Grant writing for childbirth educators: lessons learned from the resource center for young parents-to-be

Obtaining funding to support community-based childbirth education programs can be a challenge for childbirth educators who may have little grant-writing experience. This article was written by two nurse educators/nurse-midwives who have been involved for over 10 years with a grant-funded parenting and childbirth education program for pregnant teens. It reviews the background of the Resource Center for Young Parents-To-Be, suggests grant-funding sources, and explains the building of partnerships in the community. The basic steps involved in the grant-writing process are presented as well as the importance of follow-up evaluations and reports. Grant-writing skills and the ability to forge partnerships with other community organizations can be important tools for childbirth educators and health-care professionals.     

Confidentiality in childbirth education

Protecting the confidentiality of the personal information that childbirth educators receive from their clients is crucial. Without this respect for privacy, educators will not be able to get the information essential to meeting their objectives. Childbirth educators who work in schools may come under federal law that protects individual student records (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA). Childbirth educators who are employed in a health-care facility may come under federal law that protects individual health information (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA). All childbirth educators must be thoughtful advocates of the rights to privacy and self-determination of expectant parents.     

Continuing education module-lamaze parents magazine: more than a giveaway

The Lamaze Parents magazine is an annual publication produced by Lamaze International to inform parents and childbirth educators on issues related to healthy birth preparation, normal birth, and parenting. The author of this column introduces teaching strategies for childbirth educators and doulas to use in tandem with the magazine's content in order to enhance their efforts in sharing current, evidence-based information with expectant parents.     

What once was old is new again

Through seminars and continuing educational opportunities, recently certified Lamaze childbirth educators beginning their teaching careers have learned of the changes in birth practices over the past 50 years. However, they may not have heard the personal stories about the locations and conditions in which Lamaze educators first taught. In this column, five childbirth educators share their memories of the birthing climate, teaching strategies, class populations, and other aspects of Lamaze childbirth education 50 years ago and how the "old ways" compare with today's classes. Their stories not only provide an important, historical perspective to build on the past and improve future educational opportunities for expectant women and their families but also illustrate Lamaze's ongoing efforts to promote natural, safe, and healthy birth practices.     

Promoting and implementing evidence-based, best practices in childbirth education

Childbirth educators have a duty to promote and implement best practices. Best practices are individualized and evidence-based, using quality research to optimize outcomes. This requires addressing change. The childbirth educator must model evidence-based practices by systematically engaging in activities to improve his or her own changing curriculum. The childbirth educator is also a professional in a core position to play an active role as a change agent in the system through evaluation and dissemination of information to parents, fellow childbirth educators, and other professionals on the health-care team. This information provides the basis for important health-care decisions for self and others.     

The story of ferris urbanowski: california, here we come!

Although childbirth educators may not all have known her by name, the lovely redhead who was the star childbirth educator in the 1970s film The Story of Eric was a familiar face. After viewing the film numerous times in our classes, early childbirth educators all felt that we knew her. Ferris Urbanowski was an early crusader for the Lamaze method of childbirth preparation in California in the 1960s. She worked to convince physicians in the Los Angeles area of the merits of the method, to establish classes for expectant parents, and to start a chapter of ASPO (now, Lamaze International, Inc.) in Los Angeles. Her book about yoga illustrated how additional methods of relaxation could benefit pregnant women. Today, Urbanowski attributes her past involvement in childbirth education to her current professional role as a teacher and counselor in the field of stress reduction at the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.     

Are women really asking for it?

Childbirth educators and doulas express frustration that the vast majority of women choose standard obstetric care for labor and birth, even though the evidence shows that this care increases the likelihood that they will experience unnecessary intervention and morbidity. Women are preparing for childbirth by reading and taking classes, but they are unprepared for this reality. What responsibility do doulas and childbirth educators have in alerting women of the risk?     

Introducing emergency preparedness in childbirth education classes

In the wake of recent natural and man-made disasters and emergency situations, pregnant women are especially vulnerable. The authors of this column encourage childbirth educators to include disaster preparedness instruction and emergency childbirth techniques in their class content.     

What to Teach?

