Louisville Breech Workshop

Only a few days left until the Louisville Breech Workshop! To register: bit.ly/louisvillebreech

Free public lecture from 7-9 pm on Friday, Feb 28 at Launch Louisville. CEUs are provided at no charge (ACNM, MEAC, DONA, ICEA).

Then a 2-day vaginal breech workshop on Sat & Sun, also at Launch Louisville.

Come learn breech with us!

Read more ...

Brooklyn Breech Workshop

Breech Without Borders is returning to New York City this fall! We will be teaching a 2-day breech workshop Oct 24-25 at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn. I will also be giving a grand rounds lecture at Stony Brook University Hospital, tentatively scheduled for Oct 21 (more details coming).

To register for the workshop: bit.ly/brooklynbreech
Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/601836897042561/

We have an option where you can pay a 50% deposit now and pay the other half on or before the workshop. This will allow you to lock in early bird pricing.

Read more ...

Taos Breech & CPR Workshop

Breech Without Borders is thrilled to announce a special event coming to Taos, NM on September 25-27! To register or for more information, visit bit.ly/taosbreech.

We are hosting a 3-day breech & CPR workshop, featuring David Hayes, MD, Larry Leeman, MD, and Rixa Freeze, PhD. Drs. Hayes and Freeze will be covering the usual content of their 2-day workshop.

On day 3, Dr. Leeman will be lecturing on ECV and hospital-based management of planned and unplanned breech. He will also be leading simulation stations during our hands-on sessions. Dr. Leeman is the sole physician in New Mexico attending planned hospital breech births. What an amazing opportunity to learn from both Dr. Hayes and Dr. Leeman!

Participants will also be able to choose between AHA CPR Certification or additional hands-on simulation training.

We are working with Dr. Leeman to offer AAFP CMEs, in addition to the CEUs already approved for ACNM, MEAC, DONA, & ICEA.

Please invite your MD and midwife colleagues to attend. Space is limited, so register early to reserve your spot. (September is also high season in Taos, so we advise reserving accommodations early as well.)

Read more ...

To remember the Louwen maneuver (shoulder grip rotation)...just follow the rainbow!

If you attend upright breech births, you may have used the Louwen maneuver (shoulder grip rotation). It can be tricky to remember which way to rotate first and how far around. So I came up with this illustration.

Remember: the baby follows the rainbow across the sacrum, then comes back to mama

(It's the same process in mirror image for a LST breech)

via GIPHY

Read more ...

Manhattan Breech Workshop

After months of waiting (and a last-minute venue change), we are thrilled to announce the Manhattan Breech Workshop! It takes place at NY Open Center (near the Empire State Building) on Oct 26-27. To register: bit.ly/manhattanbreech

Read more ...

RCOG and SOGC estimates of term breech mortality

With the recent release of the 2019 SOCG breech guidelines, I created this updated graphic. It illustrates the likelihood of perinatal/neonatal mortality after vaginal breech versus planned cesarean section.

Using the RCOG's numbers, the *additional* risk of a vaginal breech birth, compared to a vaginal head-down birth, is 1/1000.

Here's another way of looking at it:

Baseline risk of mortality after pCS @ 39 weeks: 1/2000

+

Additional risk from last weeks of pregnancy & labor: 1/2000

+

Additional risk of a vaginal breech birth: 1/1000

=

2/1000

Ps, if you liked this post, would you please consider donating to Reteach Breech? Thanks to a matching grant, all donations will be doubled AND all perks are half-price! Donations are tax-deductible in the US.

https://chuffed.org/project/reteachbreech

Read more ...

Support Reteach Breech and double your donations & perks!

Exciting news--thanks to a generous matching grant, all donations to the Reteach Breech campaign will be matched AND all perks will be doubled.

For example, if you donate $25, you'll get access to the breech workshop videos (normally $50) AND your donation will be doubled to $50!

Other amazing perks you can get...

• T-shirt for $30 (normally $60)
• Onesie for $38 (normally $75)
• Athletic t-shirt or flowy tank top for $50 (normally $100)
• Linocut for $50 (normally $100)
• Klean Kanteen insulated thermos for $75 (normally $150)
• Maternity t-shirt + baby onesie for $100 (normally $200)
• ALL THE THINGS for $200 (normally $400)

Donations will be doubled and perks will be half-price, up to $5,000 or until the end of the fundraiser, whichever comes first.

Donate today before this amazing offer runs out!

Read more ...

Prince Edward Island Breech Workshop

Register now for the Prince Edward Island Breech Workshop Sep 28-29. This is the only Canadian workshop offered in 2019. To register: bit.ly/peibreech

Thanks to a generous donation from the Coalition for Breech Birth, we are offering two scholarships to the workshop for Canadian providers: one for a physician/resident/medical student and one for a midwife/midwifery student. Any Canadian provider may apply; preference given to providers serving the Maritime provinces & Newfoundland.

To apply: Send an application letter to breechworkshop@gmail.com. Please state your province, qualifications, and how you plan to use the knowledge gained in the workshop in your community.

Deadline: August 14

Read more ...

Prince Edward Island Breech Workshop Scholarships

The Coalition for Breech Birth has generously donated funds to sponsor 2 scholarships to the Prince Edward Island Breech Workshop! Any Canadian provider may apply; preference given to providers in the Maritimes & Newfoundland.

