2017 Speakers & Topics
American midwife lives between Saudi Arabia and Delaware USA and who travels globally providing workshops and lectures for birth workers and trains AMANI Birth Teachers and Doulas. She is an advocate for normal physiologic birth and the rights of parents to education and preparation for birth and the responsibility of birth workers to compassionately support them. She is the International Relations Coordinator for the Saudi Midwifery Group and is supporting new midwifery curriculum development with the Saudi Ministry of Health. Additionally, she provides cultural competency for workshops. Her credits include a variety of published articles and books, many lecture topics, and conference organization. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) as designated by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM); has completed her of her Bachelor and Masters of Science in Midwifery and is a licensed midwife in the United States and registered as a Midwifery Specialist by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS).
Providing Culturally Sensitive Care competency is a pressing and relevant topic in today’s multicultural communities. Healthcare workers are increasingly likely to work with persons of diverse backgrounds, including varying nationalities, races, and religions. These professionals must first be introduced to self-reflexive consideration of how their own self-selected, as well as socially assigned, identities effect their personal perceptions and biases. With an understanding of how they personally function within their private and professional lives they can then advance to exploring basic understandings of others and begin to work with a sense of “cultural humility” as they provide care. Together we will explore our individual webs of identity and discover how this impacts our perspectives of social justice.
Betsy Schwartz is a pioneer and a visionary. She established Tenth Month Doula Services in 1994, the first of its kind in South Florida. She has trained hundreds of postpartum doulas. Betsy is a former CAPPA and DONA International Postpartum Doula trainer, and is an active member of both. She now offers online courses at BirthElearning. Betsy’s most recent accomplishment is the creation of Down the Canal –The Game of Birth. Betsy continues to pioneer in Citrus County Florida as a committee member of the Florida Healthy Babies Initiative. Betsy holds a master’s degree in management of human services. She is also a Reiki Master and a yoga enthusiast.
The purpose of this workshop is for participants to gain an understanding of the value of play for maximum retention of information. Participants will stimulate their happy chemicals, explore the brain on fun, engage in play, and discover their own learning style. There will be an opportunity to share ideas for games and activities for childbirth education, and to ask questions.
Brian is the Provincial Coordinator for Dad Central Ontario, which is devoted to promoting responsible father involvement in Ontario, Canada and has acted as a catalyst for other provinces and territories within Canada to form their own regional father initiatives. He has taught and trained extensively on understanding fatherhood and ways to engage men as parents. He is also a Marriage and Family Therapist in Toronto. He brings an important perspective to the couple relationship in families, where trust and respect are key elements to building strong families. He is married with three teenage daughters.
Men are becoming more and more involved in the lives of their children and this is clearly beginning from the moment they hear they are going to be a daddy. The role of an involved, purposeful father is an important aspect of healthy development in children and therefore, in order to support this, it is vital that we understand the dynamics of the father-child relationship. The Father Factor will focus on how to encourage men to define their role as a father. We will also discuss the unique pathway of bonding and attachment that occurs between dads and kids. The pathway is one of activation and exploration. Further, we will highlight how this plays out in fathering practice and how this impacts a child’s development.
Desirée is a perinatal psychotherapist, trained birth doula, Reiki practitioner, and owner of Motherland Community helping women decipher the funk of motherhood through her practice in Baltimore, MD. A mother of 2 boys, Desirée ignited her passion for perinatal mental health after experiencing undiagnosed postpartum depression and OCD.
Using her own experience and compassion in hopes to heal others, Desirée completed training as a birth doula in 2014 and the Postpartum Support International’s Components of Care Training on PMADs in 2015. Since then, she has immersed her free time in PMAD (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder) awareness. Additionally, she serves as a Maryland co-coordinator for PSI (Postpartum Support International), co-founder of the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for Women of Color and her practice is a Perinatal Safe Spot through the National Perinatal Taskforce.
Desirée’s philosophy is ‘every woman should be nurtured and cared for during her transition to motherhood. It is a rite of passage that has no manual, only the virtue of patience, sacrifice and sense of community that is necessary to hold space for a woman on the other side of birth.
