Natural Childbirth and Family Wellness event in Iowa City. The Conscious Birth Summit offers parents an opportunity to talk with experts and community about making informed choices. Is it time to Call the Midwife?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Call the Midwife?
The popular BBC television program that fictionalizes a Post War social medicine program that offered prenatal, birth and family health care in British homes in the 1950’s, depicts attentive, loving nursing care offered by trained midwives that refer patients who need more specialized care to physicians. The appeal includes the humanity involved in caring for normal lifetime ailments and the ease and simplicity of home birth for low risk women. Economically this was also a very efficient model for the fiscally struggling country. Many families today are seeking the midwifery model of care for their birth and there is a trend as well as a political movement toward unmedicated and peaceful maternity care. Unfortunately the statistical outcomes of births in the United States have not improved in the last 100 years (while many other countries have improved their outcomes). During the same period surgical birth has increased to 30 - 40 percent nationwide without improving infant nor maternal mortality rates. How has technology and intervention caused the loss of birth wisdom? Perhaps it is time once again to call the Midwife”.

The 9th Annual Conscious Birth Summit will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1, 2015 at the Iowa City Public Library and at Heartland Yoga, Iowa City from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m and 12 to 5 p.m... respectively. The event is free and open to the public. The event seeks to offer access to health care providers with complementary care methods and techniques that promote optimal maternal/newborn health. Also, several organizations that are working to advocate for a transformation to more evidence-based practices in hospitals will present on their goals and plans. There are many activities and presentations to choose from throughout the day intended for pregnant families and those with young children.

A full itinerary is listed on our website. www.consciousbirthiowa.com

Dr. Kari Ward, DNP, ARNP/CNM Clinical Director, Staff Certified Nurse-Midwife of Healing Passage Birth Wellness Center in Des Moines will open the day’s events with

“Informed Maternity Care, What It Looks Like and Why You Want It” at 10 am.

Doulas are privately employed patient advocates that commit to attending your birth in the hospital, offer comfort measures, positional suggestions and a calm presence. They also see clients for prenatally to educate and prepare parents for their best possible birth and postpartum experience. Doulas are not primary care providers but seek to bring back to birth the autonomy and normalcy of natural, self directed labor and birth for women who wish to have more attentive care.

There will be a “Meet the Doulas; Speed Dating Style” session at noon on Saturday sponsored by Iowa City Doulas where Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Doulas will be available for short one on one interviews with the public.

Lynne Himmelreich, ARNP, CNM,MPH,FACNM Clinical Professor of University of Iowa Department of OB?GYN will speak about “Normal Physiologic Birth in the Hospital”
University of Iowa Women’s Health Nurse-Midwife Service Director

Another important new discovery about current birth practices is research about the micro biome of the baby and the importance of beneficial bacteria in the immune system development of the newborn. Modern birth has strived to be sterile and is often controlled by pharmaceuticals. New research shows that these practices may be altering negatively the long term health of children born today.

There will be a film screening of “Microbirth”, a documentary about epigenetic development of our micro biome at birth.

Dr. Terry Wahls, MD, research physician of functional medicine at UIHC who has cured her own MS through nutrition shares “Food Impacts on Fertility, Pregnancy, Breast feeding and Beyond”.

Mandi Hardy Hillman, PhD, LPC, CD (DONA), ICCE Board Member with ImprovingBirth.org, Co-Founder & Current President of Iowa Birth Organization, Owner of Gentle Beginnings Birth Services. A passionate advocate for human rights in childbirth, Mandi explores the history of birth from a feminist perspective; what the current state of maternity care is; and what’s being done to improve it. www.iowabirth.org

Many opportunities exist throughout the two days to build community, interview complimentary and traditional care practitioners, childbirth education providers, counselors and other parents. The Iowa City Public Library Children’s Room will also be hosting a older siblings story time event at 10:30 a.m and a Sweet Feet Yoga “Mommy and Me” class at 11:30 am. Iowa Cesarean Awareness Network, Improvebirth.org, Intact Quad Cities and Iowa City Babywearers will present in adjacent Meeting Rooms.

New this year is a second day of events covering Issues beyond pregnancy and birth including a breast feeding support group, postpartum depression discussion, cloth diapering clinic and family wellness practices.

This year’s sponsors include Willowsong Midwifery Care, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics- Women’s Health, Twig and Needle Chinese Medicine, Bright Futures Chiropractic, Robinson Family Wellness, Iowa Birth Organization, Prescription Alternatives, Iowa City Doulas and Monarch Birth Services.

Snacks provided by New Pioneer Co-op.

Any questions should be directed to Kristin Bergman, LMT, Doula and Organizer. (319) 621-0335 or kristin.kristinbergman@gmail.com