Int'l Doula Month - Giveaway #11

Connie Livingston is the owner of BirthSource, an RN, a CD, an ICCE, an aromatherapist, and the president of Perinatal Education Associates, to name just a few.

She has also chosen to donate the awesome DVD, "Comfort Measures for Childbirth The Rebozo Way".A Rebozo is a Mexican shawl that has been used by Traditional Mexican Midwives for centuries. They have been used it for different purposes:

• Position the baby for a normal vaginal birth.
• Relax and give pregnant women reassurance.
• Decrease women's discomfort during pregnancy due to awkward position of the fetus.
• Accommodate baby during labor for a normal birth.

Guadalupe Trueba demonstrates different techniques using the Rebozo to enhance relaxation and deal with discomfort and pain during childbirth in combination with other widely known strategies. Guadalupe is a Midwife, CD(DONA), Approved DONA International Birth Doula trainer, Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, and a member of Lamaze International Education Council. She has dedicated her professional life to the integral health of childbearing women and their families for more than 30 years. This wonderful video demonstrates these techniques.

As Connie is such a diversely talented business woman and advocate, it was a delight to read more about her passions and personality.

I have been a nurse for 34 years and a doula/childbirth educator for almost as long! My specialty is birth research. Birth is my PASSION and I immerse myself in it each and every day. I also love mentoring new childbirth educators and doulas and nurses! The most important piece of all this is my incredibly supportive husband and family. Without their support, I couldn’t have accomplished all that I have!

How did Birthsource come about:

Birthsource started in 1999, during a time when there was virtually NO information about birth and parenting on the internet. All articles have always been evidence-based and writing by professionals. Today, Birthsource has won numerous awards and has the HON Code Seal – a very prestigious seal noting evidence-based information. Our website is scanned and evaluated regularly to maintain this honor. In 2003, we added the online store to help parents and professionals find top quality products. Now we also provide continuing education workshops – in 2010, we’ll be adding online education plus podcasts and videocasts!

What makes your heart skip a beat, hold your breath, or sigh with happiness:

Babies skin-to-skin - the dynamics there is fantastic and breath-taking!

If you had to choose one item or offering on your site, what is your favorite and why:

My favorite item is the Professional Office Series: Doula Office, CBE Office and Postpartum Doula Office. This set of software give the professional a jump start on their career. We have sold thousands of these CDs and have gotten rave reviews. But our newest help, Creating And Marketing Your Birth Related Business, is a book that will help birth professionals set themselves up legally and market wisely! So it is really hard to choose!

When you think of a doula, what do you think:

I think of a guide through a jungle. The doula helps expectant parents navigate the US maternity health care system in every way to achieve the optimal birth from the circumstances presented.

Consequentially, what do you think of birth practices in the U.S. right now:

We in the U.S. are at a dynamic turning point. With the help of Childbirth Connection, we’ve been able to define and identify evidence-based maternity care. Statistics from the CDC and other sources prove that our use of interventions has not improved maternal mortality/morbidity or infant mortality/morbidity. We MUST add to the training that nurses and residents receive – we must give them the tools to also facilitate physiologic birth along with those tools of crisis intervention. Only then can ALL health care professionals work together in unison to care of expectant parents. Working from the inside out – enabling hospitals and staff to recognize and care for the individual needs of individuals rather than give mass care for the masses. Our workshop, Evidence-based Maternity Care: Turning A-Ha Moments into Dynamic Practice is proving to be a part of this solution!

Anything Else that you would like us to know about you or your site:

As a result of parent requests, in 2008 we began Birth Facts. This website has direct links to evidence-based research. Not only can parents benefit from this site, but hospitals have been telling me how beneficial it is to have this available when writing or updating policies, procedures and practice guidelines.

You can find us at BirthSource, Birth Facts, our Blog, on Facebook here or here, and on twitter.

RULES FOR ENTERING:

Remember, EACH OF THESE count as one entry. You have to complete the first entry to be able to be able to have the other entries counted. To have them counted as one entry each, they must each be fulfilled with their own, separate, comment. Be sure that your comment contains your email either in the body of the message, or through your profile.

• For your initial entry, you must visit BirthSource, then come back and let me know which item is your favorite in their store.
• For an additional entry, let me know which article under their professional's section you enjoyed the most and why.
  
• For an additional entry, post a link to this giveaway on your FB OR create your own blog post regarding this giveaway, with a link to this post, then comment with a link back to your blog post/FB post.
  
• For an additional entry, visit friend both her personal and professional FB account, then let me know in a comment here on my blog.
• For an additional entry, follow on Twitter, then let me know in a comment here on my blog.
• For an additional entry, follow Connie's blog, then let me know in a comment here on my blog.
  
• If you took advantage of the Early Bird Entries, you can add any/all of your Early Bird entries to this giveaway by commenting with the words "EB Entry".
  

Entries will be closed on May 29th, at midnight, and the drawing will occur on May 31st, at noon.

Happy entering!!!