African-American mothers experience birth and perinatal complications at a disproportionate rate. Thirty-eight percent of new mothers of color experience perinatal emotional complications like depression and anxiety. Women of color experience these complications at twice the rate of white women. Sixty percent of women of color do not receive treatment or support services for perinatal emotional complications. Reasons for this include lack of insurance coverage, social and cultural stigma, logistical barriers to services and lack of culturally appropriate care. This presentation will give a brief overview of racial trauma and its effects on perinatal outcomes for mothers of color, specifically African-American mothers, a template for a trauma-informed approach and examples of trauma-informed models of care to prevent negative outcomes.
Fayth M. Parks, PhD is an associate professor and licensed psychologist in the Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development at Georgia Southern University. Fayth is a counseling psychologist whose scholarship and research focuses on ways diverse cultures interpret mental health, healing, and illness recovery to prevent misdiagnosing as psychopathology culturally significant beliefs and practices that can facilitate personal strengths, positive emotions, and behavior change. She has published journal articles, essays, and book chapters on this topic as well as given numerous invited lectures, TEDx Talks, and workshops. In 2009, Fayth was appointed the David B. Larson Fellow in Health and Spirituality at The John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. You can follow her on Twitter @FaythParks. And visit Fayth’s website for more cultural strength-based strategies for healthy wellbeing at www.faythparks.com
The complexity of postpartum depression and other pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders, including significant health disparities that have emerged from its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, necessitates learning innovative ways to think critically about the role healing traditions play in a person's medical belief system. Employment of vernacular knowledge about the cause, prevention, and treatment of physical and mental illness along with conventional medicine is a form of medical pluralism where more than one system is in use. Cultural strengths derived from healing traditions can teach us varied helping and healing strategies. Four elements that form a framework for understanding how diverse cultures construct the healing experience will be highlighted. If we disregard healing traditions, we overlook the expressiveness of human behavior and cognitive styles that promote harmony of mind and body, family and community.
Tom Johnston is unique as a midwife and lactation consultant and the father of eight breastfed children. Recently retired after 27 years in the US Army, he is now an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Methodist University where he teaches, among other things, Maternal-Child Nursing and Nutrition. You may have heard him at a number of conferences at the national level, to include the Association of Woman’s Health and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the International Lactation Consultant’s Association (ILCA), or perhaps at dozens of other conferences across the country. In his written work he routinely addresses fatherhood and the role of the father in the breastfeeding relationship and has authored a chapter on the role of the father in breastfeeding for “Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: A survival guide to breastfeeding in the military”.
There is much to learn about the perinatal microbiome, What is it? What can it do? What do we do about it? How do our practices in the birth arena affect the long term health of women and their children? This presentation will scratch the surface of this exciting new area of research.
Jessica is a Clinical Psychologist and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow. Her research interests are in mental health in childhood and adolescence, maternal mental health, and nutrition and lifestyle in mothers and young infants. Her major research projects to date have included an investigation of the influence of parental age on mental health problems in children and adolescents, and an investigation of key predictors of mental health outcomes in a cohort of Western Australian children. She completed Master of Psychology (Clinical) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Western Australia in 2015. In 2011, she was named as an inaugural member of the ISSBD Jacobs Foundation Early Career Scholar Fellows. Jessica currently works at the Telethon Kids Institute developing a comprehensive lifestyle intervention program for women and their infants postpartum. In her work as a psychologist, Jess has a particular interest in working with personality disorders and mental health after traumatic life events.
Across the western world, there is a significant trend toward older parenthood. Advanced maternal and paternal ages have been associated with adverse biological outcomes for offspring. However, older parenthood has also been associated with a number of other psychosocial factors, such as socioeconomic status, readiness and preparedness for parenthood, and social support, which may plausibly be of benefit in childrearing. There is now a significant body of literature investigating the impacts of older parental age on offspring health and behavioral outcomes. However, more work, including further longitudinal cohort studies and qualitative studies of the reasons why individuals are delaying parenthood must be conducted. This lecture will outline key findings form the literature regarding outcomes for offspring of older parents, will articulate methods for investigating these complex relationships, and will outline evidence from qualitative literature investigating the experience of older mothers in childbearing and rearing.
