HEART AND HANDS: THE ART OF MOTHER-BABY FRIENDLY NURSING A PROPOSAL FOR HIGH QUALITY MATERNITY CARE

A Training for Hospital Labor and Delivery Nurses and Clinic Staff

Implementing the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative in Los Angeles

Offered by

The Association for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health

in Collaboration with

The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services

with support from

The Breastfeeding Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles

and

Educate. Simplify. Creative Resolve Healthcare Training Company

ABOUT THE COURSE

Course Description

This course is designed to assist hospitals and prenatal clinics who are ready and willing to implement The Mother Friendly Childbirth Initative and to establish the Mother Friendly Nurse Recognition Program at their institution. Based on the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) developed by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), a coalition of leading researchers, maternal-infant health experts, organizations and individuals concerned with the health and well being of mothers and infants, these 10 evidenced-based steps to Mother and Baby Friendly Care will be discussed and practical applications will be taught for the labor and delivery nurse. The basis for the MFCI was highlighted in peer-reviewed Journal of Perinatal Education. For more information on The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI), and to a download of the journal, go to http://motherfriendly.org.

Funder

California Community Foundation Community Grant for Hospital Improvements and Nursing Education

Dates and Times of Training

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, May 22, 23, 24, 2012

8:30 am-5:30 pm

Sponsoring Organization

The Association for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health

Collaborative Partners

The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services and  Educate.Simplify. Creative Resolve Healthcare Training Company with support from The Breastfeeding Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles.

Audience

Hospital labor and delivery nurses, nurse-managers and administrators and clinic staff and managers.

Dates, Time and Location of Course

Date: Tuesday-Thursday, May 22-24, 2012

Time: 8:30 am-5:30 pm

Location: Educate. Simplify. Creative Resolve  Healthcare Training Company http://educatesimplify.com.

Mid-Wilshire District of Los Angeles

Tuition

Individual rate: $550 per person.

Hospital Group rate:  $8080 (may send up to 20 persons).

Clinic rate: 3-5  persons registering together may attend for $2000.

There is no additional charge for the Train-the-Trainer session on Day One. Includes CEUs, training manual and continental breakfast each day.

Curriculum Overview

Day One: Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Train-the-Trainer (for Champions of Mother-Baby Friendly care; will become the designated person at instituition to lead the implentation and on-going  training of nurses and staff).

Day Two: Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Implementing the 10 Steps on the unit or at the prenatal clinic.

Day Three: Thursday, May 24, 2012. Promoting Maternal-Infant Attachment & Breastfeeding

Hors D’Ouevres & Cocktail Reception, Thursday May 24, 2012.  Community doulas will  attend  from 2:30-4:30 pm  on Day Three. This is an opportunity for nurses  to mingle with doulas in a relaxed setting and create alliances. Guest Speaker: Susan Minich, CNM, Kaiser Permanente Los  Angeles. To RSVP for the reception, email: nicette@VBAC.com.

Rationale for Course

• In spite of spending far more money per capita on maternity and newborn care than any other country, the United States falls behind most industrialized countries in perinatal  morbidity and mortality, and maternal mortality is four times greater for African-American women than for Euro-American women;
• Midwives attend the vast majority of births in those industrialized countries with the best perinatal outcomes, yet in the United States, midwives are the principal attendants at only a small percentage of births;
• Current maternity and newborn practices that contribute to high costs and inferior outcomes include the inappropriate application of technology and routine procedures that are not based on scientific evidence;
•  Increased dependence on technology has diminished confidence in women’s innate ability to give birth without intervention;
• The integrity of the mother-child relationship, which begins in pregnancy, is compromised by the obstetrical treatment of mother and baby as if they were separate units with conflicting needs;
  Although breastfeeding has been scientifically shown to provide optimum health, nutritional, and developmental benefits to newborns and their mothers, only a fraction of U.S. mothers are fully breastfeeding their babies by the age of six weeks.
  -From the preamble to the MFCI  by CIMS
  

What is “Mother-Baby Friendly”  Maternity Care?

