Full Course Description

Breastfeeding Success: Latch Secrets, Alternative Feeding Methods & Medication Safety

Over 80% of mothers say they want to breastfeed their babies – but by the time they leave the hospital almost 20% of those babies have already been given formula. Can we change that metric? Why do babies seem to refuse the breast, and what help can we offer?

Parents can feel confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed. They report that information has not been consistent amongst the nurses helping them. How can we change that? What can we do to help hit the reset button for babies who are neurologically disorganized and fighting the breast?

Begin your journey towards IBCLC certification with over 5 CE hours towards the 90 Lactation Education hours needed for the exam, based on the IBLCE Core Competencies!

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Apply the BASICS of breastfeeding assessment to deepen latch.
  2. Evaluate positioning for breastfeeding couplets based on infant preference and need.
  3. Analyze the hierarchy of pharmacokinetics to evaluate the safety of medications during breastfeeding.
  4. Determine available antidepressants for use during the postpartum and their safety for breastfeeding couplets.
  5. Appraise new research suggesting the role of insulin in milk production.
  6. Investigate D-MER and proposed role of oxytocin and dopamine in its etiology and severity.
  7. Apply an understanding of states of infant consciousness to feeding rhythms.
  8. Design a care plan utilizing feeding alternatives for babies struggling with latch in the first days postpartum.

Outline

Breastfeeding Latch, Suck & Positioning

  • What is a good latch?
    • The best position is the one that works
    • Studies show families want hands-on, practical help with latch and positioning
    • Physiologic breastfeeding (also called Baby-Led) encourages babies and moms to follow their instincts
  • Steps to an effective feed
  • BASICS can help staff and families assess and improve latch 
    • B = Belly to Belly
    • A = Alignment
    • S = Space
    • I = In Close
    • C = Cheeks and Chin
    • S = Sucking and Swallowing
  • What about babies who “fight the breast”?
    • Assist with positional stability and teach the parent WHY the baby does what they do
    • Maternal and infant conditions can affect latch and positioning
  • Babies come with a history
    • The role of birth, stimulation, medications
    • Gestational age
    • Neurologic disorganization

Self-Efficacy

  • Pathways to self-efficacy
    • Performance accomplishment
    • Vicarious experiences
    • Verbal persuasion 
  • Distressed behavior
    • Babies who have been repeatedly pushed forcefully to the breast can learn it’s a place of discomfort, not comfort
    • Feed in an alternate way
    • Re-establish trust
  • Back to the breast: Make it feel safe
    • STS or not: “How do we fit together?”
    • Mother keeps calm, follows infant lead
    • Use your expertise only when needed
  • GLOW authors suggest
    • On days 2-3 share info about feeding cues and latch
    • Supports lactogenesis II and the making of milk
    • Supply will “take off like a rocket”

Alternative Feeding Methods

  • What is normal weight loss?
  • Start with hand expression 
  • Choose a safe way to get the milk into the baby – Global Media video
  • Safe use of nipple shields
  • Safe use of paced bottle feeding
  • Push the reset button
  • Teach parents about infant states of consciousness

Medication Safety

  • Considerations for availability
    • Molecular weight
    • Lipid solubility
    • Excretion of drugs including half life
    • Oral bioavailability
    • Timing in lactation
  • Translating the theory into real life
    • Hale’s Lactation Risk Categories
    • Antidepressants
    • Cannabis
    • Cigarettes
    • Alcohol
    • SARS-COV2 vaccines and therapies
    • Hormonal contraceptives
  • Resources
    • Infant Risk Center
    • PLLR labeling
    • References in print

Anatomy and Physiology Update

  • 4-18 Ductal openings (previously thought 15-20)
  • The ducts branch closer to the nipple – the lactiferous sinuses do not exist 
  • Ducts can be just below the skin surface, making them easily compressible
  • Most glandular tissue is found within 30 mm (~1.2 inches) of the nipple
  • Montgomery Glands are now called Areolar Glands
  • Lactogenesis I (Secretory Differentiation)
  • Lactogenesis II (Secretory Activation)
  • Protracted nipples
  • Inverted nipples (Grade 1 – 3)
  • Baseline prolactin levels
  • The role of insulin 
  • Is oxytocin always our friend?
  • New research on Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex 

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Clinical Nurse Specialists
  • Doulas
  • Midwives
  • Clinical Nurse Specialists
  • Lactation Consultants
  • Childbirth Educators

Copyright : 08/30/2022

Maternal Health Equity: Improving Pregnancy Outcomes

What does equity look like in pregnancy? Dr. Moore will provide an overview of the importance of equity when caring for diverse populations of birth people. Statistics will be reviewed on morbidities and mortality rates impacting diverse populations of birthing people. Key strategies to incorporate when providing care for birthing people using a lens of equity. Resources will be discussed in detail to support healthcare providers advancing their knowledge when providing equitable obstetrical health care.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Determine the significance and root causes of inequitable obstetric care for birthing people.
  2. Incorporate key strategies to provide equitable obstetric care to diverse populations of birthing people.
  3. Create action plans to implement within respective practices or organizations to address inequitable obstetrics care.

Outline

Introduction of Equity and Inequity in Obstetric Care

  • Brief overview of what inequity
  • Brief overview of equity and what it means for birthing people
  • Timing
Background on Inequity in Obstetric Care
  • Provide detailed information on inequity in obstetric healthcare for diverse population of birth people
  • Discuss root causes of inequity in obstetric care for diverse populations of birth people
Significance of Inequity in Obstetric Care
  • Provide data/statistic information on morbidities and mortalities among diverse populations of birthing people
  • Discuss short term and long-term impact on birthing people, families, and communities
Key Strategies to Provide Equity Obstetric Care
  • Identify strategies healthcare providers can take to provide equitable obstetric care
  • Provide resources to support equity in obstetrics care for diverse populations of birthing people
Creating a Plan to Provide Equity Obstetric Care
  • Provide a blueprint on how to develop a plan within a respective organization or practice for equity in obstetric care for birthing people
Conclusion
  • Summarize importance of equity in obstetric care
  • Provide take aways on equity in obstetric care
  • Call to action for providing equitable obstetric care

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/09/2023

Bring it on! Latest Methods for Cervical Ripening & Labor Induction

Let’s get that baby delivered! In this session, we are going to look at the latest evidence on best practice for cervical ripening and inducing labor. The fastest, safest, most cost-effective ways to accomplish cervical ripening: medical, mechanical, combinations, outpatient ripening safety and techniques. We’ll cover oxytocin protocols, AROM, and other induction methods, and the roles of pain control and fetal position.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Determine appropriate circumstances for elective induction of labor.
  2. Analyze three options for cervical ripening.
  3. Differentiate outpatient vs inpatient cervical ripening.
  4. Evaluate current recommended approach to oxytocin dosing.