Dr. Jodi Hall is a full-time professor in Doula Studies at Fanshawe College and an adjunct professor at Western University. Her research interests include reproductive justice, trauma, social exclusion, sex work, ethics and criminality. Dr. Hall’s unique combination of practical experience gained in the gender based violence community as a frontline worker and her academic research background in trauma has spurred a high demand for her workshops (www.jodihall.ca ) aimed at informing a diverse array of professionals around the complex issue of trauma, and how to recognize and respond accordingly. Through her professional work, Dr. Hall has contributed to numerous research studies and publications on health inequities amongst women in conflict with the law, health promotion, trauma and the transition to parenting, and a housing first approach for women. Currently, Dr. Hall is conducting a community based research study funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) with members of London sex workers’ community, SafeSpace.
The impact of interpersonal trauma on the transition to parenting should not be considered an “optional,” “special,” or “continuing education” topic—although it is generally treated as such. Not only are the impacts of abuse on the lives of pregnant and parenting people missing from our practice base, but so too is a deep and genuine understanding of how survivors of abuse negotiate the transition to parenting against the odds. Collectively we lack an understanding of the wide range of “normal” responses to the fantastically unimaginable situations of pain, betrayal and terror our clients have endured. As such, our clients are often treated as though they would make different choices, “better” choices, if they had access to the best available research evidence. This presentation will address this “information paradigm” in the context of myths care providers bring to their practice, examine the theory of transliteracy as it relates to obtaining, appraising and applying health information, and highlighting how a trauma informed approach in reproductive care shifts the way information is understood and circulated in client/care provider relationships.
Linda J. Smith, MPH, FACCE, IBCLC, FILCA is a lactation consultant, childbirth educator, author, and internationally-known consultant on breastfeeding and birthing issues. Linda is ILCA’s liaison to the World Health Organization’s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and consultant to INFACT Canada/IBFAN North America. She holds a Master’s in Public Health, is an Adjunct Instructor in the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton OH, and is the author of 4 textbooks on birth and breastfeeding and the book Sweet Sleep for parents. She has lectured in at least 15 countries; her presentations have been translated into 10 languages including Inuktitut. She owns the Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre, on the Internet at www.BFLRC.com.
For breastfeeding to succeed, the baby must be able and willing to feed; the mother must be able and willing to let her baby nurse many hours a day and night; breastfeeding should be comfortable and pleasant for both; and circumstances and surroundings must support the dyad so the mother feels free to continue. Birth medications, procedures, and the attitudes of attendants can create significant barriers for the mother, baby, or both. This presentation focuses on mechanical forces and drugs that affect the baby’s ability to suck, swallow, and breathe during feeding.
Dr. Lori Brotto is a Professor in the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a registered psychologist in Vancouver, Canada. She has recently become Executive Director of the Women's Health Research Institute of BC. Dr. Brotto holds a Canada Research Chair in Women's Sexual Health (2016-2021). She is the director of the UBC Sexual Health Laboratory where research primarily focuses on developing and testing psychological and mindfulness-based interventions for women with sexual desire and arousal difficulties and women with chronic genital pain. Other major lines of research include exploring psychosocial versus hormonal predictors of women's sexual response, asexuality, sex and cancer, and genital self-image. Dr Brotto is an Associate Editor for the Archives of Sexual Behavior, has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, is the Sexual Health expert writer for the Globe and Mail, and is frequently featured in the media on topics related to sexuality.
Sex makes a baby. But babies can be bad for sex. Six weeks after a child is born, most women are given the green light to resume sexual activity as long as the typical healing-signs of delivery – whether a vaginal or a cesarean birth – are evident, and the couple have considered contraceptive options. However, sexual concerns are common in the postpartum period, and may include loss of sexual desire, vulvovaginal dryness, difficulties with orgasm, genital pain, and loss of pleasure. For some women, these sexual difficulties can persist for months, years, or even decades. The goal of this talk is to discuss the etiology of postpartum sexual difficulties, and discuss strategies for improving sexual dysfunction that can be implemented by the health care provider.
