2017 Speakers & Topics
Bridget Lynch has been a midwife and midwifery activist for more than 35 years. She is the Past President of the International Confederation of Midwives, where she led the development of global standards for the education and regulation of midwives worldwide. She is a Past-President of the Association of Ontario Midwives and a founding Board Member of the Canadian Association of Midwives. Bridget is an Assistant Professor in the Midwifery Education Program at McMaster University, and was formerly the Head of the Division of Midwifery at three Toronto hospitals. During her career as a midwife, the time following birth has been her focus, both in her research and midwifery practice. Bridget has served many families from different cultures and learned from them about various postpartum practices. She has incorporated her research and experience into her goal, which is to help parents make the early days and weeks after birth a peaceful and happy time for the whole family. She has presented on this topic at conferences in North America, Australia and Europe.
Until the early decades of the 20th century the time following childbirth was known as the ‘lying-in’ time in North America. This was a specified time and space wherein mothers were supported to be with their newborns without household or social responsibilities. The lying-in was the domain of women and was protected by midwives. While versions of lying-in have been practiced historically in societies around the world, today the observance of a protected time and space following childbirth has all but disappeared within the biomedical model of maternity care in Western societies. We now describe the time following birth as ‘the postpartum’, a medical term which has served to relegate this time to secondary status after the birth. Ironically and poignantly, ‘the postpartum’, indicates not only a loss of status of the time following birth, it is now synonymous with maternal depression. This presentation will review the common historical and cross-cultural aspects of care following childbirth prior to medicalization. It will raise questions for midwifery care and research and challenge midwives to examine if our care following birth is truly ‘woman-centred’.
Debra Pascali-Bonaro is the Founder & President of Pain to Power Childbirth Experience, Director of the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret and co-writer of “Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth” all of which explore the intimate and sacred nature of birth. Debra is an inspirational international speaker, chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization, Advisor to Human Rights in Childbirth and the International Childbirth Education Association. Debra’s passion comes from her years as a Lamaze International childbirth educator, and birth and postpartum doula trainer with DONA International where she has worked with families, midwives, doulas and physicians in over 30 countries bringing comfort, love and pleasure to birth and life! Debra has been interviewed by media around the world, including ABC’s 20/20 and The New York Times, as well as numerous Parenting and Health Magazines. Debra is a pioneer in reminding humanity that birth can be full of pleasure and delight.
Join Debra to talk about sexuality and the hormonal physiology of childbirth creating comfort, pleasure and pain relief. It’s time to honor; sexuality, creativity, music, movement, song and love in childbirth. Ask yourself “have our childbirth practices gone too far is making birth a day to endure rather than a transformative, joyful, life affirming process? If you want to offer yourself and your clients more joy, pleasure and power – this workshop will offer you the science, techniques, and inspiration to make subtle changes that will increase your clients power, passion and create transformative, powerful, birth experiences.
Denis was born and brought up in Queensland, Australia but trained as a midwife in Leicester, UK and has worked in a variety of midwifery environments over the past 30 years. He is now Associate Professor in Midwif in normal labour and birth, midwifery-led models and midwifery-led units. He had written extensively in these areas over the last 20 years. He lectures on evidence and skills for normal birth internationally and authored the best seller -‘Evidence-Based Care for Normal Labour & Birth’, now in its 2nd edition.
Current understandings of dystocia rest on outdated definitions of active first stage of labour and its progress and on treatments with an equivocal evidence base. These include the cervical dilatation threshold for active first stage, uncertainty over whether a reduced rate of dilatation and reduced strength of uterine contractions represents pathology and the effectiveness of amniotomy and oxytocin for preventing or treating dystocia. Recommendations are made for revising the definitions of active phase of the first stage and for dystocia and for alternative, non-medical interventions that are known to shorten the length of labour.
Illysa Foster has worked with birthing families for over 10 years. She holds an M.Ed. from the University of Texas at Austin from 1997 and earned her CPM in 2007. Illysa practiced as a homebirth midwife and later became a licensed mental health provider. Illysa co-authored Professional Ethics in Midwifery Practice (2011) and has presented at local, state and national conferences on the topic of professional ethics. Illysa has taught undergraduate students in psychology and child and family development at the community college and university level. She recently retired from midwifery practice and now runs a private psychotherapy practice, Cypress Tree Therapy, in San Marcos, Texas where she provides depth and body-centered therapy to treat conditions such as postpartum depression and anxiety. Illysa was recently hired as full time professor in Psychology at Texas State University.
Jenny Clarke is a full time clinical midwife, her experience as a midwife has led to a passion and interest about the physiology of skin to skin contact. Jenny loves presenting and sees this as an intrinsic part of her role – to pass the baton of midwifery to future midwives.A llarge part of Jenny’s extramural work is centred around how to improve skin to skin contact rates for the newborn and the mother in all birth settings including the operating theatre. The platform of social media is a key part of Jenny’s life and helps her to connect with others who are working hard to raise the profile of maternity services. In the 21st Century the importance of digital community cannot be underestimated to help spread evidence, question practice, gain courage and inspire others - something which Jenny strives to achieve through her skin to skin work.