Mother-Baby friendly maternity care is evidence-based and provides optimal care for mothers and newborns. It’s a philosophy of care that recognizes the normalcy of the birthing process and minimizes the use of non-medically indicated interventions to provide the best outcomes for mothers and babies. This approach  recognizes the importance  of the mother-baby dyad and minimizes separations between the two  after  birth.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)

 In 1992, The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative  was launched by UNICEF and WHO. The goal was to recognize hospitals and maternity care centers who intentionally created a breastfeeding-supportive environment by     following 10 evidence-based steps. 

The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI)

The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI)  is a  concensus document that was developed by The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) in 1996 and endorsed by 31 individuals and 26 organizations. Hospitals, maternity centers and clinics can implement any or all of the 10 evidence-based  steps to improve  maternal and  newborn  outcomes, improve quality of care, and reduce costs.

Principles of the MFCI are:

• Normalcy of the Birthing Process
•  Empowerment
•  Autonomy
•  Do No Harm
•  Responsibility

The 10 Steps of the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative

 Hospitals, maternity centers, clinics and  providers  offices are encouraged to implement any or all the 10 steps which  they feel they  are ready and able to. A brief summary of the steps is below:

1. SUPPORT. Unrestricted access to continuous  emotional and physical support from a  family member or a labor-support professional; including access to professional midwifery care.
2. INFORMATION. Provides accurate descriptive and statistical  information to the public about its       practices and  procedures.
3. CULTURAL  COMPETENCY. Provides culturally competent care.
4. FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT. Provides the birthing woman with the freedom to walk, move about, and assume the positions of her choice during labor and birth
5. COLLABORATION. Has clearly defined policies and procedures for collaborating and consulting throughout the perinatal period with other maternity services;  linking the mother and baby to  appropriate community resources.
6. EVIDENCE-BASED. Does not routinely employ practices and procedures that are unsupported by scientific evidence, and limits others.
7. PROMOTES  NON-DRUG  METHODS OF  PAIN RELIEF. Educates staff  in  non-drug  methods of pain relief, and does not promote the use of analgesic or anesthetic drugs not specifically required to correct a complication.
8. TOUCH.HOLD.BREASTFEED. Encourages all mothers and families, including those with sick or premature newborns or infants with congenital problems, to touch, hold, breastfeed, and care for their babies to the extent compatible with their conditions.
9. DISCOURAGES  CIRCUMCISION. Discourages non-religious circumcision of the newborn infant.
10. PROMOTES  BREASTFEEDING. Strives to achieve the WHO-UNICEF “Ten Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative” promoting successful breastfeeding.                                  

 For the full recommendation, and the scientific evidence supporting each of the 10  recommendations, download a copy of the  peer-reviewed Journal of Perinatal Education (Supplement, Winter 2007, Vol. 16, No.1) at  http://motherfriendly.org.

Benefits of Mother-Baby Friendly Care for Hospitals, Physicians, Nurses and Patients

1. Increased patient satisfaction

2. Increased job satisfaction among nurses

3. Improvement in quality of care (evidence-based practices resulting in better outcomes for mothers and infants).

4. Cost-savings to hospitals because of shorter labors

5. For doctors, increased patient satisfaction results in repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations

About the Sponsoring Organization

The Association for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health

We are a non-profit training and and advocacy organization with a grass roots, community-based approach to support direct-service providers in promoting the health of mothers, infants, and families. The organization trains community perinatal health workers, designs community-based initiatives, engages and mobilizes diverse stakeholders in collaboration to develop wholistically-oriented programs and policies that improve maternal and child health.

What we mean by "wholistic" maternity care

Our intent is to mobilize the community to implement culturally appropriate wholistic approaches to perinatal health so as to improve outcomes and quality of maternity care in all settings: clinics, hospitals, birth centers and domiciliary settings. We promote an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to maternity care which encompasses the physiological, psychological, and socio-ecological determinants of health. Our vision is to work in harmony and collaboration with a variety of care providers, both conventional and alternative including hospitals, clinics, medical doctors, nurses, midwives, mental health specialists, health educators, nutritionists and paraprofessionals such as doulas and breastfeeding peer counselors, community health promoters, and perinatal case managers,  and other allied health professionals with specialization in maternity and newborn health.