Melissa Bartick, MD, MSc, FABM is an internist and Assistant Professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance. She has numerous breastfeeding publications in peer-reviewed journals. She served as the chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition from 2002 to 2014, where she was also a founder of Ban the Bags. She served on the Board of Directors of the United States Breastfeeding Committee from 2009-2015. She was founder of the Breastfeeding Forum of the American Public Health Association, where she served two terms as chair. She is founder and co-chair of her state’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Collaborative. She has blog contributions to the Huffington Post, the WBUR CommonHealth Blog, among others. Dr. Bartick received her BA from the University of Virginia and holds an MSc in Health and Medical Sciences from University of California, Berkeley and an MD from University of California, San Francisco. She works as a hospitalist and is the mother of two.
Expert recommendations around infant sleep fail to recognize the concept of “breastsleeping,” relying on an evolutionary anomaly of artificial feeding and solitary sleep as the norm for infant behavior. Breastfeeding comprises a sum total of human behavior that is more than just nutrition. With focus on the ingredients of milk, and the delivery of expressed milk, it is easy to overlook the importance of breastfeeding on proximity to mother and human contact. Recommendations for infant sleep and breastfeeding, including the “Baby Box,” are seen as risk reduction strategies, without regard to the evolutionary norms of human behavior. If “breastsleeping” were recognized as the evolutionary norm, we would be focusing on risks of separation, not risks of bedsharing. Such risks may potentially be profound, but are as yet little studied. The 2016 AAP safe sleep recommendations are critically reviewed here, as are updates in progress toward a more evolutionarily balanced model.
Dr. Mottola is a Professor with a Joint Position in the School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences and the Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. She is the Director of the R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation – Exercise and Pregnancy Laboratory (www.uwo.ca/fhs/EPL ), a Scientist of the Children’s Health Research Institute and a Fellow and a Board of Trustees Member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She is an anatomist (embryologist) and exercise physiologist who has conducted research on the effects of maternal exercise on both the mother and the developing fetus, with follow up into the postpartum period. Her current research focuses on the impact of a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy on chronic disease risks such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease for both mother and her offspring. She was a research participant in her own studies when pregnant with her two daughters.
The importance of physical activity among women of childbearing age will be discussed as physical inactivity during pregnancy and postpartum may be one potential pathway for obesity development by excessive pregnancy weight gain and postpartum weight retention. There is also a robust link between the fetal environment and the long-term influence on health and future chronic disease in the offspring. Promotion of active living and lifestyle change, while potentially overcoming barriers to a healthier lifestyle during this time period will be presented. Participants will be able to promote physical activity for pregnant women to help them exercise safely and be more active by using the Canadian guidelines for exercise during pregnancy: the PARmed-X for Pregnancy; http://www.csep.ca/CMFiles/publications/parq/parmed-xpreg.pdf . The PARmed-X for pregnancy is a tool for medical screening before beginning or continuing an exercise program and also contains guidelines for aerobic and muscle conditioning exercise prescription. Targeting pregnant women with a healthy lifestyle approach may help slow down the obesity epidemic for both mom and her child. Healthy moms = healthy babies!
Miriam Zoila Pérez is a Cuban-American writer and activist whose work has focused on the themes of race, gender and health for over a decade. Pérez has spent much of the last ten years writing about these topics for outlets like Colorlines, Fusion, Rewire and Talking Points Memo. They recently gave a TED talk about how racism impacts maternal health.
Pérez is trained in the healing modalities of doula and massage therapist, and has helped foster the movement of full spectrum doula work. Pérez is the founder of Radical Doula, a website that connects the dots between social justice and birth activism, and the author of the popular Radical Doula Guide: A Political Primer for Full Spectrum Pregnancy and Childbirth Support, which has sold over 2500 copies.
This presentation will provide an overview on working with marginalized populations in an inclusive and compassionate way. Pérez will share from her expertise as a doula, massage therapist and activist on how to bring the most radically compassionate care to the LGBT population, with an emphasis on queer and trans clients. She will also explain how research on the impact of discrimination on health can better inform your work with marginalized communities.