This presentation will look at current recommendations for skin to skin contact from UNICEF and WHO and explore why current modern systems do not support implementation in practice. I will look at the barriers and the drivers, and tell my own story of change. I will also discuss the phenomenon of social media and how sharing good practice through this medium connects maternity workers with women of the world. Also we will discuss why being a health care radical helps me to question practice and speak out for women and newborns.
Professor Lesley Page CBE PhD, MSc, BA (open), HFRCM, Honorary DSc, RM, RMT. served as President of the Royal College of Midwives from April 2012 till June 2017. Lesley has considerable international experience. She has over 300 publications. Lesley was the first professor of midwifery in the UK at Thames Valley University and Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. Throughout her career Lesley Has continued to be involved in hands on practice. She is Visiting Professor of Midwifery at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London, Honorary Research Fellow Oxford Brookes University and Adjunct Professor University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University Australia. Lesley received the International Alumni Award University of Technology Sydney in 2013 and was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Sc by University of West London in November 2013. In 2014 she was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to midwifery. The emphasis of her current work is the humanization of maternity care.
I will consider aspects of midwifery important to every woman and her baby, every father/parent, no matter where they live, and no matter what their circumstances. We will consider worlds within worlds, starting with the baby as the whole world, moving to worlds of midwifery and current influences, worlds of women, worlds of health care and health care politics, worlds of science and publication. I will end with our achievements and how they might be extended to support reproductive rights, humanized maternity care and the best start in life, for all.
Associate Professor Mary Sidebotham was appointed to Griffith University in 2010. Prior to moving to Australia in 2005 she held senior operational positions within maternity organisations in the UK where she designed and conducted service level reviews and subsequently implemented innovative service delivery models in maternity care. She has worked as a midwife in Australia in a variety of settings including small rural units and private midwifery practice. Since commencing at Griffith she has developed a reputation for innovation and excellence in midwifery education design and delivery. Mary has an Australian Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) national citation for inspirational leadership within midwifery and she currently leads the scholarship of learning and teaching within the Midwifery@Griffith team. The focus of Marys research is on building a strong resilient midwifery workforce with a particular emphasis on workplace culture and the emotional wellbeing of the midwifery workforce. Mary contributes to maintaining professional standards at a national level through her work as an approved panel member for the NMBA, an ANMAC assessor and as an assessor for the Queensland Civil and administrative Tribunal (QCAT). Mary is a reviewer for a number of peer reviewed journals and is the editor of the midwifery section within Nurse Education in Practice.
There is now compelling evidence of the benefits of re-orientating maternity services to provide all women, regardless of risk, with a known caseload midwife within a supportive multidisciplinary team 1-3. The strength of evidence has created international momentum to make women’s access to continuity of midwifery care a priority (referred to as caseload midwifery). There is consistent and significant high-level policy support within Australia (e.g. National Maternity Services Plan, 2011)1 and internationally (e.g. NHS England National Maternity Review, 2016 )2 to provide caseload midwifery. However, despite the strength of evidence and policy support, the transition and re-orientation of maternity services to provide caseload midwifery care has been slow 4. A review of the literature reveals significant barriers to implementation including disinterest and misinformation about caseload midwifery within the existing midwifery workforce , poorly designed or absent implementation and support processes and inadequate leadership 5-7. This paper will outline strategies that could be implemented to support leaders developing these services, and importantly strategies that could support the emotional wellbeing of midwives transitioning to and working in caseload midwifery models.
Robin Lim ("Mother Robin," or "Ibu Robin") is a midwife and founder of Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) health clinics, which offer free prenatal care, birthing services and medical aid to anyone who needs it. She and her team have been working since 2003 to combat Indonesia's high maternal and infant mortality rates, and the Bumi Sehat birth centers serve many at-risk mothers. She was awarded the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year award by the CNN news network for helping thousands of low-income women in Indonesia with healthy pregnancy and birth services.
Topic: Birth in the Era of Climate Change: Lessons learned in the Epicenter of Disasters - [View Abstract]
This presentation will describe the cultural significance as well as the physiological functions of the Placenta, and the difference between early and late clamping and cutting of infants’ umbilical cords. Robin Lim will discuss the role of Midwives in advocating for the human rights of newborns, and emphasize that what Midwives do in the birthroom sets the tone for success, or failure of family relations.
We want Midwives to be informed of their essential role in the survival and rebuilding of communities who face disasters.
Globally the surface temperature is increasing. As our Oceans warm, storms are getting bigger, and more frequent. Drought, heat waves, cyclones, unpredictable precipitation and snow, famine, strife, plus earthquakes (fueled by Global Warming, the Earth’s crust is on the move). Today on Earth there are five times as many disasters as there were in the 1970s. According to the World Meteorological Organization Statement on the Status of Global Climate in 2015: "The warming trend and an increasing number of disasters are expected to continue for several decades.”
