Saturday, March 11
9:00-10:30 MDT

ELIZABETH SIMMONS, CD, MS

DOULAS IN MEDICAID

Learn about how doulas are currently being integrated into Medicaid through state plan amendments, pilot programs, and expanded or value added benefit. Each pathway is distinct and has pros and cons for doulas.

Elizabeth will present about each pathway, how each program impacts doulas, communities, and community members, and provide next steps for any doula looking to support their state's Medicaid efforts.

ABOUT ELIZABETH:

Elizabeth began her career in maternal health as a birth doula in 2007. Right after finishing her doula training, Elizabeth began to wonder and dream about being reimbursed by insurance companies.

Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, she was planting a seed that she would harvest in years to come. She opened a free-standing birth center in Boulder, Colorado in 2014 that is now an integrated facility within the community hospital system. She served as the Industry Relations Chair for the American Association of Birth Centers and has spent the last 13 years of her career dedicated to building networks and partnerships with health plans to support perinatal health.

In 2019, Elizabeth harvested that seed by launching The Doula Network to create a foundational system of doula services. Elizabeth’s dream is for community doulas to be fully recognized, appreciated, and valued members of the birthing person’s care team.

Saturday, March 11
10:45-12:15 MDT

MADISON HENDRY, CBD, CBE

STOP! DON’T TAKE THAT BABY!
Immediate skin to skin saves lives of premature babies

The standard practice for the NICU is based on separated infants, yet we know all infants have better outcomes when provided care in the right place- on the birthing parent’s chest. Mother Infant Co-Regulation in the NiCU is key during this critical period directly after birth as is possible with Kangaroo Mother Care.

*NEW* recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) advises immediate skin to skin care for survival of small and preterm babies updated November, 2022.

15 million babies are born preterm, amounting to more than 1 in 10 of all births globally And the leading cause of death under 5 years of age.

You will gain:

- Understanding the importance of parent infant zero separation after birth
- How to prepare families with evidence based information, support and advocacy
- How to inform Health Care Professionals and Institutions to create change within the Birth/NICU Culture
- How to apply knowledge and skill surrounding Skjn to Skin Contact immediately after birth for premature infants

ABOUT MADISON:

Madison Hendry is the owner of Mama Bird and founded The Cleveland Kangaroula Collective in 2020. She is a Certified Breastfeeding Educator (BAI), Certified Birth Doula (BWI) Certified Kangaroula and mentored by world renowned trainers, Jill & Dr. Nils Bergman.

As a past NICU mother, Madison's passion for birth work began after the premature birth of her second baby. She became an advocate for moms in the NICU to support them on their mothering and breastfeeding journeys since 2016. She provides in-home and virtual birth and breastfeeding support to thousands of families and is dedicated to protecting the mother infant relationship.

Madison is a working artist, in which her works on motherhood have been internationally exhibited including the Mother Art Prize at Cromwell Place in London. She is also the Founder of the NICU Family Scholarship, Mama Bird Group Chat, Birth Arts International Board Member and Ohio Breastfeeding Alliance Active Member. She is a proud mother of 3 and lives in Cleveland, OH.

Saturday, March 11
2:00 - 3:30 MDT

TRYSTAN ANGEL REESE

SEAHORSE PARENTS - TRANSGENDER BIRTH BASICS

Transgender parent and author Trystan Reese brightens every room he enters (even digital ones). His heart-centered storytelling calls even the most complacent listener to action, bringing audiences from The Moth to The Longest Shortest Time to their feet. His award-winning memoir, How We Do Family, captures his unique journey to parenthood, and he now travels the world, bringing love and light to audiences of all kinds.

Saturday, March 11
3:45 - 5:15 MDT

ANNE WALLEN, Director, Trainer and Perinatal Health Curriculum Developer

The Sneaky Psychology of Birth Manipulation / Narcissistic Abuse Behaviors in Medical Care

First, we will take a look at what makes pregnant and lactating people more vulnerable to mental and psychological abuse. Then we discuss what those abuse tactics include, how they play out, what to watch for, as we also shed light on how discrimination plays a part in it all. Understanding systematic racism, medical gaslighting, invalidation, coercion, the difference between implied and informed consent, and how birth workers can make a difference needs to be understood in order to be stopped.

You will learn ways to play "the game", while also maintaining accountability and being diplomatic in the moment (as we bring change from the inside out - and this doesn't happen overnight). These skills need to be taught to our maternal health professionals, doulas and educators and families.

ABOUT ANNE:

- Current Director of MaternityWise International, (MaternityWise.com) a Training and Certification Program for Labor and Postpartum Doulas, Lactation Support and Childbirth Educators as well as the EpiDoula program. Anne has had the pleasure of leading trainings in several different countries around the world.

- Current Owner/Lead Doula and Parent Coach of Doulas in NYC, serving families with Infant Sleep Support, Breastfeeding Support, Parent Coaching, Antenatal, Postpartum and Birth Doula care. Oftentimes volunteering her time with expecting families.  Traditional Midwife (DEM).

- Public speaker on topics that range from maternal mortality to trauma prevention in mothers and young children. Recurring guest speaker on television, radio, podcasts, and at local community events, women's retreats and the Congress on Children in San Antonio, TX.  

- Mother of six (ages 7-29), having three hospital and three home births of her own.  

- Anne has been serving families as a doula since 1993 and has cared for well over a thousand babies and their families through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and breastfeeding. 

- Anne has experience serving families with kosher households, the joys of adoption, single parenting, LGBTQ+, cesarean complications, fertility difficulties, breastfeeding issues, re-lactation, postpartum mood disorders including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, special needs babies, multiples, micro-preemies, attachment parenting, schedule adherence, GERD/Reflux, colic, food allergies, sleep disturbances, "sleep training", homebirth and more. Nothing could suprise her.