In this column, the editor of The Journal of Perinatal Education discusses why Lamaze International conducts a comprehensive job analysis of what childbirth educators are teaching and their beliefs of what is important for pregnant women and their partners to learn. The editor also describes the contents of this issue, which offer a broad range of resources, research, and inspiration for childbirth educators in their efforts to promote, support, and protect natural, safe, and healthy birth.     

The Future of Nursing: Implications for Childbirth Educators

In this column, the editor of The Journal of Perinatal Education discusses the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, and its implications for childbirth educators. The editor also describes the contents of this issue, which offer a broad range of resources, research, and inspiration for childbirth educators in their efforts to promote, support, and protect natural, safe, and healthy birth.     

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and expectant and new parents. The books, CDs, DVDs, and kits reviewed in this issue''s column include the following topics: the birth experiences of mothers who survived childhood sexual abuse; lively teaching techniques and ideas to help energize and enhance childbirth education classes; breastfeeding in the workplace; expectant fathers; perspectives on motherhood; unique, helpful tools for childbirth educators to use in designing their class content, addressing the stages of labor, and discussing planned cesarean birth; exercises for pregnant women on bedrest; and a compilation of presentations featured at Birthing the Future''s international symposiums.     

Toward more evidence-based practice

Childbirth educators are responsible for providing expectant parents with evidence-based information. In this column, the author suggests resources where educators can find evidence-based research for best practices. Additionally, the author describes techniques for childbirth educators to use in presenting research-based information in their classes. A sample of Web sites and books that offer evidence-based resources for expectant parents is provided.     

The journey of an early lamaze childbirth educator

The author, who accomplished the majority of her work as a childbirth educator while based in Tampa, Florida, journals the experience of being an early pioneer in promoting Lamaze childbirth in the United States, beginning in the 1960s. Many aspects of her story are common to the stories of other childbirth educators who also pioneered the childbirth movement in the United States during the same time frame. This history is presented for its potential usefulness to those who continue to work to advance the Lamaze International goal of promoting normal birth.     

Birth stories: a way of knowing in childbirth education

Birth stories have a lasting impact on expectant mothers. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the influence of birth stories as a key component of informal communication of knowledge about childbirth for expectant mothers. The review of literature and research is related to childbirth education, anthropological thinking, and applied learning theory with foundational concepts from Vygotsky, Bruner, and Bandura. Implications for childbirth educators are included.     

Birth environments

Childbirth educators can actively participate in the birth environment and, thus, greatly contribute to the re-emerging childbirth movement.     

Promoting, protecting, and supporting normal birth

This column discusses ways in which childbirth educators can promote, protect, and support normal birth to help make it the standard.     

New Resource from the CDC to Prevent Obesity: Perinatal Implications

Research has identified pregnancy as a trigger to obesity among women; therefore, childbirth educators are encouraged to include the topic of weight gain in their classes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published a guide on obesity that may serve as an excellent resource for both educators and their clients.     

The history of lamaze continues: an interview with elisabeth bing

Elisabeth Bing-physiotherapist, childbirth educator, and cofounder of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (now Lamaze International)-is well known to most childbirth educators in the United States. She has been a true pioneer in the education of parents for pregnancy and birth. Her book, Six Practical Lessons for an Easier Childbirth, served to guide many parents and childbirth educators in the use of the Lamaze Method for labor and birth. She has prepared a countless number of parents for their birth experience in both her hospital classes in the 1950s and 1960s and in her private classes in the "studio" of her New York City apartment building, where she began teaching in the 1960s and continues to teach today. Elisabeth is beloved by all those who have had the opportunity to meet her or work with her. She has created a legacy that will continue for decades to come.     

Contemporary dilemmas in american childbirth education: findings from a comparative ethnographic study

In this article, we examine key dilemmas childbirth educators experienced as they made crucial decisions about the content and format of their classes in the current U.S. maternity-care context. This ethnographic study demonstrates that childbirth education is a cultural phenomenon with deeply embedded values regarding the nature and importance of information, scientific evidence, and consumer choice. Articulating how culture shapes the presentation, content, and format of childbirth classes is an important step in understanding and increasing the relevance of this experience for birthing women.     

Normal birth as the standard versus cesarean as a "deserved" choice

In this column, childbirth educators are urged to provide pregnant women with informed choices, not just deserved choices, of giving birth.