Experience bringing Midwife-to-Mother care to parts of the planet devastated by disaster has taught me that traumatized communities NEED their midwives. When people suddenly are left homeless, hungry and thirsty, when hospitals and health centers are razed and roads impassible, pregnant women must still have their babies. In addition, Globally, it is the midwives who are trusted as the first go-to medics, when a child is hurt or an elder is ill. In the Samatiga area of Aceh there were 154 midwives before the 9.3 earthquake and tsunami in 2004. Afterwards, there were 32 midwives left alive. These women, also homeless, grieving their dead, without food, water, light or medicines, were the first to respond to the sorrow, suffering and trauma of the people. Attending this session has the potential to help Midwives be more prepared for their role, should disasters continue to strike.
Robyn Schafer, CNM, MSN, RN, EdM, IBCLC, is a full-scope midwife in private practice in Rockland County, New York, where she cares for a diverse patient population. She also works as a lactation consultant at a federally qualified health center in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. As the lead author of “Physiologic breastfeeding: A contemporary approach to breastfeeding initiation,” Robyn was honored to receive the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health’s award for Best Review Article in 2016. Her current research interests include appropriate and effective midwifery care for grandmultiparous women. Robyn is passionate about providing family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based care to women throughout their pregnancies and births, and supporting mothers and babies in the creation and continuation of positive breastfeeding relationships. When she’s not caring for women or welcoming babies into the world, she enjoys her time with her husband and their five wonderful children.
Midwives are making great strides in their efforts to renormalize and promote physiologic birth. As a key component of the fourth stage of birth and a critical moment in the formation of the mother-baby relationship, physiologic breastfeeding initiation should be considered a keystone of midwifery care. Despite the importance of early breastfeeding on maternal-child health and the vital role maternity care providers play in successful initiation, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of various clinical approaches to supporting breastfeeding in the immediate postpartum. In this talk, Robyn Schafer, CNM, MSN, RN, EdM, IBCLC, reviews historical approaches to breastfeeding initiation and presents the available evidence on the efficacy of various methods. She also discusses contemporary philosophies and presents the model of physiologic breastfeeding initiation. In conclusion, she provides recommendations for clinical practice to support mothers and babies in this essential process.
She is currently the Chair of EU COST Action (IS1405) including 31 countries and over 120 scientists from a wide range of disciplines. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organisation, and of the Global Respectful Maternity Care Council of the White Ribbon Alliance, a member of the Steering Group for the recent Lancet Midwifery Series, and of the Advisory Group for the current Lancet Stillbirth Series. She is also a member of the Technical Working Group of the current World Health Organisation antenatal guidelines development project, and is a contributer to the new WHO Intrapartum and Reducing Caesarean Section guidelines.
Wendy was one of the founder members of a UK charity the Breastfeeding Network. In her employed life she was a community pharmacist and also worked in doctor surgeries. She qualified as a pharmacist prescriber on primary prevention of coronary heart disease.
Wendy left paid work to concentrate on writing her books Breastfeeding and Medication (Routledge 2013, 2nd edition 2018), Breastfeeding for Dads and Grandmas (Praeclarus Press) and Why Mothers Medication Matters (Pinter and Martin). She co edited with Prof Amy Brown A guide to supporting breastfeeding for medical professionals (Routledge December 2019) and self-published Breastfeeding and Chronic Medical Conditions in 2020.
Wendy is known for her work on providing a service on the compatibility of drugs in breastmilk and has been a breastfeeding supporter for 34 years. She is passionate that breastfeeding should be valued by all, and that medication should not be a barrier. She has 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren all breastfed.
She was awarded a Points of Light award by the Prime Minister in 2018 and an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2018 for services to mothers and babies. She received her award at Windsor Castle in May 2019 from Her Majesty the Queen.
In the past 21 years of providing support to breastfeeding mothers requiring medication I have found that many women are given information which isn’t based on evidence. Sharing decision-making is about being honest about the limits of knowledge and not just about healthcare professionals avoiding risk. To make an informed decision mothers need an unbiased explanation of options with benefits and risks about what is known about the medicine and its passage into breastmilk. Interrupting breastfeeding to take medication also has risks and we cannot ignore the difficulties that pumping and dumping, produce for the mother. I aim to provide the tools to evaluate the risks and benefits of prescribing and taking medication during breastfeeding and to discuss some of the more commonly encountered conditions where treatment is necessary to maintain a mother if full health to nurture and care for her baby.
Yeshi Neumann has been working as a midwife since 1970. In 2000, she created Homestyle Midwifery, a unique model of care, blending home and hospital birth. In addition to her work in the United States, Yeshi has taught and learned from midwives in Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Trinidad, Tibet, Morocco, India, and China. For many years she was the principal educator of the maternal-child health project, Jungle Mamas, in the Amazonian rainforest in Ecuador. Yeshi has facilitated hundreds of workshops about women's leadership, diversity, conflict resolution, organizational development, communication and healing family relationships Yeshi also trains social change leaders from the non-profit, philanthropic, labor and socially responsible business sectors in the Art of Leadership at Rockwood Leadership Institute. Yeshi is a dedicated student and practitioner of Mindfulness. She teaches Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting. Yeshi is the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three granddaughters, all of whom were born into her own hands.
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