On Saturday September 29th , 2012 I had the fortune to attend a one day workshop with two amazing midwives, Jan Tritton and Enedya Ramos at Bini Birth in Sherman Oaks.
Jan is a midwife and editor and chief of Midwifery Today , a renowned resource for the birth community that has been published since the 1970’s. She is one of our torch bearers in natural birth in the United States , working tirelessly on both a national and international scale to educate about the benefits of natural childbirth. Jan is passionate about natural childbirth and sees its abuses as one of the most dramatic human rights issues we have on the planet. She advises that to really know what is going on in a country on a human rights level just look at how they treat their women during labor and birth.
Enedya Ramos is a renowned midwife and birth activist from Nicaragua with over twenty years of wisdom to share. She travels and co-teaches with Jan and shares her passion for birth as a human rights issue. I learned from her to encourage clients to trust their intuitions when birthing and for us as doulas to trust ours on a deep level.
Topics that were covered over the course of the workshop included:
- Visions and Dreams for Birth Change
- Birth as a Human Rights Issue
- Tricks of the Trade for Midwives and Doulas
- Massage in Pregnancy and hands on practice
Just being around so many doula’s and midwives was fuel for amping me up in my practice as well as the wonderful information that I received throughout the day.
Some of my favorite quotes from the day:
“Love the Mother so she can Love her Baby”
“Birth is an Inside out Job…..as I grow, my practice grows!”
“The first six hours of life are the most valuable, it is when the child is the most open and sets the soul and psyche for its life”
“Greet your babies, talk to your babies, show them respect! Be baby centered”
“Trust your Intuition….birth and parenting are not college courses”
“Fear Not! Spread good birth stories!”
“Do not allow your clients to hear negative birth stories, it is your prescription for them!”
“LET GO of the cultural conditioning of FEAR!”
“Birth is Safe! Interventions are risky!”
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer..” Jan Tritton via Harriet Tubman
At the end of the workshop Eneyda initiated us in an ancient practice used in Latino cultures known as “Closing the Body” or “La Cuarentena”. This healing practice is performed on the mother on the 40th day after birth to literally close the body. There are many physiological and spiritual benefits for the mother and the baby. Lucky me, I got to be the model for the demonstration! Even though it was a shortened version of the practice and done in front of a room of people I found it to be overwhelmingly emotional and healing. I can only imagine what a profound impact it can have done with the proper care and time. I look forward to investigating this practice further and bringing it to my postpartum Mommies!
I encourage you to find Jan and Enedya on the internet , they both have facebook pages and are strong supporters of the new documentary “Freedom for Birth”.
Please feel free to call or email me too!!
love and light
Cindi