomes.

Penny Simkin, PT, is a physical therapist who has specialized in childbirth education and labor support since 1968. She has prepared over 13,000 women, couples, and siblings for childbirth. She has also assisted hundreds of women and couples through childbirth as a doula. In addition, she is author or co-author of books for both parents and professionals, including The Labor Progress Handbook and The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Impact of Birth Practices on Breastfeeding with Linda Smith, MPH, IBCLC, FACCE, FILCA

In this webinar, Linda Smith, MPH, IBCLC, FACCE, FILCA discusses how a mother’s confidence and trust in her ability to birth directly affects her confidence in her ability to breastfeed.

For breastfeeding to succeed, the baby must emerge from birth able to feed; the mother must be able and willing to let her baby feed; lactogenesis must proceed normally; breastfeeding must be comfortable for both, and the surroundings must support the mother and baby as mutual caregivers, an “inseparable biological and social unit” during the baby’s early days and weeks.

Linda is the author of the book Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding. She is also the liaison from the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) to the World Health Organization’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Learn more about Linda on her website.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Talking Doesn’t Teach: An Evidenced-Based Teaching Model with Tamela J. Hatcher, MEd

Are you just starting out in your career in birthing education and looking for fun ideas to incorporate into your class or do you need to add some student driven activities to your current class? This webinar session will give you the opportunity to learn and model innovative teaching practices.  Evidenced-based educational research has proven that personalized and one to one student/teacher ratio greatly improves learning.  The real challenge is finding innovative ways to do this within our financial constraints. This approach allows the instructor more time to assist students in the class when removed from the lecture based teaching structure.

Each participant will have the opportunity to download 3 student-driven teaching activities at the conclusion of the webinar.

Tamela J. Hatcher, MEd, has been a Childbirth Education Coordinator since 1991 and recently retired to pursue her love of teaching and traveling. She has taught more than 3,610 couples in childbirth education since 1991. Plus, Tamela has conducted ICEA workshops in China and the USA to help more than 500 individuals start their career as Professional Childbirth Educators and/or Birth Doulas.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Walking the Line: Balancing Fact and Opinion with Jana McCarthy

People come to childbirth education classes for evidence-based facts, not opinion. While separating fact from opinion may sound simple, it is often much more complicated. In the field of childbirth education and maternal care, some toe the line between opinion and fact. This is not always beneficial to the success of the family or the success of the field.

Join Jana McCarthy to explore both facts and opinions to see if there is a place for both in a prenatal class. Attendees will take a look at common biases and learn how those biases may affect the classroom. Additionally, attendees will walk away with methods that will help them share facts (and maybe even opinions) through meaningful storytelling.

Jana McCarthy is a native Southern Californian. She is a nurse, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, basic life support instructor, the mother of eight breastfed children, and grandmother to three breastfed children. She works for Kaiser Permanente where she is an Education Development and Learning Consultant, and she enjoys developing curricula, reading, writing poetry and short stories, and sleeping whenever she gets a chance.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

How Much We Don’t Know About Marijuana Safety in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding with Kathy King, BSN, RNC, ICCE, IAT, IBCLC, CLC

The internet is full of untrue information regarding marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

In this webinar, Kathy King will lead a review of the studies on this topic and their varying results. She will also discuss the concerns for the safety of fetuses and neonates under the information provided by these studies. Additionally, she will conduct a review of major organizations’ policy statements about the use of marijuana in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Kathy King has been a nurse for over 40 years. She has taught all types of family education and childbirth prep to families for over 37 years, and became an ICCE in 1988. Additionally, Kathy holds certifications in Inpatient OB and Electronic Fetal monitoring and is an IBCLC and IAT She became an IAT. For 10 years, she was a clinical instructor for college nursing students, and has worked in exclusive midwifery settings and low to high risk OB settings.

Learn more about Kathy on her website.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their Impact on the Perinatal Experience and the Perinatal Experiences Impact on ACEs with Colleen Weeks LCCE, FACCE, CLE, CSE, RTS

Every mother we serve has a story and that story impacts her pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and mothering experience psycho-socially and physically. Childhood abuse and neglect leaves lifelong scars, while love and support creates resilience. We have a powerful opportunity to influence resilience in the mother and, in turn the newborn which will follow them throughout life. This is a powerful “feel good” presentation based in science!

Colleen Weeks has been a childbirth educator since 1983 and is the Perinatal Education Manager and Bereavement Program Coordinator at Kaiser Permanente in Orange County California where she also serves on the Baby Friendly and Family Violence Prevention teams. Colleen’s passions include the beach, jewelry design, jazz and her faith and family. Colleen is Director of Marketing on the ICEA Board of Directors.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: An Overview with Birdie Gunyon Meyer, RN, MA

In this webinar, you will learn about the many faces of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) including signs and symptoms, risk factors, screening, breastfeeding, and treatment options. You will also learn ways of integrating and teaching useful information about PMADs to your moms and families.

Birdie Gunyon Meyer is an RN with a Master’s Degree in Psychology/Counseling. She is the Coordinator of the Perinatal Mood Disorders Program at Indiana University Health. She’s a Past-President and Past-Chair of Education and Training for Postpartum Support International (PSI) and currently is the Director of Certification. Birdie is also on the President’s Advisory Council for PSI and for the ICEA.  Currently, she’s the Certification Director for PSI. Birdie specializes in the recognition and treatment of pregnancy and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. Additionally, she is a childbirth educator and a lactation counselor.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Birth, Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Waterbirth with Barbara Harper, RN, CLD, CCCE, DEM

Waterbirth is more than a fad or trend – it is evidence-based practice in hospitals, birth centers, and home birth throughout the world. Relaxing in water during labor eases discomfort and creates a gentler birth process.