Organizational Vision

Our purpose is to improve perinatal health outcomes and quality of care, reduce health disparities, reduce neonatal and maternal disability and death. We are working to achieve Healthy People 2020 objectives for maternal-infant health and Millennium Development Goal 5: to reduce maternal mortality and  to reduce disparities in prematurity and infant mortality . We are taking a global health approach to address urban health disparities in the U.S. by training skilled birth attendants (midwives and nurses) and paraprofessional community perinatal health promoters from disadvantaged urban communities where perinatal health disparities are greatest. We promote the availability and use of skilled maternity care including nurses, midwives, doulas and community health promoters, at all levels and in a variety of settings by providing education and professional development of  qualified practitioners to provide maternity care in varied settings including clinics, private homes, hospitals and freestanding birth centers. We work with agencies and hosptals to promote evidence-based maternity and infant care and reduce perinatal health disparities.

Teaching Faculty

Vanessa Nicolas, BSN, CNM, CLE, Principal Consultant and Lead Trainer

Vanessa brings many years of clinical experience and expertise to the project. She is a Certified Nurse-Midwife with 20 + years experience, and over 30 years experience is a Professional Nurse. She has delivered over 2000 babies safely and is a recognized lecturer and clinical preceptor. Vanessa earned her certificate as a Nurse Midwife from University of Southern California in 1988 and her BSN from The University of South Alabama in 1982. Vanessa worked as a nurse-midwife at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science for 13 years where she was a lecturer and clinical instructor for midwifery, medical and PA students. She also worked as a Nurse-Midwife and Lactation Educator at LA County UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for and as a Staff RN at LA County/USC Medical Center on the high risk obstetrical unit. Vanessa worked as a Clinical Instructor and Interim Director of Nursing Education at Preferred College of Nursing in Los Angeles for five years instructing in medical/surgical, OB and Pediatrics for LVN students. She is currently a Nursing Instructor for the Associate Degree Nursing Program at at Virginia College. Vanessa is also an Education Consultant and International Trainer in Haiti and Zambia, Africa where she is involved in the training of Traditional Birth Attendants.

Cordelia Hanna Cheruiyot, MPH, CHES, CCE, CBA, Project Coordinator, Curriculum Developer and Co-Instructor-Executive Director, The Assocaition for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health

Cordelia earned her Masters in Public Health (MPH) in Health Education and Promotion and Maternal Child Health from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA in 2008, and her Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University Bloomington in 1986. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist, accredited by National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, the gold standard for professional health educators. Cordelia has worked for twenty years as a childbirth educator, breastfeeding educator-counselor, birth assistant/doula and health education consultant in private practice, clinics, hospitals, doctor's offices, public health departments and federally qualified health centers in Los Angeles. Cordelia develops and conducts trainings for nurses, public health students, community health promoters, doulas, and breastfeeding peer counselors. She has trained staff from several agencies and hospitals throughout the region including Maternal Child Health Access, Antelope Valley Hospital, Doctor's Hospital of East Los Angeles, Glendale Memorial Hospital, Pasadena Public Health Department Black Infant Health Program, South Los Angeles Health Projects, and more. Cordelia is a Certified Childbirth Educator and Certified Birth Assistant accredited by The Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators (ALACE) and a Lactation Educator-Counselor. Cordelia worked for nearly a decade at The Pasadena Public Health Department on the Maternal Child and Adolsecent Health Outreach Program and The Black Infant Health Program where she conducted trainings for staff and community members, trained doulas and breatsfeeding peer counselors and managed a volunteer doula program and breastfeeding peer counselor program. In addition, Cordelia is Co-Chair of the Evidence in Action Committee of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), and formerly was the Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Best Babies Network Healthy Births Learning Collaborative for SPA 3 (San Gabriel Valley). Cordelia is active in the global movements to reduce ethnic perinatal disparities in the U.S. and abroad.