Outline

Indications for induction

  • Medical
  • Elective
Cost effectiveness of IOL

Shared decision making
  • Informed consent
  • Patient satisfaction and realistic expectations
Cervical ripening role
  • Medical options
  • Devices
  • Combinations
  • Outpatient options
Oxytocin
  • Alternatives
  • Dosing protocols
  • How much is too much? Is there an oxytocin ceiling?
Artificial rupture of membranes: When, why, how

Special circumstances

Other induction methods

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/09/2023

Traumatic Birth Experiences: Best Practices to Minimize Impact to Mom and Baby

Over 20% of women report a traumatic birth experience. An obstetrical emergency is just one factor that contributes to this experience for women. The experience can have far reaching effects – on the maternal-infant relationship and breastfeeding, as well as subsequent births. It may cause not only psychological stress, but also physical pain. Symptoms range from irritability to flashbacks. Women describe their experiences as degrading and inhumane. We need to acknowledge birth trauma and its effect on women and their families.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Anticipate interventions to decrease the effects traumatic birth.
  2. Analyze risk factors for traumatic birth.
  3. Evaluate negative effects on the mother-infant dyad after a traumatic birth.
  4. Develop a discharge plan for the women who experienced a traumatic birth.

Outline

Long- and Short-Term Effects

  • Effect on the patient
  • Effect on the mother-infant dyad
  • Effect on the family
The Patient’s Perspective

The Nurse’s Role
  • Assessment
  • Recognition
  • Intervention
The Sexually Abused Patient

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/09/2023

Managing Hypertension and High Stress in Pregnancy: A Somatic Approach

Too often patients who appear anxious or with elevated blood pressure are told to “take a breath and relax.” Rarely ever does that advice work, because the antidote for stress or stress-indulged hypertension is often (and mistakenly) believed to be relaxation. View bestselling author and trauma-informed health strategies, Parijat Deshpande in this session to learn about the hidden realities of stress physiology. Through a combination of science, research, and riveting anecdotes, she will bust commonly held myths about stress, review why stress is not a mental heath issue or a relaxation issues and show audience members how understanding the intersection between stress and hypertension can help you empower your patients for an even healthier pregnancy.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Determine what is stress and what is it not?
  2. Differentiate between acute, chronic, and traumatic stress.
  3. Evaluate the intersection between stress and hypertension.
  4. Provide support to a “stressed out” patient in clinic, at a home visit or, inpatient.

Outline

An overview of stress physiology

  • Common myths about stress
  • What is the stress physiology cycle?
  • Why does a cycle not complete? (Acute/chronic/traumatic stress)
  • What happens when a stress physiology cycle does not complete? (acute/chronic/traumatic stress)
The intersection of stress and hypertension in pregnancy
  • The role of the nervous system in hypertension during pregnancy
  • The role of the immune system in hypertension during pregnancy
  • Biological, racial, societal, social, etc, rick factors
  • Movement and posture as mediating (and possibly moderating) variable for hypertension
The role of the provider/practitioner
  • Identifying stress without pathologizing stress
  • Trauma-sensitive approaches to asking questions, listening for answers, and building trust
  • Suggestions for inpatient vs outpatient settings
  • How to warm the hand-off to specialists or different care

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/09/2023

Maternal Mental Health and Pregnancy: Can Perinatal Mood Disorders be Prevented?

Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) are the number one complication during pregnancy and childbirth. This illness affects over 20% of pregnant and postpartum women and has increased exponentially since COVID. Any woman who can be identified, as at risk for PMADs during pregnancy, using validated screening tools, can be proactively assessed, diagnosed, and treated, potentially erasing the emergency/crisis intervention for a new postpartum mom. With evidence based multidisciplinary treatment modalities, all women get better, and return to their normal baseline of mental health. Gestational diabetes affects approximately 4-6% of the same population, and the medical community is always  assessing for that illness, why is it, that an illness that affects upwards of 4x that number is not given the same attention and respect. If you are a healthcare provider who treats women in the childbearing age range, work in behavioral mental health, or a pediatrician, this information will give you what you need to start to be able to identify these women, give proper screening tools, and refer to resources and treatment that is appropriate for this temporary and treatable illness.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Recognize PMAD risk factors that increase a pregnant woman’s chance of developing PMADs during pregnancy.
  2. Determine four screening tools we can use, during pregnancy, to assess a woman’s risk for developing PMADs.
  3. Argue the question “can PMADs be prevented”.
  4. Determine treatment modalities that are safe and effective during pregnancy for PMADs.

Outline

Perinatal Mental Health Conditions

  • Baby Blues, Unipolar/Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder
  • Perinatal Anxiety Disorders, Schizoaffective/Schizophrenia, Postpartum Psychosis
  • Borderline Personality Disorder, Posttraumatic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Patient Screening
  • Talking to Your Patient About Mental Health and Screening
  • Administering and Scoring the Screening Tools
  • Supplemental Screening Tools
Assessment and Treatment of Perinatal Mental Health Conditions
  • Talking to Your Patient About Mental Health and Treatment
  • Starting Treatment
  • Follow Up Treatment
Education and Resources
  • Provider
  • Patient
  • Family

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/10/2023

Managing the Sugar Bump: Caring for the Gestational Diabetes Client

Gestational Diabetes is one of the most common and significant complications a family can face during the childbearing year. Globally, it is estimated that 21.1 million live births were impacted by some form of hyperglycemia and of these 80.3% were due to Gestational diabetes. In the United States, about 2-10% of childbearing families will experience Gestational diabetes increasing the risk of adverse maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes. The overwhelming prevalence of Gestational Diabetes makes it likely that you will not only encounter this imperative health issue in your practice, but you will need to engage with families impacted by the condition at some point during their health journey. As clinicians and birth workers we can help improve current and future health outcomes for families impacted by Gestational diabetes by keeping abreast of the most current evidenced based recommendations. This session will provide you with the most up-to-date evidence that will equip you to care for your clients with Gestational Diabetes from antepartum through the postpartum period.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Determine the epidemiology, social determinants of health, risk factors, pathophysiology, prevention, screening, and diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes.
  2. Evaluate the non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment options for Gestational diabetes including lifestyle prescriptions for nutrition, exercise, stress, social support, and reducing toxic substances.
  3. Execute clinical and nonclinical care of the client with gestational diabetes during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum period.
  4. Plan screening and follow-up for gestational diabetes including behavioral interventions and lifestyle change programs to prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Outline