Myrna is a teacher and clinician in Pre and Perinatal Health and Psychology. She has been working with people therapeutically as a nurse, and family therapist and psychotherapist for 45 years. Myrna practices early trauma resolution work with babies and young children and their families, as well as adults. This work is focused on developing secure attachment relationships and healing disruptions in attachment, such as prematurity, low birth weight, hospitalizations, adoption, postpartum depression and other misattunements.
Myrna is a graduate of the University of Calgary Family Systems Nursing program (MN) and has trained extensively in early trauma resolution work. She is an accredited teacher of Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, a Registered Clinical Counsellor. She teaches a professional training in pre and perinatal /attachment therapy internationally and has produced a Video Series of this training, which is spreading knowledge of the primal period and its impact. Myrna offers summer residential intensives in British Columbia, Canada.
Love, as expressed through connection, with the unborn baby has a major impact on the physical and mental health lif long of this new human being, as well as his/her capacity to learn, create, and imagine. This presentation, through delineating the neurobiology of the childbearing couple and the developing prenate in one resonate field of three hearts, will provide practical support strategies. Through video clips, and theoretical discussion, participants will gain a clear understanding of the power of loving, connected hearts on the developing body and brain of the newborn AND the parents. Details of effective two way communication between the prenate and the parents will be delineated. Suggestions on how to support parents in this communicate are an important part of this work.
Dr. Byatt is a perinatal psychiatrist focused on improving health care systems to promote maternal mental health. She is an Associate Professor at UMass Medical School in the Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research focuses on developing innovative ways to improve the implementation and adoption of evidence-based depression treatment for pregnant and postpartum women. She has federal funding to test interventions to help women access and engage in perinatal depression treatment in obstetric settings. Her academic achievements have led to numerous peer-reviewed publications and national awards. She is also the Founding and Statewide Medical Director of MCPAP for Moms, a statewide program that addresses perinatal depression in Massachusetts by providing mental health consultation and care coordination for medical providers serving pregnant and postpartum women.
Perinatal depression - depression that occurs during pregnancy or in the year after birth - can have far-reaching, harmful effects for all family members. Fathers and adoptive families can also experience perinatal depression. Birth outcomes can be adversely affected by depression in pregnancy, and postpartum depression can have a long-term impact on child outcomes. This workshop will outline: 1) prevalence of perinatal depression and risk factors; 2) impact on birth and child outcomes; 3) evidence-based practices for detecting, assess and manage perinatal depression; 4) and how the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) for Moms can help improve outcomes for babies, children, and families.
Natashia Conner is a graduate in Health and a Lactation Consultant at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. She is a member of Black Breastfeeding Research, Education, Awareness, & Support Team, Southwest Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition, and Trinity Mother & Baby Outreach. She became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2015 and has worked with numerous mothers and infants supporting them on their breastfeeding journeys. As a graduate, she is heavily involved in research. Her research interests are: Investigations to improve infant mortality among minority and vulnerable population; Attest racial disparities to eliminate health care biases that systematically oppress breastfeeding equity. In the local community, she has volunteered and served as content expert for the Annual Black Family Reunion, NAACP Annual Conference, First Ladies Health Day. She is a breastfeeding advocate, peer, and a breastfeeding mother
During slavery, Black women were used as wet nurses. Black infants were often denied the benefits of breastfeeding. Forced care in the form of Mammy- Black nannies took the place of wet nurses. After the Civil War, infant formula became the norm. Following the Post-Civil War Act more attention has been given to Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome and its implication on poor health outcomes.
In the U.S. SIDS is the leading contributing factors of infant mortality which is now 5.8 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Ohio is at 6.8/1000, and within Hamilton County 9.3/1000. Nationally Black babies are more likely to die before their first birthday. In Hamilton county Blacks represent 16.3% of infant death, while Whites represent 5.9%. The lack of breastfeeding is one of the leading risk factors associated with SIDS. Strategies for prevention include increasing culturally appropriate support, access to breastfeeding education, and addressing racism and inequity in health care.
