On November 21st, Amy Swagman will join us to facilitate the creation of birth mandalas. BirthChat is still offered free of charge, but space is limited, so please reserve your spot!
Are you looking for Christmas deals for your friends and family who love learning, talking and thinking about birth? Check out Hana Peace Works’ specials.
What Babies Want is a great film to introduce how profoundly birth impacts individuals.
The Business of Being Born is a Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein documentary that discusses birth in America. Great for getting one thinking about what is “normal” in our culture.
Birthday is a classic must-see birth film. Midwife Naoli Vinaver gives birth to her daughter among her loving family in their gorgeous blue tiled bathtub.
If you offer gifts for the birthy crowd, please tell us what you do, and share your link in the comments!
Here is an exceptional post about a father’s experience of his children’s births.
Moms: What have you seen your partner experience?
Birth Partners: Can you relate to this post? Please share your thoughts.
The 2011 legislative session will have the opportunity to expand midwives’ responsibilities and further ensure they have adequate tools and permission to provide optimal care for their clients. See the DORA summary for details, then contact the CO state government with your support for broadening midwives’ scope of practice.
Here’s a great place to post your birth stories, and a great local resource for young families. Look at the NOCO Tots website.
This BirthChat focuses on the sexual relationship between partners during pregnancy and after baby arrives. Husbands and partners are STRONGLY encouraged and WELCOME to attend. Lorin Spangler-Young and Rich Young, teachers of the Bradley Method will facilitate the discussion. Please feel free to bring questions and thoughts.
Free Childcare will be provided! Please RSVP to Keri at birthadvocate @ msn . com by 5/11 if you’d like to utilize this service. Limited slots available, please respond ASAP.
Date: Monday, May 17, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: The Tap Room @ Catalyst, 3501 S. Shields Fort Collins
The Family Journey is becoming increasingly connected with other Colorado grassroots birth organizations. We are excited to share some of their very important events here:
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Long gone are the days when a father paced back and forth in a smoky hospital waiting room while his wife gave birth elsewhere, in a room full of strangers. This was the stereotype during the mid-twentieth century. Today, nearly 90% of fathers are present at the birth of their children. A lot is known about the changes a woman goes through as she becomes a mother, but what about the changes of a man into a dad?
London-based author Patrick Houser has much to say about becoming a dad. Houser will visit Colorado April 29 – May 8, 2010 on a state-wide tour, stopping in Denver, Salida, Grand Junction and Durango. His workshops, presentations and classes are designed to educate parents, birth professionals and healthcare providers on the importance of the father’s role in pregnancy, birth and early parenting. Says Houser, “The transition to fatherhood is one of the most significant and challenging experiences a man will ever face. In order to have a satisfying and successful experience, fathers must feel safe, supported and confident. To optimize the possibilities for our families, we need to provide appropriate educational, physical and emotional support for ‘father love’.”
And supporting ‘father love’ is Houser’s mission. Houser’s workshops and presentations engage participants in both new and timeless information: the idea that fathers go through significant hormonal changes in much the same way as their wives, that they too need support during these transitions in order to best support their families, and that they must attend to how they themselves were fathered.
Patrick pioneered conscious birthing with his son’s waterbirth in 1980–the first in the US–and went on to work as a social architect in the world of birth advocacy for 25 years. In 2006, he co-founded Fathers-To-Be International and works internationally with expectant and new dads, birthcare professionals and educators. He is the author of Fathers-To-Be Handbook: A Roadmap for the Transition to Fatherhood.
Birth professionals, healthcare providers, mothers, fathers and parents-to-be are all invited to attend any workshop or speaking engagement. Continuing Education credits are available for birth professionals. (4 L-CERPs have been approved through IBLCE. 4 CEU reciprocity has been offered and verified through NARM, DONA, CAPPA and ACBE.)
2010 Colorado FatherLove Tour Dates
Denver:
Birth Professional Workshop
Topic: Supporting Fathers in Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding and Early Parenting
Date: April 29, 2010, 1 – 5:15 PM (Registration opens at 12:30 PM)
Location: St. Anthony Central Hospital, 4231 W. 16th Avenue, Denver, CO
Registration: At the Door, $45 general admission or $85 admission with CERPs or CEUs.