Nicette Jukelevics, MA, ICCE, Curriculum Co-Developer, Consultant/Researcher and Co-Instructor

Nicette Jukelevics is  the author of  Understanding The Dangers of Cesarean Birth (Praeger Books, 2008). Nicette is a recognized expert on Cesarean Section, maternity care researcher and educator.  She is a certified  childbirth educator accredited by International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) with 30 years experience teaching in the hospital, as well as university teaching experience. For 28 years, she taught prepared childbirth classes and other topics  at Torrance Memorial Hospital. She is also a parenting educator and  founder of The Center for Family.  Nicette received her MA in English with Honors from  Concordia University in Montreal  in 1974, and her Bachelor of Arts in English with Honors from McGill University in  Montreal, Canada in 1970. She was a California Community College Instructor in Languages and Literature and also at Le Centre Culturel et Linguistique, Concordia University, McGill University and Berlitz School of Languages. She is a  received her doula training with Doulas of North America. Nicette  is the  editor and contributer to many publications and websites  and taught VBAC/Cesarean advanced trainings for doulas, nurses and childbirth educators.  She is the author of http://vbac.com.   Nicette was one of the founding members of Doula Association of Southern California (DASC) and worked as a doula for many years specializing in Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.  Formerly, Nicette served as  Chair and Co-chair of The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services.

Jeanette Schwartz, MSN, RNC, ICCE, CD -Director, Maternity Care Center Woodwinds Health Campus, Woodbury, MN (a Mother-Baby Friendly Institution)

Jeanette is the Director, Maternity Care Center Woodwinds Health Campus, Woodbury, MN and past President, International Childbirth Education Association (2008-2010). She is also Adjunct Faculty in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and was Chair of Minnesota AWHONN (2007-2010). Formerly she was the Director, Medical/Surgical/Pediatric Unit at Woodwinds Health Campus, Woodbury, MN. Jeanette was the President, Minnesota Perinatal Organization (2001-2002). She was a Staff Nurse Labor and Delivery at Unity Hospital, Fridley, MN and Staff Nurse Labor Delivery, Special Care Nursery. Jeanette is a ICEA Approved Trainer and Certified Childbirth Educator with International Childbirth Education Association and Lamaze International. She is also has her Inpatient Obstetric Nursing Certification, National Certification Corporation for the Obstetric/Gynecologic/Neonatal Nursing Specialties. In addition, Jeanette is a Babies and You Instructor for The March of Dimes, Twin Cities Chapter, and has her Doula Certification through Doulas of North America, and her Doula Trainer Certification with Doulas of North America. Jeanette attended Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1996, and her Masters of Arts in Nursing Leadership from Bethel College, St. Paul, MN in 2000.

Marilyn Hildreth, RN, IBCLC, FACCE, ICCE, LCCE, IAT-CE-D, CD(ICEA/ DONA) - CIMS Mother Friendly Nurse Recognition Program

Co-Founder , CEO, JM Birth Consultants International, Marilyn's professional background includes over 35 years of experience in Maternal Child Health Nursing, including supervisory, flight, and staff nursing. She has also been a certified childbirth educator for 30 years, doula trainer for 10 years, and serves as an instructor for various ICEA Workshops. Marilyn currently serves on the CIMS Leadership Team as Chair of the CIMS Mother Friendly Nurse Recognition Program and is past Education Chair for the International Childbirth Education Association Board of Directors. Marilyn has been an instructor for the Lamaze International Evidence-Based Nursing Care: Labor Support Skills Workshop and currently is an instructor for the ICEA Mother Friendly Labor Support for Nurses Workshop. Hildreth continues to consult with local and international hospital’s wanting to implement the CIMS Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative into their practice. She is a International Board Certified Lactation Counselor, ICEA Certified Childbirth Educator, ICEA and DONA Certified Birth Doula, Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator.

Nothing is so powerful as an Idea whose time has come, and Mother and Baby Care are an idea whose time is come.

For more information contact: Cordelia Hanna-Cheruiyot, MPH, CHES Project Director 626-388-2191

Email: cordeliahc@socalbirth.com