Dr. Pamela Douglas MBBS FRACGP IBCLC PhD is Medical Director of the Possums Clinic in Highgate Hill, Brisbane, Australia www.possumsonline.com, a charitable organisation whose multi-disciplinary services include specialised clinical care for mothers and babies, and education programs for both parents and health professionals. Pam is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Maternity Newborn and Families Research Collaborative at Griffith University, and Senior Lecturer at the Discipline of General Practice, The University of Queensland. She publishes research focussed on innovative clinical strategies for the support of parent-baby neurohormonal synchrony across the domains of feeds, sleep, crying and mood. Possums Education’s evidence-based programs for Neuroprotective Developmental Care (including the Gestalt Breastfeeding Online Program and The Possums Sleep Film) are rapidly influencing early life care both in Australia and internationally. Pam is also author of The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying (UQP).
One in five families report that their baby cries excessively in the first few months of life – but many more introduce infant formula because of unsettled behaviour. Parents with babies who cry and fuss also report receiving a great deal of conflicting advice from health professionals, and are at increased risk of postnatal depression. In breastfed babies, back-arching, fussing during feeds, gas, excessively frequent feeding, excessively frequent night-waking, and crying are typically signs of unidentified breastfeeding problems. These signs are, however, often inappropriately medicalised and the baby is treated with pharmaceutical, oral surgical or maternal dietary interventions, which have been demonstrated not only to be ineffective, but risk worsened outcomes. What do we need to look for in the baby with cry-fuss problems? What does the latest evidence tell us about the link between gut microbiota and crying? What interventions actually help? Join this talk to learn more about Neuroprotective Developmental Care for babies with cry-fuss problems.
Dr. Shahirose Premji is an Associate Professor with Faculty of Nursing and Adjunct Associate Professor with the Department of Community Health Sciences , a clinical researcher and former Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and Public Health Nurse. Dr. Premji's academic involvement includes 2 years at Aga Khan University-School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan - a consultant position with the Aga Khan Foundation Canada—as part of the Canadian Development Exchange Program. She is the author of 56 peer-review publications, 3 book chapters, and 23 other publications including abstracts, commentaries/editorials, etc. She has over 25 years' experience in newborn health and has practiced clinically or provided technical expertise in countries such as Australia, China, Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan and Syria. Dr. Premji is the founder and 1st President of the Canadian Association of Neonatal Nurses. Dr. Premji is the recipient of the Jeanne Mance Award (which is the Canadian Nurses Association's highest award) and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
This presentation will examine the impact of emotional disorders (pregnancy-specific anxiety, stress, and depression) on pregnancy outcome while considering: (a) cultural context, and (b) pathways that explain the relationships between psychosocial health and pregnancy outcome. Strategies to improve the perinatal experience for families in order to protect their physical and mental health and that of their babies will be explored considering: (a) evidence, (b) individual and cultural preferences, (c) clinical judgment and resources.
Dr Simone Honikman is a medical doctor (UCT) with clinical experience in Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Psychiatry and a Masters degree in Maternal and Child Health (UCT). She is founder and director of the 15-year old Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) based at UCT. The Project has received formal commendation by the World Health Organisation. Simone received the international Ashoka Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship, has published academic papers, book chapters editorials and training manuals. She designs and conducts training for a wide range of healthcare and social service providers and consults to health policy and programme processes within South Africa. Through her involvement in several research consortia, she has collaborated with clinicians and researchers in high, low and middle income countries.
Perinatal common mental disorders (depression and anxiety) are highly prevalent, particularly in socio-economically adverse settings. These disorders are associated with substantial morbidity for mothers and their offspring, exerting impacts at multiple levels, and across generations. In high income settings, maternal suicide is rated among the leading causes of maternal mortality while contributing smaller, but notable proportions of maternal deaths in Low and Middle Income Countries. There is a growing body of evidence that integrating mental health care in to maternal and child care platforms, may be an effective and efficient way of addressing the unmet need faced by so many women. The presentation will cover common perinatal mental disorders: epidemiology, risk factors, clinical presentations, and adverse impacts for mothers and infants. A practical approach to detection and management will be offered, aimed maternal care providers who are not mental health specialists. The presentation will be particularly relevant for providers working in resource constrained settings, but will also have relevance for all perinatal care providers.