1 scholarship is for physicians/residents/medical students
1 scholarship is for midwives/midwifery students

To apply: Send an application letter to breechworkshop@gmail.com. Please state your province, qualifications, and how you plan to use the knowledge gained in the workshop in your community.

Deadline: August 14

Read more ...

Please donate to "Reteach Breech"

My years of breech research and advocacy have finally come to fruition! Please donate generously to Breech Without Borders' fundraising campaign so we can reteach breech. We are raising funds to purchase two obstetrical simulators for our breech training workshops.

If you have ever benefited from reading my blog, following my children's births, watching my educational breech videos, or sharing my breech infographics, please donate today.

If you care about women's autonomy in childbirth, please donate.

If you care about reducing the cesarean rate, please donate.

And of course, please share widely!

I want to create a world where every provider has vaginal breech skills and where every woman can choose how her breech baby is born.

                  

Read more ...

Madison Breech Conference: Envisioning Autonomy, Biodiversity, and Sustainability

Save the date for the Madison Breech Conference on Nov 9-10! The conference focuses on 3 main themes: autonomy, biodiversity, and sustainability in breech birth.

We'll be discussing barriers to providing breech birth, as well as solutions for providers and administrators. We'll be listening to providers share their struggles and triumphs in supporting breech birth in their various settings: from rural to urban, from family medicine to midwifery to maternal fetal medicine, from supportive hospitals to hostile hospitals. We'll learn about breech birth from a human rights attorney and from a journalist who writes about women's experiences of pregnancy and birth. And of course we'll be teaching breech birth, with hands-on simulation training and an emphasis on physiological breech birth.

This is a conference you don't want to miss! Stay tuned for updates.

Read more ...

Auckland, NZ Breech Workshop

Breech Without Borders is bringing four breech workshops to New Zealand in November and December. The first takes place in Auckland on Nov 25-26. It will be held at the Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre, just north of Auckland.

Click here to register.

The workshop costs $450 NZD ($350 for students) and includes 15 hours of instruction and hands-on practice. We have applied for continuing education credits through the Midwifery Council.

For more information about the workshops and instructors, please visit www.breechworkshop.com.

Read more ...

Western Pennsylvania Breech Workshop

Breech Without Borders is offering a breech workshop in western PA on Sep 21-22. The workshop is ideal for birth attendants in W/central PA, E/central Ohio, western New York, northern West Virginia, and western Maryland.

The workshop includes 15 hours of instruction and hands-on training. To register: https://breechwithoutborders.ticketspice.com/western-pa-breech-workshop

Optional NRP certification on Sep 20.

For more information about the workshop: www.breechworkshop.com

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftessness Photography

Read more ...

Detroit Breech Workshop

Breech Without Borders is offering a breech workshop in Detroit on Nov 2-3. The workshop includes 15 hours of instruction and hands-on training. To register: https://breechwithoutborders.ticketspice.com/detroit-breech-workshop

For more information about the workshop: www.breechworkshop.com

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftessness Photography

Read more ...

Central Indiana Breech Workshop

If you live in Indiana, western Ohio, eastern Illinois, or northern Kentucky, please consider attending the Central Indiana Breech Workshop! It is located in the Indianapolis metro area and offers 15 hours of instruction and hands-on training.

To register: https://breechwithoutborders.ticketspice.com/indiana-breech-workshop

For more information about the workshop: www.breechworkshop.com

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftesness Photography

Read more ...

Dallas Breech Workshop

Come to the Dallas Breech Workshop on Oct 9-10 at the Addison Conference Centre. We are approaching our registration cap, so act quickly to reserve your spot. To register: https://breechwithoutborders.ticketspice.com/dallas-breech-workshop

To learn more about the workshop: www.breechworkshop.com

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftesness Photography

Read more ...

Memphis Breech Workshop

Registration is now open for the Memphis Breech Workshop on Oct 4-5. Take advantage of early bird prices through June 30. Registration includes lunch and snacks both days.

To register: bit.ly/memphisbreech

Accommodations are available at the Mayberry Hill Homestead ($50/night per bed). Please contact LyndaHoskins@bellsouth.net to reserve.

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftesness Photography

Read more ...

Prince Edward Island breech workshop

Are you a birth worker in PEI, New Brunswick, or Nova Scotia? Come to the PEI Breech Workshop on Sep 28-29. Registration is now open.

Read more ...

Dover Breech Workshop

Breech Without Borders is bringing several workshops to North America and New Zealand in 2019! Our first workshop takes place in Dover, NH on August 17-18.

Ideal for midwives, physicians, and other birth workers in New England and southern Ontario.

This 2-day workshop provides 15 CEU contact hours (MEAC & ACNM). You'll receive both theoretical instruction and hands-on training with obstetrical mannequins. Space is limited and early bird pricing ends June 30. Wentworth-Douglass employees receive a 25% discount. 

To register: bit.ly/doverbreech

To learn more about the workshops, please visit www.breechworkshop.com.

Breech photo credit: Karyn Loftesness Photography

Read more ...

Breech love

Let's send some unconditional love to all those little breechlings with stressed mamas who have few or no options for a vaginal birth.

Let's demand that every hospital offering maternity care also offer 24/7 access to vaginal breech birth...because a mandatory cesarean violates basic human rights, legal rulings that uphold the right to refuse surgery, and medical ethics.

Let's teach midwives and physicians, in or out of hospital, how to do a vaginal breech. Standing or sitting. Kneeling or supine. Water or land.

(Linocut made by me...breech is always on my mind)

Read more ...