The epidemiology, determinants of health, risk factors and screening guidelines for Gestational Diabetes

  • Discuss global and national prevalence rates of Gestational Diabetes
  • Discuss the social and environmental contributors of Gestational Diabetes
  • Discuss the pathophysiology and risk factors for Gestational Diabetes including age, race/ethnicity, plurality, weight, family history and pre-existing conditions
  • Discuss screening and diagnostic tests for Gestational diabetes including the one-, two-, and three-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
Non-Pharmacological and Pharmacological treatment options for Gestational Diabetes
  • Discuss non-pharmacological treatment options including lifestyle prescriptions for diet and exercise
  • Discuss contraindications to exercise during pregnancy and self-care strategies to employ during physical activity
  • Discuss oral medications and the use of insulin for the Gestational Diabetes client
  • Discuss technology used in diabetes care including insulin pumps, glucose meters, and continuous glucose monitors
Clinical and non-clinical care for the Gestational Diabetes client during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum period
  • Describe and identify interventions that meet the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of the Gestational Diabetes client from antepartum to the postpartum period
  • Discuss the essential components of antenatal care including referrals to specialists, increased fetal monitoring, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment, patient education and anticipatory guidance
  • Discuss the intrapartum care including labor inductions, c-sections, and risk of birth trauma
  • Discuss postpartum care including breastfeeding and screening for neonatal hypoglycemia
Discuss the long-term follow-up for the client with Gestational Diabetes
  • Discuss screening guidelines for Type 2 diabetes including the OGTT at the 6-week post-partum visit
  • Discuss long-term screening and surveillance guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes following a Gestational diabetes diagnosis
  • Discuss behavioral interventions and lifestyle change programs that help prevent diabetes after a Gestational diabetes diagnosis

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/10/2023

Sepsis in Pregnancy

Pregnancy-related sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency infection that can take place during pregnancy, childbirth, post-abortion, miscarriage, or the postpartum period. It is the second leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the US. Fast recognition and treatment of sepsis is key, which means you need to know the signs and symptoms of sepsis in pregnancy, as well as how to screen for sepsis early and initiate treatment. You will learn the unique physiology during and following pregnancy and the challenges healthcare providers face when identifying and managing pregnancy-related sepsis.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Evaluate the national and global issue of mortality and morbidity surrounding sepsis in pregnancy.
  2. Determine the risk factors for sepsis in pregnancy.
  3. Integrate understanding of physiologic changes during pregnancy as they relate to sepsis.
  4. Analyze key challenges related to identification and treatment of sepsis in pregnancy.
  5. Apply screening and management guidelines for sepsis in pregnancy into practice.

Outline

National and global issue of mortality and morbidity surrounding sepsis in pregnancy

  • Leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality
Risk factors for sepsis in pregnancy
  • Common sources of infection
  • Preterm labor and preterm delivery
  • Fetal infection
Physiologic changes during pregnancy as they relate to sepsis
  • Immunological adaptations of pregnancy
  • Cardiovascular adaptations of pregnancy
  • Impact on the maternal response to infection
Key challenges related to identification and treatment of sepsis in pregnancy
  • Antibiotic resistance patterns
AVOG and SMFM guidelines
  • Screening
  • Management guidelines for sepsis in pregnancy

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/10/2023

Maternal Healthcare’s Future: The Patient, The Provider & The Promise

The field of obstetrics is high adrenaline, high pace, and full of highs and lows. We have made large strides in the advancement of perinatal care, but we still have a long road ahead. In this session, we will briefly touch on maternal care’s past as we look toward maternal care’s future. As we anticipate improvements in obstetrical care outcomes in the future, let’s put this in the perspective of the Patient, The Provider, and the Promise.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Determine the rationale and motive for discontinuing the traditional Friedman Curve in labor.
  2. Evaluate the data on oral intake during labor.
  3. Analyze the challenges with progesterone use for preterm birth prevention and new tools for PTB on the horizon.
  4. Choose team-based maternity care for better patient outcomes.

Outline

The Patient

  • New data analyses on the course of “modern labor”
  • Postpartum hemorrhage and evidence based prophylactic medication
  • The future of preterm birth prediction: Cervical shear wave-elastography
  • NPO status recommendations
The Provider
  • The field of obstetrics is high adrenaline, high pace, and full of highs and lows
  • Traumatic events, such as complicated deliveries, postpartum hemorrhage, eclamptic cases, and neonatal death take a toll
  • Nurses must keep a vigilant watch over their patients, help their colleagues in emergencies, and defend their clinical insight to doctors
  • As healthcare providers we must recognize and support the reality that healthcare is a team sport
  • Hospital debriefing protocols can help being the healing process
The Promise
  • We promised that we would not allow burnout to affect us
  • We promised ourselves to have work-life balance
  • We promised never to lose our passion for our profession
  • Renew your dedication, your passion, your striving for better work-life balance and self-care

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 03/10/2023

Legal Risk Aversion Tools for Obstetrical Nurses: Immediate License Protection

She was progressing along as planned, then something unexpected happened. The outcome devastated the family forever. And it shattered me too.

Working with new families can be so amazing. The excitement is palpable. Have you ever worked in a facility where the overhead speaker played a lullaby whenever a baby was born? Everyone stops, listens, and imagines a happy family welcoming their newborn.

But we know that situations around pregnancies and birth are not always joyous. They can be sad and scary for the nurse, certified nurse midwife, APRNs and family. The trauma around IVF, shoulder dystocia, facilitating informed decisions, communication barriers, and other tangles in obstetrical nursing are growing increasingly complex.

Families are anticipating the best outcomes and when that doesn’t happen, they could turn to you for explanations or even worse, blame.   When the worst situations unravel, how does a bad outcome change your practice?

In this session, Rosale will walk you through a simple plan to uncover the secrets to keeping your license and profession safe from scrutiny and litigation.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Analyze difficult conversations and documentation hacks to keep communication clear.
  2. Examine best practice strategies while caring for your laboring patient.
  3. Anticipate worst outcomes with powerful tools of information.
  4. Evaluate the emotional burdens of adverse obstetrical events.