The benefits of warm water immersion in labor and birth have been studied for over three decades. This course will explain why to integrate water immersion as a comfort measure during birth and highlight the benefits of waterbirth as part of a gentle birth approach to maternity care. Special emphasis is given on newborn transitional physiology, the latest research and the impact of the ACOG opinion. The science and safety of birth in water include: Mobility, Intimacy, Research, Consciousness, and Fetal and Newborn Capabilities.

Barbara Harper is an internationally recognized expert on waterbirth and Gentle Birth. Dedicating her life to changing the way we welcome babies into the world, over the past four decades, Barbara has worked as an OB and pediatric nurse, home birth midwife, midwifery instructor, doula and doula trainer, and childbirth instructor. She has used her vast experience to develop many unique seminars which she teaches within hospitals, midwifery and medical schools and community groups worldwide. She founded Waterbirth International in 1988, to ensure that waterbirth is an “available option” for all women.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Interactive Ways to Teach Breastfeeding with Elizabeth Kirts, MPH, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC

This session will enhance your skills and provide you with ideas to teach breastfeeding to clients,  in classes, or to other professionals. Breastfeeding is an important component that is sometimes forgotten when we teach about birth.

Baby Friendly, local breastfeeding initiatives, and the Healthy People 2020 goals all support the need for breastfeeding education. This session will help you with continuum from birth to breast with some creativity and fun.

Elizabeth Kirts, MPH, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC, holds a masters degree in public health with an emphasis in maternal child health. She began working at the University Hospital in 2000 as an educator and quickly moved into the management position for the Department of Perinatal Education. In 2003 she was asked to be on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Steering Committee where she worked with a team to get University Hospital designated as the first Baby Friendly Hospital in Utah. She was asked to take the lead for Baby Friendly when the previous coordinator changed jobs. Since then, she has worked to maintain that designation.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Greening Your Pregnancy and New Family with Donna Walls RN, BSN, ICCE, IBCLC

Education on the effects of environmental chemicals has been slow to catch up with the research. ACOG has recommended that all pregnant women receive information on how to avoid many chemicals known to cause fetal harm. Numerous organizations are providing research and education for families to reduce their exposure to unhealthy toxins but mainstream paths of education have been slow to add this information to curriculum.

Childbirth educators have a unique opportunity to educate pregnant and new families about the concerns and also provide safe, healthy alternatives for care of families.

Donna Walls, RN, BSN, ICCE, IBCLC, became a Registered Nurse in 1972, and has worked with pregnant and new parents since 1974. She became a Certified Childbirth Educator in 1984, is currently serving as Director of Lactation on the Board for the International Childbirth Education Association, She became a Certified Lactation Consultant in 1987 and an Advanced Nurse Lactation consultant in 2012. She is a clinical Lactation Consultant, and continues as faculty for the Healthy Children Project. She also teaches many women’s health classes and workshops for both patients and professionals and became adjunct faculty at Sinclair Community College, teaching holistic and environmental care classes. She was the project leader for the successful Baby Friendly designation at Southview Hospital in 2008 and has worked to implement the Ohio 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

She published her first book “Natural Families- Healthy Homes” in 2007, focusing on the connection between the health of the environment and personal health and published her second book “Growing Green Families” in 2016.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Expecting Families and Their Dogs: Tips for Success with Jennifer Shryock, CDBC

Families with dogs can often be caught off guard with their feelings and challenges once they bring their newborn home. Childbirth professionals have an amazing opportunity to offer resources to help decrease this stress for many families.Learn why and how preparation can impacts families lives short term and long term.

Join us, and learn how you can help support a safer and less stressful homecoming!

Jennifer Shryock is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), owner of Family Paws™ LLC in Cary, NC, and holds a degree in Special Education. Jennifer is also former VP of Doggone Safe, a non-profit dedicated to dog bite prevention and victim support. Jennifer also has proudly served on the board member of the International Childbirth Education Association.  A recognized expert on dog and baby/toddler interactions and safety, Jennifer has written and spoken extensively about these topics. Her two programs, Dogs & Storks® and Dogs & Toddlers™ have been featured in national media such as The Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart LIVING along with many TV and radio appearances. Jennifer lives in Cary, NC, with her husband, four children, two dogs, and four cats.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Not Just Postpartum Depression with Elizabeth Kirts, MPH, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC

In the past, it was considered part of having a baby that led to what was called the “Baby Blues.” We recognized that women often felt moody, sad, or tired and even acknowledged that some women got postpartum depression. These conditions were attributed to hormones and generally thought to be transient; nothing to be concerned about.

Today, we know that pregnancy, postpartum, and even breastfeeding can lead to Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD). PMAD is the number one medical complication in late pregnancy and postpartum. PMAD can come on at any point in pregnancy and even after the first year post birth.

Although no one wants to experience this, there is good news in that research and clinical practice have led to better diagnosis and treatment. PMAD does not have to be the silent disease of the past. This session will explore these mood and anxiety disorders, look at treatments and options, and provide allied health professionals with ways to support pregnant and new moms.

Elizabeth Kirts, MPH, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC, holds a masters degree in public health with an emphasis in maternal child health. She began working at the University Hospital in 2000 as an educator and quickly moved into the management position for the Department of Perinatal Education. In 2003 she was asked to be on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Steering Committee where she worked with a team to get University Hospital designated as the first Baby Friendly Hospital in Utah. She was asked to take the lead for Baby Friendly when the previous coordinator changed jobs. Since then, she has worked to maintain that designation.

Continuing Education Units: One (1) ICEA Contact Hour, One (1) R-CERP

Registration Price: USD $25.00

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