Tammy Ruiz Ziegler RN CPLC has been a nurse for 32 years with most of that time in Maternal Child Health including Peds ICU, NICU & Perinatal Bereavement & Palliative Care. She and her interdisciplinary team provide care for mothers/families/babies where a life limiting diagnosis has been made. She has taught and written internationally on the topic and hosted site visits from Japan and Ireland and contributed to textbooks on the subject. Her “Perinatal Hospice Video” is available in 8 languages and is used all over the world. She is on the advisory boards of the Trisomy 18 foundation, A Moms Peace, & The LLOST Foundation. She works as a Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator in the mid-Atlantic area of the United States.
The concept of “Perinatal Hospice” was first proposed in the literature in the late 1990’s and a few programs were developed in the early 2000’s. There are currently 300 programs throughout the world in hospitals, hospices and volunteer organizations, but with 5000 community hospitals in the US alone, there is a need to disseminate information helpful in starting new programs in mid-sized hospitals. The presenter founded one of the first 40 programs in the world before most resources now available had been written. She will share history, academic and professional resources and personal experience in how to provide this needed resource for the families you care for.
Tikvah Wadley, AAS, CD(DONA), BDT (DONA), a Certified Doula and Birth Doula Trainer through DONA, has worked in the community for nearly 20 years and believes in empowering women in today’s society. Her didactic and experiential training approach welcomes creativity and learning for every participant. An activist for women’s health, she has served as a Lactation Counselor since 2003 and a Certified Child Birth Educator since 2002.
In 2012, she trained young women to become community-based doulas for youth in Chicago’s foster care system, through HC One’s partnership with UCAN. She continues working with this program, and with other community-based, peer-to-peer support programs around the country, today.
Tikvah is a warm and caring, experienced and often humorous public speaker, and is adept at resolving conflicts. Before joining the HC One staff, she was instrumental in recruiting more than 500 women for the University of Chicago Doula Project, taught a variety of classes for the YMCA. and co-trained breastfeeding peer counselors and community health workers in collaboration with existing HC One staff. With each training, she looks forward to meeting every participant and engaging the learning experience between mom and baby.
There is a general consensus about doulas and the remarkable support they have given to families throughout the world for centuries. Community-Based Doulas possess the same qualities with a more strategic approach with women living in the same area they will serve. We will discuss program strategies, activities, challenges, and what’ve we learned about this model.
Tracy is a registered midwife, published author and Founder of the award winning GentleBirth App and CBE program. Born in Ireland, Tracy has lived and worked on three continents and currently lives in Silicon Valley, California with her husband and two boys. The experiences and mental health of the woman during pregnancy and throughout the post-pregnancy period are of utmost importance for the well-being of both the mother and her child. Tracy’s vision is to improve mental health in pregnancy through her innovative ‘brain training for birth’ program taught around the world and available through mobile technology in the GentleBirth App.
A parent’s ability to manage their own stress is one of the most powerful predictors of their children’s well-being. Mindfulness is emerging as an effective intervention for parents regardless of socioeconomic status during pregnancy, birth and the post partum period to build emotional resilience and mental stability. Mindfulness training offers parents an opportunity to develop their internal resources and self-efficacy to adjust to the demands of pregnancy and parenthood, as well as improving emotion regulation and enhancing attachment with their baby. Research suggests that mindfulness may be effective in reducing anxiety and depression in the perinatal period.
Dr. Speakers Full Name
Speaker Credentials
Annet Mulder first became interested in breastfeeding in the year 2000, when she became a mother for the first time. During and because of her own breastfeeding experiences, in 2002 she became a volunteer with the Dutch breastfeeding Organization and in 2008 sat for and passed the exam administered by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. As an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, she now
Annet Mulder first became interested in breastfeeding in the year 2000, when she became a mother for the first time. During and because of her own breastfeeding experiences, in 2002 she became a volunteer with the Dutch breastfeeding Organization text text text text more name mulder first became interested in breastfeeding in the year 2000, when she became.
Dr. Speakers Full Name
Speaker Credentials