Outline

  • Legal Risks in Obstetrical Nursing
    • Obstetrical standards of practice - Where you work matters
    • Litigation – Straight talk & rising stakes
    • Most litigated scenarios – Practicing situational awareness
    • Layers of communication - Evidence inside the evidence
    • A dark cloud on your license – Not mine
  • When the Unexpected Happen – For Mom and/or Baby
    • Actions and inactions – Both are important
    • Complications in obstetrical settings
    • Communication – Parents hang on your every word
  • What Really Happened?
    • Before, during, and after – The fading trust
    • Analytics of a cases gone wrong through the discovery process – Midwives tell it all
    • Standing up to the questions, knowing how to reply
  • Pulling It All Together
    • License defense tactics to incorporate immediately
    • Parents scorned at birth
    • Statute of limitations for obstetrical nurses and APRNs

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 12/14/2022

Environmental Factors Impacting Women’s Health

As a perinatal clinician, you do everything you can to protect your patient and their developing baby...but what if there are risks in the environment that you and your patient are not aware of?  In this session, you will learn about the many environmental factors impacting women’s health. It will shed light on adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes due to negative environmental exposures. You will learn what education regarding environmental risks should be included in all prenatal/antenatal and postpartum education. Additionally, it will provide information on what national organizations are implementing to address environmental factors impacting reproductive health.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Appraise a collaborative initiative that addresses environmental health affecting the women’s health.
  2. Determine the environmental factors impacting the health of women.
  3. Formulate ways to address environmental factors affecting the health of women.
  4. Collect key components of an environmental health history.

Outline

  • Introduction to Environmental Health
    • Brief overview of environmental factors impacting women’s health
    • Brief overview of climate-related health impact on women’s health
  • Exposure Pathway
    • Extreme heat and rising in temperature
    • Poor air
    • Climate-related disasters
      • Hurricanes, flooding and wildfires
    • Shift rainfall and increase evaporation led to water insecurity
      • Risk waterborne diseases
    • Changes in temperature, precipitation, and ecology
    • Alter the geographic distribution of vector-borne diseases
    • Climate-induced environmental changes push human migration
      • Results in people unable to move from environmentally high-risk areas
  • Environmental Health History
    • Work
    • Home
    • Recreation activities
  • Recommendation
    • Identify strategies healthcare providers can take to address environmental health
  • Take Action
    • Provide an overview of two legislation geared towards environmental factors impact of women’s health
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
    • Discuss reproductive health both male and female
    • Discuss exposures impact on reproductive health
    • Detail research efforts

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 01/25/2023

Electronic Fetal Monitoring: A Standardized Approach

Obstetric clinicians with their knowledge and skills, remain one of most important elements in high-quality intrapartum care. Unfortunately, after several decades of clinical use, many uncertainties continue to surround intrapartum monitoring including interpretation, management, and other related decision-making processes. When clinicians are not current in fetal monitoring or do have a firm grasp of basic concepts, there is a risk for adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.  This can have a significant negative impact on families and the healthcare system. Therefore maternal-fetal safety is of the utmost importance.  Thus, continuous learning that includes contemporary research is fundamental for patient safety and for optimizing perinatal outcomes.  An overview of fetal monitoring principles as well as updated research will be presented in this 2-hour recorded session.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Define FHR characteristics using NICHD standardized terminology.
  2. Distinguish between the 3 elements of EFM standardization.
  3. Evaluate an organized, systematic ABCD approach to FHR management.
  4. Critique research related to Category II FHR management.

Outline

 ABCD approach

  •  Assess the oxygen pathway a. Lungs, heart, vasculature, uterus, placenta, umbilical cord
  • Begin corrective measures as previously outlined
  • Clear obstacles to delivery
    • Facility
    • Staff
    • Patient
    • Fetus
    • Labor
  • Determine decision to delivery time
    • Facility response time
    • Staff
    • Surgical, medical and obstetric considerations
    • Other considerations (e.g., EFW, presentation) 

 

Terminology

  • What is it called
  • Consensus statement by NICHD
    • Adopted by AWHONN, ACOG, and ACNM
  • Interpretation
    • What does it mean
    • What information does the FHR tracing provide regarding oxygen transfer
      • Head compression, cord compression, uteroplacental dysfunction
      •  All decelerations have the exact same triggers
        • Interruption of oxygen transfer from the environment to the fetus at one or more points along the oxygen pathway
        • moderate variability and/or accelerations exclude ongoing hypoxic injury
  • Management
    • What do we do about it
    • Corrective measures
      • IV fluid bolus
      • Lateral positioning
      • Correct hypotension
      • Decrease uterine activity
      • Amnioinfusion
      • Tocolytic administration
      • Alter pushing technique
      • Oxygen administration for maternal pulse ox <96%
    • Introduction to ABCD approach to management 

ABCD approach

  • Assess the oxygen pathway
    • Lungs, heart, vasculature, uterus, placenta, umbilical cord
  • Begin corrective measures as previously outlined
  • Clear obstacles to delivery
    • Facility
    • Staff
    • Patient
    • Fetus
    • Labor
  • Determine decision to delivery time
    • Facility response time
    • Staff
    • Surgical, medical and obstetric considerations
    • Other considerations (e.g., EFW, presentation) 

“Intrapartum management of Category II FHR tracings towards standardization of care” 2013 article

  • Algorithm
  • Expert Opinions a. Not evidence based
  • Definition of Significant Decelerations
  • Key components of algorithm that are missing
    • Precise cervical dilation
    • When to notify primary clinician
      • “A standardized approach for Category II fetal heart rate with significant decelerations: Maternal and neonatal outcomes”. 2018 article
        • Prospective interventional trial: 29 hospitals
        • Comparison between 2013 expert opinion and this trial algorithm
        • Published results related to maternal and neonatal outcomes
        • Only research conducted with a research protocol 

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 01/03/2023

Integrative Maternity Health Care

Most of us understand that the term “Integrative Medicine” means natural, complementary, and alternative wellness care. But what of “Maternity Integrative Healthcare” (aka “Perinatal Integrative Medicine”)? What do you know about that as Birth Practitioners? What wellness products, services, therapies and modalities can you knowledgeably and confidently recommend as safe and beneficial?

We should all know this information because it fundamentally forms the holistic “Art” of maternity healthcare (as opposed to the medical “Science” of maternity healthcare women are currently drowning in). For most women their maternity journey should be a natural normal non-traumatic life-enhancing serious of events, devoid of serious medical complications and dramatic emergency deliveries. And increasingly women know this, and are demanding this.

