A 60-hour program for aspiring midwifes, birth attendants, doulas, pregnant moms or practicing midwifes who wish to enhance and expand their practice of midwifery and broaden the spiritual and soulful components of birthing practices!

We will explore birth as a transformative and empowering experience... one that each mom can welcome and appreciate.  We'll embrace birth as an incredibly positive and affirmative peak experience, one that most pregnant women are well-equipped to undertake.  We'll see birth as an event that offers profound shifts in the consciousness of all involved.  And we'll look at the role of the caregiver in this rite of passage, as we explore the physical, cultural, social and spiritual aspects of birth and midwifery.

OUR CURRICULUM FOR STUDIES IN INTEGRAL BIRTH:

We will endeavor to understand as many aspects of childbearing as we can.  We'll view birth, first, from the point of view of the mother.  Then we'll look at how family is shaped by birth.  We'll address the roles available to caregivers.  We'll discuss how our society and culture determine our particular birthing rituals and care-taking rituals.  Then we'll turn our attention to the world view of birth.  Finally, we'll add the overarching, all-embracing cosmic template.

This describes the Integral model.  As we use this model as the matrix for our discussion, we'll include tangible information concerning the physicality of childbearing.

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  We'll look at hormones and endocrinology


• We'll learn the female body, the pelvis, the mechanisms of labor, & the fetal skull, and how they relate in labor


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  We'll describe the process of labor in holistic terms and offer a model that weaves together the physical, the instinctual and the intuitive aspects
  
  
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  We'll explore the concept of midwifery and caregiving for the pregnant mother




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  What does support mean for the pregnant family?
  
  
  
  
• What does education mean for the pregnant family?
  
  


• What does monitoring mean for the pregnant family?
  
  


• What does nurturing and facilitation mean for the pregnant family?
  
  


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  What do these things look like in various settings and permutations?


• What exactly is empowerment? Transformation? Instinct? Intuition?  We attach these words to childbearing... let's investigate the meaning and significance of these powerful words, then apply them to birth and midwifery in a way that is truly empowering and transformative


• We'll explore variations of normal in the childbearing continuum and offer empowering strategies to unfold and unwind these varying changes


• We'll look at the paradigm of undisturbed birth and see if, in the Integral model, this approach to birth fits the escalating need for birth change


• We'll consider whether undisturbed birth is in synchrony with the journey of birth as a personal, cultural, social, spiritual and cosmic event

During our 60 hours together, we'll experience a mix of stories, academic studies, lecture and dialogue, group discussion, presentation of case studies, visualizations and exploration of various spiritual practices.  You will also learn a body of knowledge and information that will allow you to enter the birthing realm as a doula and further your studies of midwifery.

At the close of the program, you will receive a certificate from The Matrona, documenting 60 hours of Holistic Midwifery Studies.  You will also receive a certificate of Holistic Doula Training.

COST OF THE PROGRAM: $550

HOURS & DATES:

Weekends 9:30 am to 5:30 pm             Evenings 6 to 10 pm

We meet on Monday and Thursday evenings, starting January 31, 2008 and continuing through February 21.  We will also meet on two weekends:

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  February 2 & 3
  
  
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  February 16 & 17

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, CONTACT WHAPIO:

Email: belovedpilgrim (at) yahoo (dot) com

Phone: (828) 242-2188