- Anne also understands the needs of and enjoys serving high-profile families. She has served as well as trained many doulas who care for families who appreciate this special level of discrete support.

Sunday, March 12
9:00 - 10:30 MDT

IMANI BYERS-QUARTERMAN
LMSW, MPH, PMH-C, Full Spectrum Doula

SOLID CONNECTIONS -
Implementing Professional Boundaries, Solution Focused-Dialogue & Trauma Informed Engagements for Meaningful Client Connections 

How do you foster meaningful conversations that really lead to positive changes for your clients? Solution focused dialogue is a goal directed collaborative effort approach to change outcomes based on client responses to precisely constructed questions.

Coupled with establishing professional boundaries, solution focused dialogue helps to foster trauma sensitive care and when implemented early on, help to foster meaningful relationships with clientele built on empowerment, trust and understanding.

ABOUT IMANI:

Imani is a LMSW, full-spectrum doula & registered 200 hr yoga instructor based in Atlanta, GA. As the founder of Rebyrth Wellness®, she guides families in their transition to parenthood using empowerment & evidenced based education.

Beginning her journey in Human Development during her undergraduate studies at Howard University and furthering craft by obtaining a dual masters in Public Health & Clinical Social Work at the University of Georgia, she is now a Licensed Master Social Worker certified in Perinatal Mental Health & Certified Doula.

She has also trained in several complimentary practices to include herbalism, pelvic steaming, fertility & prenatal yoga, and placenta encapsulation. She is also the co-founder of a doula agency, Your Rebyrth Tribe, where she directs the placenta encapsulation and mental health programming and also serves as a doula business mentor and Honeybook® Educator. 

Sunday, March 12
10:45 - 12:15 MDT

BRANDIE BISHOP, Doula, Mentor, Trainer

RECESSION-PROOFING YOUR BUSINESS

Let’s face it. The last few years have been hard with the pandemic. Many birth workers may be trying to rebuild their businesses after the pandemic.

Global catastrophe aside, we all know that birth work can ebb, flow, and be extremely temperamental. Brandie will teach you tools and tips to bolster your birth business against some of these inevitabilities so you can build a truly sustainable practice.

ABOUT BRANDIE:

From Detroit Michigan, but now a Georgia Peach at heart, Brandie Bishop owner of Your Tribe Family Services LLC has been serving families during their most vulnerable times since she was a young child. At the age of 14 she was a part of her first business start up and also started her first job working at a homeless center. Many years and a Degree in Family Child Development with a minor and both Sociology and Psychology later she began her career. 

Early on her one of her primary focuses was serving pregnant refugee women from around the world. This work challenged her thoughts on how pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period should be experienced. These women taught her more than she could ever put in words and ignited her passion for birth work. As her career expanded she was able to take part in many other small business start ups ,and was also accepted and took part in a small business intensive spearheaded by Emory School of Business. Brandie has been supporting the births of black, brown, and refugee families for nearly 10 years now. As a Doula, Mentor, Instructor, and serial Entrepreneur Brandie desires to see Births and Birth Work Businesses Whole and Thriving. 

Brandie is blessed beyond measure to have her baby girl Joy, who is now a Senior in college, as her biggest cheerleader. Joy’s support and encouragement mean the world to her. She thanks the Lord daily for both the highs and the lows, and remains thankful for her journey to birth work. 

Sunday, March 12
2:00 - 3:30 MDT

EMILY FLYNN, Birth and Postpartum Doula, Doula Trainer, Content writer for MUTU System

FEMTECH'S NEW WAVE: The good, the bad, and the same old in reproductive technologies

As birth workers, it’s important for us to be aware of the ever-expanding range of technologies our client’s are exposed to in their childbearing year -- the driving forces behind their creation, the impacts they have on the experiences of our clients beyond their stated uses, and how they impact our basic work functions (and job security) in return.

From having their fertility tracked digitally to TOCO bands designed for home use in pregnancy, the rise in (mis)information sharing on social media through the pandemic, robot cribs and “smart” bottles, and the possibility of commercial medical devices used on infants by publicly traded companies might serve as a direct pipeline to Child Protective Services in the not to distant future, this multi-billion dollar industry is changing how we collectively experience reproduction and parenting the the US and elsewhere. Doulas and midwives can’t ignore the effects.

This lecture will go over some of the history of birthing technologies and their scale, will then spend a good bit of time discussing hard and softwares marketed towards parents. I will end with a discussion on how we can address the concerns of our clients around this topic, and offer some advice around digital wellbeing and some positive femtech forecasting.

ABOUT EMILY:

Emily Flynn is a veteran reproductive health advocate, writer, researcher, and speaker. She writes for the leading postpartum fitness app in the UK (MUTU System), has built course curriculums for several doula training organizations, and has been a featured panelist on reproductive technologies and doula legislation in national health and law conferences. Emily lives and works in San Francisco, CA.

Sunday, March 12
3:45 - 5:15 MDT

REAGAN SULLIVAN, Doula, Herbalist

BIRTH WORKERS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

How we as birth workers can see and mitigate domestic violence and encourage independence and advocacy. As birthworkers, we should be able to protect the birthing person from further trauma and give them the tools they need to advocate for themselves and get to safety.

ABOUT REAGAN:

Reagan Sullivan is an author, activist, doula, herbalist, student midwife, and mother. She has been a birthworker since 2019 and is passionate about reproductive health, autonomy, and helping new families begin. 

After experiencing violence during her pregnancy and postpartum period, she began to study this topic from the perspective of a birthworker, and put together information to help pregnant and postpartum people leave domestic violence. She still continues to work with victims of abuse as a doula.