From numerous studies performed all over the world, research consistently concludes, that regardless of country or demographic or race or education or fiscal security/insecurity – around two-thirds of ALL expectant mothers, globally, intentionally opt to use complementary or alternative Integrative Medicine during their pregnancy. Women themselves WANT natural, and for most their goal is NORMAL. However, few feel confident to discuss their perinatal integrative medicine usage decisions with their modern Midwife, let alone their mainstream orthodox ObGyn.
Why? Because intuitively they know that discussing naturopathic remedies with health professionals who are not trained in naturopathy, will typically receive derisive fear-based reactions, stemming from a complete lack of formal education in PIM (perinatal integrative medicine) on the part of the Midwife/OB.

Under Kathy’s role as founding director of IIMHCO [Intl Integrative Maternity HealthCare Org] who are global thought-leaders on PIM, they have pioneered leading-edge holistic maternal and neonatal integrative wellness healthcare guidance, to empower Birth Practitioners worldwide, to feel able to empower their pregnant/laboring/postpartum clients to confidentially embrace their own integrative healthcare, to support preventing complex pregnancies, and support preventing labor complications. During this workshop you will become experienced in using the Birth Practitioner handbook guide – knowledge is power … and your enhanced knowledge can enhance your client’s power.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Define what Perinatal Integrative Maternity HealthCare medicine is and is not, including understanding MMPs vs TCHTs (updating from the historical terms of CAMs and T&CMs).
  2. Seek awareness of and/or recommend clients, to various natural health wellness options during the maternity journey: Preconception – Pregnancy – Labor Prep – Birth – Postpartum - Neonates.
  3. Educate couples trying to conceive about Pre-Conception Healthcare.
  4. Advise women on simple holistic remedies to treat common minor discomforts of pregnancy.
  5. Teach expectant mothers how to prepare their cervix for labor, and how to put together their own ‘Wholistic Birth-Rite’ Kit.
  6. Have the knowledge and confidence to guide women with complex obstetric complications about ways they can integrate complementary support.
  7. Be confident on how to look up, within the supplied OH MAMA guide, natural remedies for recommending to clients.
  8. Post-webinar free option to complete becoming a formally certified “PIM-Friendly” maternity healthcare provider [Perinatal Integrative Medicine friendly] – including the right to use the IIMHCO PIM-Friendly logo.

Outline

  • Overview of Therapeutic Modalities Basics
    • IM: Integrative Medicine
    • IMHC/PIM: Integrative Maternity HealthCare aka Perinatal Integrative Medicine (incl definitions)
    • Maternity Needs overlapped onto Maslow’s Hierarchy
    • Five Categories of CAMs (Complementary & Alternative Medicine) and T&CMs (Traditional & Complementary Medicines)
    • New Terms: TCHTs & MMTs
  • Overview of the Antepartum (Pre-Pregnancy & Pregnancy)
    • Preconception
    • Routine Pregnancy Care
    • Common Discomforts of Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Pathophysiology
    • Labor & Birth Preparation
  • Overview of the Intrapartum (Labor & Birth)
    • ‘Wholistic Birth-Rite’ Kit Prep
    • First Stage: Labor (latent & active dilatation)
    • Second Stage: Birth (baby)
    • Third Stage: After-Birth (placenta)
    • Holistic support for Natural Labor & Normal Birth
    • Complementary support for Medical Complexities & Obstetric Complications
  • Overview of the Postpartum (Mother & Baby)
    • Maternal wellness & disease
    • Neonatal wellness & disease

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 01/25/2023

OB Medication Update: The Latest Pharmacological Options for Pregnancy and Birth

There have been big changes in everything from FDA medication labeling, recommendations for treating many of the major complications of pregnancy, and Covid 19 infection in pregnancy.

Jamie Otremba, MSN, RN, CNM, a practicing full scope nurse-midwife with extensive maternal child nursing experience, will break down the latest recommendations for the safest, most effective drugs to treat pregnant and laboring patients to improve outcomes, reduce risk, and improve patient satisfaction.  Watch this comprehensive one-day event….and earn up to 6.3 pharmacology CE hours!

You will take away the necessary tools to reduce complications related to Covid-19 in pregnancy. Did you know that recent Covid-19 infection is a contraindication to some drugs? Or that the thresholds and medications to treat pregnant patients with Covid-19 are different? Update your Covid-19 understanding on the vaccines, fetal and maternalnewborn transmission, when and how to treat, when to consider ventilation, and talking points for a quick and effective conversation.

But that’s not all! Jamie will also deliver the latest from evidence on over-the counter products that patients are using, hemorrhagic prevention and the best meds to treat the ‘Top 10’ pregnancy indications seen your own practice!

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Evaluate the new FDA pregnancy safety labeling information to treatment conversations with pregnant patients.
  2. Analyze evidence-based recommendations for the best medication options to treat pregnant patients, while considering gestational age and comorbidities.
  3. Analyze safety of patient’s pre-pregnancy medications in pregnancy.
  4. Develop a plan of care with pregnant patients, to pharmacologically manage pregnancy complications, considering safety, alternatives, risk, benefit.
  5. Distinguish between risks of Covid 19 infection and vaccine in pregnant women.
  6. Assess medication appropriateness for a patient with a Covid 19 infection in pregnancy.
  7. Develop a nonbiased dialogue for discussing vaccines in pregnancy.
  8. Evaluate patient’s pain control needs and apply evidence-based recommendations for narcotic alternatives.

Outline

New FDA Pregnancy Safety Labeling

  • Risk summary explained
  • Examples
Teratogenicity
  • Highest risk medications
  • Historical poor outcomes
  • Risk reduction strategies
Top 10 Pregnancy Indications & Medications to Treat
  • How to decide on safest, most effective option
  • Current preferred drugs for each diagnosis
  • Consenting the patient
  • Preexisting diagnosis
    1. Depression/anxiety preferred medications
    2. Asthma/allergies
    3. Chronic hypertension, including new BP parameters & rational for treatment Pregnancy complications
    4. Nausea/vomiting: New FDA approved medications, when you need IV treatment &what to use
    5. Gestational diabetes: oral medications vs insulin & best insulin formulations in pregnancy
    6. GI reflux: If not Zantac—what’s next?
    7. Insomnia: OTC and prescription medication compatible with pregnancy
    8. Vaginitis: Safest medication by gestational age
    9. Pain: Including opioid prescription reduction strategies
    10. Preterm labor: Prevention mediation recommendations just changed
Vaccines in Pregnancy
  • Latest info on pros, cons & safety
  • Pearls on quick but effective patient teaching/interactions
  • Flu shot
  • TDAP
  • Covid 19 vaccine
Latest Labor and Delivery Medications News
  • VTE prevention and Covid 19: Aspirin, lovenox, heparin- when, how much, how long
  • Hemorrhage prevention and Covid 19: to TXA or not to TXA
  • Treatments for pregnant women with Covid 19
    • Medications
    • Monoclonal antibodies
    • Ventilation
Over-the-Counter Products in Pregnancy
  • Overview of uses and safety
  • Essential oils: Routes, indications, evidence on effectiveness
  • Homeopathics
  • Supplements
Putting It All Together
  • Case Studies
  • Healthcare Provider/ Patient Resource List

Target Audience

Health care providers who work with childbearing aged women, pregnant women, and on labor and delivery. Appropriate for nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, family practice providers. Both inpatient and outpatient information will be addressed.

