Creative Workshops
For Midwives and Childbirth Professionals
We create personalized workshops to suit the needs of groups of midwives and childbirth professionals that are:
Creative and dynamic:
Our workshops are interactive and ARE NOT based around Power Point presentations. Activities may include art, meditation, drumming, chanting, yoga, massage, team challenges like ropes courses, wilderness walks and flying foxes. We aim to move midwives out of their comfort zone (which creates empathy and compassion for birthing women) while drawing out the their inner strengths (which reflects their capacity to help birthing women draw out inner strengths) and giving them a first-hand experience of skills they can use to help birthing women face their fears, relax and find the strengths they need to birth their babies.
Inspiring:
Midwives who have attended our workshops tell us they have regained their passion for midwifery, remember the ideals they had when first starting midwifery and feel the inner strength to keep pursuing midwifery in a way that supports women and also supports the midwife.
Team-building:
For us, team-building is not a systematic management strategy but rather a team approach by each individual midwife that honours where each midwife is within the team. We give midwives the skills and ongoing structure to create an environment where their individual strengths are honoured, where they feel supported by each other, and where wisdom is reciprocated within the team.
Positive and woman-centred:
Our philosophy is based on trust in women and the ability of women’s bodies to work beautifully when her inner environment and the outer environment are relaxed and trusting. We believe important roles of the childbirth professional are: to believe in women and their bodies, to help a woman bring out her unique gifts and strengths and to create an environment of trust, nurturing and love where a woman can believe in herself and birth her baby.
Unique:
Our workshops are unique in five ways: 1) they have been created through a midwife/woman partnership, reflecting the partnership of women and their carer during childbirth, 2) our philosophy is always positive and based in trust in women and their bodies, 3) we recognize that stress and fear are contagious during birth and therefore give professionals a chance to address their own stress/fears, 4) every skill learned is experienced and 5) we recognize and value the experience of all workshop participants and give time to each to share their wisdom.
Sample of the workshops and consulting we do:
Description: WORKSHOP AND MENTORING PROGRAM
We (two people) facilitate 2 days at [your workplace]. The theme of the two days may be set by you or the midwives participating but will include creative activities and a women’s circle format to promote participation and sharing of individual wisdom. No matter what the theme of the day or the specific learning outcomes, participants will also learn about and experience the importance of meeting regularly in a safe, positive environment to share and learn together and to build a strong, supportive and cohesive team.
Then, starting with the most confident and motivated participants, we will then mentor each woman (or group of women) to plan and “host” another midwives’ gathering on a monthly basis for the next 10 months. This encourages women to feel personally empowered, to take responsibility for their work environment and their ongoing learning/development and to support each other.
At the end of the 10 months, they will experience a beautiful retreat weekend to continue their growth, as a reward for a positive year and to plan for another positive year ahead.
