Upcoming Midwifery Conference

I am so excited to be going to a midwifery conference in May in Boise, ID. The plans have fallen into place rather quickly. I will be picking up my midwife friends, Tiffany (whom I met in the Philippines)and Christy (who went to the Phils with me in '08) in Las Vegas and we are going to road trip it up to Boise.

Here are details of the conference...

May 15-16, 2009

Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries

Boise, Idaho

Week-end Seminar combines continuing education credits, hands-on skills acquisition, and unique perspective on the needs of poor women and infants worldwide

During the week-end seminar you will spend time learning about maternal/child health issues in the third world, and what you can do to change the current high rate of maternal and newborn deaths. The focus will be on new and challenging research in the field of maternal/newborn/child health, as it pertains to the current global health crisis. In addition to the lectures and emergency skills workshops, you have the opportunity to learn how you can start your own non-profit organization or help establish a birth center in a needy country. You will be taught by Vicki Penwell, a midwife for 29 years, and Rose and Ian Penwell, all Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) all with vast experience in the Philippines and around the world. This training is ideal for midwives, doulas, or childbirth educators who need continuing education, anyone who has ever dreamed of taking a volunteer holiday to help women in other countries, or anyone who is interested in birth practices in other cultures and the issues of maternity care in settings of poverty. There will be lots of learning, laughter, and inspiration on this week-end that may change the way you think about birth forever.

I am going to be bring some medical donations for a birth center in the Philippines (not the one I visited) and would appreciate any donations you could share. I can pick up in the Washington County, Utah area. The items we need most in the Philippines are gloves, both sterile and non-sterile, gauze pads, band-aids, chux underpads, adult or child disposable or cloth diapers, individual packets of alcohol wipes, K-Y jelly, antibiotic ointments like Neosporin, cord clamps, vitamins, Tylenol, IB Profen, absorbable sutures, 1cc and 3cc syringes, and IV needles.