Copyright : 10/11/2022

Avoiding the Preventable Cascades of Intervention: Understanding the Secrets of Natural Labor for Normal Birth

Over recent decades it is widely known obstetric intervention rates of labor and birth, especially in the USA, have continued to increase, with NO corresponding improvement in maternal/neonatal morbidity and mortality rates.

The hospital system is oftentimes intervening in labor, devoid of strongly indicated “Best Practice” justifications, to the point that for many hospitals/obstetricians all the medicalized labor interference of inductions, augmentations and spinal anesthesia have become so normalized and so routine, that they are correctly titling themselves as “Delivery Wards” – rather than “Birthing Units”. To describe a woman whose labor had an oxytocin drip and epidural anesthesia, was her experiencing a “normal” birth (just because the baby was born vaginally without instrumental assistance) has become such a commonly accepted term, it simply absurd just how much the truly abnormal has become utterly normalized.  Strong women give birth – Pizzas are delivered.

In the same breath, many American Student Midwives complete their qualifications, having never assisted at dozens of natural labors, and have likely never witnessed a water-birth, breech birth, or hands-and-knees birth. How on earth can they teach women the “Art of natural labor”, when practically all they have seen is the medicalized Science of epidural’ized and oxytocin’ized childbirth?

However, when we deep-dive into the practices of Birth Practitioners who have exceptionally fantastic statistics of high normal births and low maternal/neonatal compromise, what is the holistic “Art” they are using, every day, as part of their Practice? What are they doing differently?

Kathy Fray is a senior Midwife who has been New Zealand’s #1 best-selling birth, babies and motherhood Author since 2005. And New Zealand is internationally regarded as the having the world’s #1 best maternity healthcare system, with its continuity-of-care practices being the only country globally that follows all the WHO’s recommended guidelines for best maternity healthcare.

During this session on “BECOMING MOTHERWIDSE”, you will learn those “tricks of the trade” from the #1 Author-Midwife, from the world’s #1 country of maternity healthcare …hear from the “best of the best”!

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Understanding obstetrically the medical repercussion consequences of the “Cascade of Intervention”.
  2. Understanding holistically the natural flow of uninterrupted spontaneous labor.
  3. Epidurals – understanding the consequences – are you really obtaining fully informed Consent? Know the stats.
  4. Re-defining how we explain to women the Four Stages of Childbirth.
  5. Re-defining how to explain pharmaceutical and natural pain management options.
  6. 'To Do' lists for Birth Practitioners and 'To Do' their expectant Clients - to achieve the best birth outcome.

Outline

Re-Learning How We Explain to Women the Stages of Childbirth 

  • Redefining 1st Stage – Latent, Active, Transitional Labor – Do’s & Don’ts 
  • Redefining 2nd Stage – Birth – Do’s & Don’ts 
  • Redefining 3rd Stage – After Birth – Do’s & Don’ts 
  • Introducing 4th Stage – The Vibe – Do’s & Don’ts 
  • Giving Birth vs Being Delivered 

Pain Management 

  • Pharmaceutical Drugs options  
  • Holistic & Naturopathic options  

Summary To Do List 

  • For Birth Practitioners 
  • For your expectant Clients 

 

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas

Copyright : 01/24/2023

High Risk Obstetrics: Current Trends, Treatments & Issues

Jamie Otremba, MSN, RN, CNM, will delve into the most common obstetrical emergencies presenting in today’s obstetrical patients. She will provide you with a comprehensive look at pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, HELLP, the pitfalls of diagnosing and treating preterm labor, shoulder dystocia, abruption, previa, postpartum hemorrhage, placenta accreta, amniotic fluid embolism, venous thromboembolism, VBACs, and inductions. Jamie’s extensive experiences in high risk obstetrics have provided her with keen insight into these often challenging and frightening situations. She is eager to share with you many of the effective interventions that she has acquired throughout her career!

Through enlightening case studies, persuasive evidence-based research, and an engaging presentation style, she will teach you the current trends, treatments and issues in high risk obstetrics. Watch this seminar to learn new strategies and techniques that can immediately impact the maternal and fetal outcomes of your obstetrical patients! 

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Evaluate the two-phase process that results in pre-eclampsia.
  2. Differentiate the pharmacologic management options for preterm labor.
  3. Determine the two most important factors in assessing risk in elective induction.
  4. Argue the most effective way to change medical staff practices related to high risk elective inductions.
  5. Determine the possible causes of a post-partum hemorrhage and appropriate management for each.
  6. Devise strategies for collaborative care with the ICU and Emergency Department.
  7. Justify why a d-dimer is no longer recommended as part of the evaluation for pulmonary embolism in pregnancy.
  8. Utilize the latest ACOG recommendations for preventing blood loss during the delivery with an accreta.
  9. Distinguish the varying degrees of abnormal placental implantation and how management might differ for each.
  10. Analyze why neurological outcomes with amniotic fluid embolism are so poor and the rapid interventions that could make a difference.

Outline

Pre-eclampsia, Eclampsia and HELLP

  • Tips for timely intervention: Know when you MUST intervene
  • Maximize maternal and fetal outcomes: Latest available medical treatments & interventions
  • Morbidity and mortality associated with diagnosis
  • Case Studies

Preterm Labor: Rapid Diagnosis And Intervention Can Make all the Difference

  • Who is at the highest risk - and what you can do to lower it
  • Preterm labor or just contractions?
  • Beta-mimetics, Mag, Calcium channel blockers, NSAIDS, antibiotics: Who gets what?

