Join Gloria Lemay, celebrated traditional birth attendant and childbirth educator, in a series of 12 online programs for professionals and students who wish to expand their knowledge and skills, and delve into issues that arise repeatedly in clinical practice. This series is also valuable for parents who want to be fully informed about their choices in pregnancy and birth.

Each session is 90 minutes in length.

Cost: $7.50 per presentation.

Certificates of Completion: $7.50 per session  (completion of post-session questionnaire required).  

Gloria’s twelve online workshops cover the following topics:

Nutrition for Two. Women want to feed themselves and their babies in utero well, and they often make lifestyle changes in pregnancy that they would not have the discipline to make if they were not pregnant. This presentation focuses on how to help women achieve excellent nutrition through fun, inspiring and effective coaching.

The Well Woman Check Up.  What is the experienced care provider looking for when she’s doing those urine strips, palpating the uterus and taking blood pressure/pulse? This presentation dissects the prenatal checkup and explores the rationale behind each routine test.

Prenatal Diagnostic Tests. As the number of possible prenatal tests continues to climb, care providers must be able to discern which ones will lead to productive action and which ones will only worry and detract from the woman’s pregnancy experience. This presentation enables participants to better advocate for their clients by articulating which prenatal diagnostic tests are reasonable, and which tests can cause more harm than good.

Medical Terminology. The keys to the obstetric kingdom lie in the language. Learning medical prefixes, suffixes and root words will give you the tools to interpret the language. You’ll be able to use extra long, impressive words like “neurofibromatosis” in no time, and have fun doing it!

Induction of Birth. If only one change happened in North America – the end of 41 week inductions – the cesarean rate would immediately drop. This workshop will explore the history, the misinformation campaign, and the tools needed to end the routine practice of labor inductions.

Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension. Most prenatal care is designed to identify the small number of pregnant women who will develop Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension. This condition can be prevented and treated. In this workshop, we will discuss how the diagnosis is made, how to identify the symptoms in the early stages, and which clients are at risk.

Gestational Diabetes. Because gestational diabetes can be deadly, it is critical that care providers understand it, and know which women are at risk. This workshop will provide valuable insight and information about how to screen for and help prevent this condition.

Herpes Simplex II. One in five North American adults has Herpes Simplex II. After attending this workshop, care providers will know how to care for women with this condition, assuring that every woman they care for is healthy and lesion-free on the day of birth.

Water Birth & Lotus Birth. The most exciting ideas in obstetrics come from the women themselves. Water Birth and Lotus Birth are grass roots innovations that have endured for decades. When your clients have questions about these practices, you’ll be ready with answers that address the safety and beauty of these birth innovations.

Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC). The VBAC client will have emotions and fears about giving birth that are justifiably heightened. She and her partner will require more time and patience than your other clients. This workshop will focus on advanced planning techniques for changing psychological patterns in the mother and father, and tips for avoiding pitfalls and safely supporting families through this most satisfying and empowering of childbirth experiences.

Pediatric Exam of the Newborn. Knowing what the midwife or pediatrician is looking for in the examination of a newborn will enhance your ability to assist with the care of the baby after the immediate post partum period. In this workshop, you will learn to distinguish between normal parental concerns, (e.g., “Is it normal for the baby to turn bright red?”) and signs that the baby should be seen in a hospital emergency ward (e.g., “The baby isn’t feeding and seems lethargic”).

Business Promotion and Professionalism. Prosperity and business responsibility are matters of integrity. Let’s marry your spiritual calling with the practical reality of paying bills and building a business. This workshop is a realistic and practical guide to the entrepreneurial side of caring for others.  Although the focus will be on the birth business, this ideas raised in this session will be applicable to all care providers.