Description
Pregnancy and Birth in the Time of Covid
Praise from attendees:
What a wonderful event, truly! I am so impressed and I know my Midwife colleagues in Australia will be too. Such an Important topic and at such a needed time.
I just wanted to say congratulations on the conference on Saturday – it was brilliant. really engaging, inspiring and a great pace and tone!
…thank you for organising this very interesting and important conference.
Leading speakers from the world of pregnancy and birth, maternity, parenting and psychology offer their latest research and insights into the impacts of Covid-19. How we pay attention to the experiences of people in the time of pregnancy and birth is important for practice and collective well-being going forward.
Trauma Informed Care, Polyvagal Theory, Pre and Perinatal Psychology as well as current research offer resources and support. This series brings together researchers, practitioners, policy makers and parents. This series of talks, recorded as part of a conference, represent a powerful asset in developing and remembering a life-affirming response to the challenges of a pandemic, in the perinatal field.
The Origins of Safety and Support
by Binnie A.Dansby
Binnie A Dansby is a pioneering and inspired international teacher/facilitator of human transformation. She is also a gifted therapist, philosopher and author.
Is there a safer, more supportive physical space than the womb? I am inviting an inquiry into how we define and experience safety and support. Working as a breathwork therapist for 40 years, the intention of my work is to explore the impact of transition from water mammal to land mammal. My clients have revealed and healed thoughts and feelings of fear, danger, and alienation in all areas of life. I have found that safety and support are founded in the comforting rhythm of a steady heartbeat and consciousness of connection to another. I call this the Original Intimacy. For generations we in developed cultures have interrupted the connection between Mother and baby with our birthing practices. I will speak about how I have reclaimed my personal safety and supported others to do the same, How were you greeted at your birth? Was anyone listening to you?
The Impact of Transgenerational Trauma and Racism on Perinatal Health: A Blueprint For Healing
by Dr. Heather Clarke CNM
DNP, CNM, LM, APRN, FACNM.
Conscious Beginnings
While pregnancy is thought of as a time of joy, it can be a period of considerable stress for the maternal-fetal dyad and their families. Unresolved stress impacts maternal physiology and emotional wellbeing. Changes that, in turn, can disrupt fetal biological and psychological development, persisting into adulthood. Today science can trace fetal origins back at least 4 generations. This suggests that the genetic and epigenetic imprinting from our great-great-grandmothers can persist and may influence fetal development and maternal wellbeing. BIPOC families are more likely to experience high levels of allostatic stress, with Racism identified as the root cause. The current COVID Pandemic is another example of how Racism has resulted in greater rates of morbidity and mortality within BIPOC communities. When coupled with centuries of transgenerational trauma, Racism places BIPOC families at greater risk for biological and psychological dis-ease before, during, after pregnancy, and throughout their lifecycle. This session will present the science and lived experiences of BIPOC families to highlight the impact of transgenerational and racial trauma upon maternal-fetal dyads. It will conclude with recommendations for healing BIPOC family units during the perinatal period and early childhood.
Adapting Trauma-Informed Perinatal Care During COVID-19 to Support Maternal-Child Health
by Ann Diamond Weinstein PhD
Preconception, Prenatal & Early Parenting Specialist
Universal life changes imposed by the pandemic have impacted maternal-fetal/infant experience in the perinatal period. COVID-19 changes in perinatal care are shaping the psychophysiology of parents-to-be and developing babies. Increased levels of stress, traumatic stress, anxiety and depression have been reported by pregnant women and their health care providers. Women and girls who carry past experiences of trauma may suffer the recurrence of previously abated traumatic stress symptoms or the exacerbation of existing symptoms. The racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality rates, as well as the racial disparities in the incidence of infection and mortality rates of COVID-19 must be considered when adapting Trauma Informed Perinatal Care to the current global health crisis.
Opening remarks
by Professor MONICA LAKHANPAUL
Professor Lakhanpaul who introduces the themes of the conference and how they relate to a vision of health for the perinatal period
Professor Of Integrated Community Child Health and Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
An Holistic View of Childbirth – Workshop
A talk by Natalie Meddings Doula/Birthkeeper and Imogen Palmer, Womens Health Practitioner
Comfort and Love and Imogen Bliss
Doula, Natalie Meddings and women’s health Practitioner Imogen Palmer share their insight and experiences in childbirth throughout the pandemic.
Can Humanity Survive Socialised Childbirth?
A talk by Michel Odent MD
WombEcology
Leading obstetrician and author Michel Odent explores the forms and protocols that have developed around childbirth and asks what route we have for a healthy future.
Social Connectedness in the Time of Covid: The Polyvagal Theory as a Bridge to Communication
A talk by Marilyn R. Sanders MD
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
The Polyvagal Theory describes how the brain’s unconscious nervous system’s sense of safety, danger, or life threat impacts our feelings and behaviors. Our safety is built upon our social engagements and connectedness that promote co-regulation. The need for Covid’s social distancing and self-quarantine is a disruption of our biologic expectations that is at least distressing and for some, traumatic. This talk will explore how we can incorporate Polyvagal Theory into different ways of “being with” others to mitigate the downstream effects of Covid-19.
Dr Sanders is currently under book contract with WW Norton and Company. Her book, The Polyvagal Theory and the Developing Child: Systems of Care for Strengthening Kids, Families, and Communities will be published in 2021.
Dr Sanders provides fetal-neonatal palliative care services and neurodevelopmental follow-up for babies and infants up to 3 years old.
Think Trauma Now Research
A talk by Dr Jan Smith
Clinical Lead, Make Birth Better
Trauma Informed Care in Maternity Guide, UK.
A talk by Lauren Wolfenden BSC, MSC, PH.D.
Development Manager, Centre for Early Child Development
This presentation will outline the emerging themes from the recently published guide for trauma-informed care written by the Centre for Early Child Development on behalf of NHSEI. It will detail why providing guidance on becoming more trauma-informed is an important first step towards supporting the systems change that is required to transform the experiences of parents, children and also staff. Approaches to co-design and co-production will be shared, along with the narratives of experts by experience, all of whom were key to the development of this timely work.
A Panel Discussion with all the speakers
Organising team
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