The Perils of Shoulder Dystocia

  • Can we predict shoulder dystocia?
  • When a shoulder dystocia occurs: The essentials of management
  • Best first line maneuvers
  • Risk management considerations

Post-Partum Hemorrhage

  • Patients at risk for postpartum hemorrhage
  • New tips for assessing blood loss accurately
  • New medications/Old meds with new protocols
  • Interventions for rapid response
  • Algorithms for treatment
  • When to call the OR

High Risk Induction

  • Which patients are too "high risk" for induction?
  • Alternatives to pitocin
  • The newest options for inductions
  • Risks and benefits for induction patients
  • How to change your hospital policies
  • Examples of informed consent

Venous Thromboembolism in Pregnancy and Postpartum

  • #1 cause of maternal death in the US
  • Work up and evaluation
  • Anticoagulation
  • Treatment in pregnancy
  • Timing delivery

Placenta Accreta

  • Why is this condition on the rise?
  • How to identify accreta prenatally
  • Newest aggressive therapies to save lives

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Clinical Nurse Specialists
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Nurse Midwives
  • Certified Childbirth Educators/Doulas

Copyright : 11/11/2020

High Risk Postpartum Patients: Conquer the Mother-Baby Warning Signs

Caring for a new mother and her newborn is complicated, stressful, and challenging. You may be very experienced as a postpartum nurse or new in your role. Regardless, at the end of the day we want to feel as if we did a great job, but how many times do you wonder if you missed something? What could you have done differently?

The fast-paced world of OB means constant admissions and discharges. How stressed do you feel when you know you need to discharge a patient so you can accept a new one? Have you met the challenge of teaching a new mom the post-birth warning signs? Does she know how to prevent the most common causes of postpartum maternal mortality? And…do you?

Each day we try our best to care for patients. We all want to know that we did all we could for every patient. Giving the best care requires staying up-to-date. Changes, protocols, state regulations, policies, and procedures make nursing a complicated world that challenges all of us. It adds a layer of stress to each day and it feels difficult to keep up with the latest from AWHONN, ACOG, the ISMP, and the CDC. At the core…you need to understand WHY these changes occur and HOW they benefit our patients. This recording takes a closer look at some current issues and digs deeper into finding out the WHY and HOW, discussing life-saving measures for both mothers and babies. Bring important new insights back to the patient bedside to transform the care that you deliver!

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Distinguish the pharmacodynamics of medications used to treat bipolar disease for breastfeeding safety concerns.
  2. Manage complications which are more prevalent in the morbidly obese patient.
  3. Plan for the pathophysiology which places the morbidly obese pregnant woman at risk for a dysfunctional labor.
  4. Determine effective ways to provide post-op pain management with minimal opioid use.
  5. Appraise the pharmacodynamics of epinephrine and its use in newborn resuscitation.
  6. Differentiate between postpartum blues and postpartum depression.
  7. Analyze three post-birth warning signs and their implications for reducing maternal mortality.

Outline

Prevent Complications for Postpartum Morbidly Obese Patients

  • Can we prevent infection and sepsis? How about DVT and PEs?
  • Interpreting critical laboratory results pertinent to this population
  • Your patient had bariatric surgery – Implications based on Roux-en-Y vs. gastric banding vs. gastric sleeve
  • Caregiver bias – are you at risk?
Strategies to Decrease Opioid Use Following Childbirth
  • Managing post-op pain with minimal opioids
  • IV acetaminophen and polypharmacy considerations
  • Your patient has chronic pain. What are the effects on the baby?
  • Detect neonatal withdrawal – Intervening when something is just not right
Postpartum Depression: Early Identification and Help
  • Postpartum screening tools to evaluate risk: What is the nurse’s role?
  • What are the baby blues? How is it different from postpartum depression?
  • How to reduce the risk and prevent PPD from leading to maternal death
  • Antidepressant medications – are they safe in pregnancy? What about medications and breastfeeding?
  • How does traumatic birth contribute to PPD? How can you reduce the risk?
The Newborn Transition to Extrauterine Life
  • Vaginal delivery vs. Cesarean section – does it make a difference?
  • Taking the first breath: Why is it so hard?
  • Skills for early recognition of TTN
  • Must-know tips to interpret cord gasses
  • The latest on neonatal resuscitation: Urgent signs you can’t miss!
  • Support the newborn transition for the late pre-term: Temperature regulation, glycemic control, breastfeeding concerns
  • Solve initial challenges for the breastfeeding mother
Congenital Cardiac Heart Disease
  • Critical aspects of the newborn assessment
  • Screening for CCHD – how does it work?
  • What does pre-ductal and post-ductal really mean?
  • Common and less common congenital heart diseases
  • What is VACTERL?
POST-BIRTH Warning Signs
  • Maternal mortality is increasing. What can YOU do to reduce this statistic?
  • Recommended interventions for the 7 common causes of maternal mortality
  • What are the best practices to help patients and families recognize life-threatening signs?
  • Over half of maternal deaths take place during the year following childbirth. What can you do to save lives?
  • Critical patient education topics for the postpartum patient

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Certified Childbirth Educators
  • Lactation Consultants
  • Midwives
  • Doulas
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physician Assistants

Copyright : 05/19/2020

Perinatal Loss: An Attachment-Informed Treatment Framework for Helping Clients Process and Heal from Pregnancy Loss

It’s not a topic that people will bring up at work, over coffee, or even at get togethers with close friends. Instead, 1 in 4 women suffer in silence, because it’s not something that they are supposed to talk about – it is a topic that stays firmly behind closed doors and if you dare breach that social boundary, you may hear well-intentioned, but hurtful statements such as:

“At least you were only a few weeks along.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “Why don’t you just adopt?” “Just think positive.” “You just need to relax and it’ll happen in time.”

There really should be a book titled What Not to Say when it comes to pregnancy and infant loss.

I know because I’ve been there. After my experiences of loss, I heard the invalidating statements and I experienced the paradoxical sense of isolation – paradoxical because the reality is so many of us have experienced this kind of loss. The reality then becomes that many individuals only feel comfortable discussing their experience of pregnancy loss within the confines of a confidential therapeutic space.

Yet, while we may serve as one of the few if not the only safe harbor for individuals to share and process their experience of loss, in our clinical training, pregnancy and infant loss was quickly brushed over – most often as an aside in larger, generalized discussion of grief.  Clients seeking psychotherapy for pregnancy or infant loss may have kept it hidden, feel unsure where to turn for help and may already be hesitant about the validity of their pain and the usefulness of therapy in supporting them. You need to feel confident in your ability to help them navigate one of the toughest struggles they will ever face – their story of not only loss, but of love.

In this specialized, intensive training, I will walk you through the challenging realities of a pregnancy or infant loss - the accompanying emotional roller coaster, and specific steps to take to help your clients move forward. You’ll learn the best interventions for treating grief after a loss and uncover the mistakes you may be making – without even realizing it!

Whether you’re a specialist already or just getting started in this area, this training is for you! Watch me in this powerful training and learn proven strategies that will help your clients heal.

