As I sit writing this post in an eerie haze of strange sunshine attempting to make its way down to the earth, I realize that my attentions have turned to Fall, cooler weather and evaluating my 2018 client and teaching schedule.  Time marches on and waits for no one, least of all families who are newly pregnant!  Here in Seattle, we are approaching 60 days of no rain, and while summers here are usually beautiful, so little moisture is unusual.  Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia and Washington State have meant a strange and otherworldly sky, with poor visibility, and frankly, an official statement of unhealthy air quality.  All this smoke makes for magical, beautiful sunsets and moonscapes.

I realized that a dedicated post to catch up on some odds and ends that need to be shared with our DONA International blog readers was in order.  Today is the perfect day to do that.  Take what you need and leave the rest as you too begin to look ahead to balancing your work and life commitments as the seasons’ change.

Abbreviations Quiz

Congratulation to Rosalyn Skelton, who was randomly selected from 216 respondents to receive a $25.00 gift certificate to the DONA International Boutique for trying their hand at answering the questions in our fun quiz of abbreviations that was posted a few weeks ago.  Rosaly, we will be in touch with you shortly with your prize.

The correct answers for the fun quiz were as follows:

  1. AROM – artificial rupture of membranes
  2. EFM – electronic fetal monitoring
  3. PPH – postpartum hemorrhage
  4. LGA – large for gestational age
  5. IUPC – intrauterine pressure catheter
  6. PROM – premature rupture of membranes
  7. AFI – amniotic fluid index
  8. FFN – fetal fibronectin
  9. LMP – last menstrual period
  10. NST – nonstress test
  11. VBAC – vaginal birth after cesarean
  12. BBP – biophysical profile
  13. FTP – failure to progress
  14. TOLAC – trial of labor after cesarean
  15. LDR- labor delivery recovery
  16. FHT – fetal heart tones
  17. EDD – estimated date of delivery
  18. CNM – certified nurse midwife
  19. NICU – neonatal intensive care unit
  20. IUGR – intrauterine growth restriction

Look for more fun activities that help you learn and test your knowledge in future blog posts.  Thank you all for participating.

World Breastfeeding Week Facts and Images en Español

Last week I created and published an interesting set of slides of parents and babies breastfeeding to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.  Each slide had a beautiful image and a fun and amazing fact about breastfeeding.  I was contacted by Eugenia Rodriquez, a doula in Puerto Rico, about getting these slides into Spanish for the Spanish speaking professionals and families who also are celebrating World Breastfeeding Week. With Eugenia’s translation help, I remade the set in Spanish and like to make them available to all.  You can access the Spanish version in the original post above, finding the Spanish in the second set of images on the page.

2017 Virtual Conference

Despite the live event having been completed, you can still register and view ALL the 2017 DONA International Virtual Conference Sessions “Cultivating Connections: It starts with us”  by registering through this link.  Your registration will provide you access to every single session through October 2017.  A great way to absorb the content at your own pace and on your schedule, not miss a single session, receive all the continuing education hours you need for recertification and increase your knowledge and skill set to continue to serve families as a birth and/or postpartum doula or birth professional.

The feedback from this year’s conference and amazing set of presenters was outstanding and I think that no one will want to miss this learning opportunity as long as it is still available.  At the conclusion of the conference, DONA International announced their 2018 in-person conference dates and location.  Look for more information and mark your calendars for the 2018 DONA International conference on July 19-21, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I am excited to reconnect in person with fellow birth professionals and continue my growth and learning with the 2018 offerings.  Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Thanks for following along on all the little tidbits that I wanted to catch readers up on.  Let me know if you have any questions and thanks, as always, for reading and participating in the conversation.

Image source: Sigma Sreedharan