Register online for a DISCOUNT of $5 general admission/$10 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Online registration is available at www.wisdomwithinyourbody.org/fatherlovedenver and ENDS April 28th.
Community Presentation
Topic: When Dads Have Babies: The Science of FatherLove
Date: April 29, 2010, 7 – 8 PM
Location: St. Anthony Central Hospital, 4231 W. 16th Avenue, Denver, CO
Registration: Free and Open to the public. Walk-Ins Welcome. Donations appreciated.
Salida:
Birth Professional Workshop
Topic: Including Fathers in our Perinatal and Breastfeeding Language
Date: April 30, 2010, 10:30 AM – Noon (Registration opens at 10 AM)
Location: 2010 Reproductive Wellness Symposium, Salida Café and Roastery Community Room, 300 W. Sackett Ave., Salida, CO
Registration: $10 general admission/$50 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Register early for the full symposium weekend, or at the door for this individual workshop.
Full Symposium Weekend registration costs are $65 general admission/$105 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Early registration ends April 27, 2010. Register online at www.wisdomwithinyourbody.org.
Community Class
Topic: Proud Papas – Creating Community-Supported Fathers’ Groups
Date: May 1, 2010, 3 – 4 PM
Location: 2010 Reproductive Wellness Symposium, Salida Café and Roastery Community Room, 300 W. Sackett Ave., Salida, CO
Registration: Free and Open to the Public. Walk-Ins Welcome. Donations appreciated.
Birth Professional Workshop
Topic: Supporting Fathers in Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding and Early Parenting
Date: May 2, 2010, 1 – 5:15 PM (Registration opens at 12:30 PM)
Location: 2010 Reproductive Wellness Symposium, Salida Café and Roastery Community Room, 300 W. Sackett Ave., Salida, CO
Registration: $20 general admission/$60 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Register early for the full symposium weekend, or at the door for this individual workshop.
Full Symposium registration $65 general admission/$105 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Early registration ends April 27, 2010. Register online at www.wisdomwithinyourbody.org.
Grand Junction:
Community Presentation
Topic: When Dads Have Babies: The Science of FatherLove
Date: May 5, 2010, 7 – 8:30 PM
Location: Coffee Muggers, 644 Main St, Grand Junction, CO
Registration: Free and Open to the Public, Walk-Ins Welcome. Donations appreciated.
Birth Professional Workshop
Topic: Supporting Fathers in Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding and Early Parenting
Date: May 6, 1 – 5:15 PM (Registration opens at 12:30 PM)
Location: Koinonia Church, 730 25 Road, Grand Junction, CO
Registration: At the Door, $45 general admission/$70 admission with CERPs or CEUs.
Register online for a DISCOUNT of $5 general admission/$10 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Online registration is available at www.wisdomwithinyourbody.org/fatherlovejunction and ENDS May 5th.
Durango, CO:
Birth Professional Workshop
Topic: Supporting Fathers in Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding and Early Parenting
Date: May 7, 1 – 5:15 PM (Registration opens at 12:30 PM)
Location: Serving Life Chiropractic, 1040 Main Ave. upstairs, Durango, CO
Registration: At the Door, $45 general admission/$70 admission with CERPs or CEUs.
Register online for a DISCOUNT of $5 general admission/$10 admission with CERPs or CEUs. Online registration is available at www.wisdomwithinyourbody.org/fatherlovedurango and ENDS May 6th.
Community Presentation
Topic: When Dads Have Babies: The Science of Father Love
Date: May 8, 10:30 – Noon
Location: The Durango Pregnancy Expo, Serving Life Chiropractic, 1040 Main Ave. upstairs, Durango, CO
Registration: $10; Contact Serving Life Chiropractic to register over the phone: 970-422-2032
Houser’s visit is hosted by a cooperative effort of Wisdom Within, Fathers-To-Be International, A Bump in the Road, Mountain Midwifery Center and BirthSmart.
Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you at one of these events!
The current Pathways to Family Wellness magazine has a wealth of pertinent information – it’s the Special Childbirth Issue. One of the best parts is a short piece titled Protecting the Cave. The author provides an interesting glimpse of what Cave-Dads may have experienced, and how those same instincts play into childbirth today.