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Utilize clinical strategies to assess, conceptualize, and treat pregnancy loss.
  2. Employ evidence-based grief and trauma interventions to treat pregnancy loss and to support clients in future reproductive journey.
  3. Investigate clinical considerations and adaptations to treat pregnancy loss within couples and group psychotherapy.
  4. Build the development of greater insight in both clinicians and clients they are treating.

Outline

Perinatal Loss: Common Misconceptions

  • Misattunement to the loss
  • Far reaching implications of reproductive trauma
  • Ongoing and chronic nature of the trauma

Assessment: Exploring Clients’ Reproductive Story

  • How to listen for red flags: grief, guilt, shame, self-blame, and hopelessness
  • Identifying unique and numerous losses experienced
  • When things take a turn: anxiety, depression, OCD
  • How to fully validate clients’ experience
  • Sharing the Story
  • Utilizing relevant assessment measures

Treatment Planning for Pregnancy and Infant Loss

  • Chronic trauma related to pregnancy loss
  • Adapting PTSD strategies for reproductive trauma
  • Addressing grief by utilizing loss and restoration orientation framework
  • Highlighting implicit emotions that may impact treatment progress including shame, self-blame, and hopelessness
  • Balancing complicated grief while still trying to conceive

Treatment Interventions: Helping Clients Move Forward, Not On

  • Utilizing attachment-focused approach
  • Trauma-informed/PTSD adaptations
  • Build resiliency with interventions based on empathy, forgiveness and compassion
  • Maintaining relationships with partner and family
  • Adapting clinical techniques for couples and group work
  • Supporting clients in subsequent pregnancies

Clinical Considerations

  • Culturally informed case conceptualizations
  • Relationship to body after a loss
  • Countertransference
  • How to hold personal experience with pregnancy loss while helping clients
  • Limitations and risks

Target Audience

  • Social Workers
  • Counselors
  • Psychologists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Case managers
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Nurses
  • Midwives and Doulas
  • Physicians/PAs
  • Sonographers
  • Funeral directors
  • Clergy

Copyright : 02/25/2021

The Ultimate Prenatal Exercise Workshop

The question just about every pregnant woman asks you: “Is it safe for me to exercise?”

Many expectant mothers become less physically active during pregnancy, usually due to pain, but in many situations, exercise is the solution to their pregnancy-related aches and pains.

Join Jennifer Dieter, MPT, mother of three, 7-time CrossFit Games athlete, world record holder in weightlifting, as she lays the essential groundwork for precisely programming exercise that is both safe and effective for expectant mothers.  You’ll uncover the top exercise recommendations and how to:  

  • Bust the 3 most common prenatal exercise myths 
  • Appropriately modify programming as the pregnancy progresses 
  • Target interventions to greatly reduce low back pain 

Long gone are the days of bed rest for all expecting mothers, you’ll uncover specific stabilizing and pelvic floor exercises that lead to significant improvements in overall outcomes: lower incidences of gestational diabetes, preterm birth and cesarean delivery, just to name a few. This session is jam-packed with evidence-based prenatal exercise recommendations that you can use in your practice immediately. 

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Investigate the physical and functional changes that happen during pregnancy and their impact on exercise selection.
  2. Determine appropriate exercise techniques to utilize throughout the span of a pregnancy.
  3. Utilize treatment options such as kinesiology taping to help mitigate pain during pregnancy.

Outline

Pregnancy: Physiological Changes Across the Trimesters 

  • Posture changes 
  • Weight distribution 
  • Pelvic anterior tilt 
  • Gait velocity + cadence 
  • Changes in balance 
  • Peezing [noun] - sneezing and peeing at the same time 
Every Day is Another Chance to Get Stronger 
  • Pain relief 
  • Reduced risk of 
    • Gestational diabetes 
    • Gestational hypertension 
    • Preterm birth 
    • Cesarean delivery 
    • Low birth weight 
  • Increase mood + energy 
Strong as an Expecting Mother: Strategies for an Active Pregnancy 
  • Pelvic floor and stability exercises for LBP 
  • Simple yet effective kinesiology taping strategies 
  • Exercises that make labor EASIER! 
  • Considerations for vigorous exercise 
  • When low intensity is needed, we have a flow for that.  
  • How to stay on track with goals while being “tired as a mother”  
  • Contraindications and warning signs 

Target Audience

  • Athletic Trainers
  • Chiropractors
  • Exercise Physiologists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Occupational Therapy Assistants
  • Personal Trainers
  • Physical Therapists
  • Physical Therapy Assistants 
  • Physicians 
  • Physician Assistants
  • Strength and Conditioning Coaches

Copyright : 05/21/2021

Pelvic Changes Associated with Pregnancy & Menopause: Practical Management Techniques

With all of the systemic changes, it’s no wonder that pregnancy and menopause are challenging times for many women.  As a healthcare professional, you need to be aware of the hormonal changes and their impact on the musculoskeletal system.

With over a decade of experience in pelvic floor therapy, Liz Frey, FCAMPT, will unpack the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and menopause and shine a focused light on their impacts on the pelvis.   You’ll explore:  

  • Why the inner core is often the missing piece of the puzzle   
  • How to connect with the diaphragm and pelvic floor to target incontinence, prolapse and dyspareunia  
  • Exercise interventions to maximize strength and mobility 

Filled with evidence-informed techniques you can use to optimize function, this is a “must attend” presentation for all healthcare professionals who work with women! 

Program Information

Objectives

  1. Evaluate the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and menopause as they relate to the female pelvis.
  2. Differentiate pelvic conditions that affect women with and determine strategies to connect the diaphragm and pelvic floor.
  3. Determine strategies to connect the diaphragm and pelvic floor for maximal mobility and stability.

Outline

Implications of Hormonal Changes During Pregnancy and Menopause 

  • Overarching impact on MSK system 
  • Impact on the pelvis 
  • Importance of connecting with the core  
Most Common Pelvic Conditions  
  • Incontinence 
  • Prolapse 
  • Dyspareunia 
External Strategies to Manage and Recover from Pelvic Conditions  
  • Exercise specific do’s and don’ts 
  • Strategies to connect the diaphragm and the pelvic floor 
  • How to maximize strength and mobility 

Target Audience

  • Athletic Trainers
  • Chiropractors
  • Exercise Physiologists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Occupational Therapy Assistants
  • Personal Trainers
  • Physical Therapists
  • Physical Therapy Assistants 
  • Physicians 
  • Physician Assistants
  • Strength and Conditioning Coaches

Copyright : 05/20/2021