Category Archives: education

Freeing the Voice – A Workshop for Doulas

Posted on by
Reply
Aviva Chernick leads a Freeing the Voice workshop

Aviva Chernick leads a Freeing the Voice workshop

If you are a doula in Toronto or the surrounding area, you are invited to attend a wonderful workshop with Aviva Chernick on June 2nd, 2013. It will be held at a private studio in central Toronto. Cost is $45 per doula. Email heather@labourdoula.com to register. Participants should bring a yoga mat. Space is limited, so register today!

FREEING the VOICE : Vocal Play and Care for Doulas

This three hour adventure is an opportunity for participants to surprise themselves as they discover the pleasure of finding their voice and singing out in community.
We begin with a gentle Hatha Yoga practice that moves into a standing practice of breath, yawns and sighs, finally inviting voice to follow. We continue on through a repetition of simple melodies, finding our way to improvisational set of song circles. Together we review what tools may be found in an improvisational took kit, i.e., unison, harmony, fills, rhythm, echoing, listening, etc and use these tools to enter into and discover our voices anew in a simple, repeated melody.

We will be focusing on vocal play, exploration and caring for doula’s own voices and how this, in turn, might serve your work with others.  The session will include an opportunity to speak about relationship to voice and the ramifications and benefits of this work for the work of doulas.

No previous yoga or singing experience is necessary.

AVIVA CHERNICK:

Aviva is a singer and award winning composer, writing, recording, performing and touring a fusion of World Music styles in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, English and French.  Her compositions and voice can be heard with the two–time Juno Nominated Global Roots Ensemble Jaffa Road, in her own Devotional Music project released December 2012 and through a Virginia Folklife sponsored apprenticeship with Master teacher Flory Jagoda in a collection of Balkan Judeo-Spanish repertoire.

Aviva has been training in the Bel Canto technique and the development of that practice with Fides Krucker with whom she has apprenticed as a teacher since 2009.  Aviva is also a Hatha yoga teacher trained at the Esther Myers Yoga Studio, in Toronto.  She has combined her practices, as well as her work as a prayer leader, merging body and breath to facilitate group workshops in freeing the voice towards singing. These workshops for both amateur and professional singers culminate in solo and group improvisation.

Aviva has been teaching privately as well as leading these workshops as ongoing classes through her own studio in Toronto and for a variety of communities around North America including; at The 2012 Ontario Multifaith conference, and while on tour with groups in Atlanta, Ottawa, Perth and Haida Guay, British Columbia.

SOME COMMENTS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS

I took a short workshop with Aviva and it was one of the most transformative hours I have spent. Under her guidance I was able to understand for the first time in my life how to free my voice and sing. Friends of mine will tell you I can’t sing. But now they are wrong.

Andy McKim, Artistic Director Theatre Passe Muraille

I’m still buzzing from the workshop…singing brings me so much joy, release, power…

Suzanne Bradley Siskind, Teacher and Mother

Over the course of an intensive festival week full of lots of singing, Aviva’s class saved my voice.  Her whole-body approach helped me discover new ways to use my posture and breath to support my singing.  In a renewing, dynamic way, Aviva’s class unlocked my voice in completely new ways.

Ri Turner, Singer and Composer, Participant at the Jewish Women’s Music Festival, 2010

June Weekend Prenatal Class

Posted on by
2

small__3632440776

There are spaces available for my June Weekend Prenatal Class at the Centre for Social Innovation. This is a two-day intensive course designed to help you feel confident, calm and prepared as you approach your birth and new parenthood. It will also provide your partner with skills and knowledge that will aid them in supporting you during labour and birth, as well as postpartum.

Classes will be held Saturday June 15th and Sunday June 16th, 2013 from 10am-5pm, at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). This series is ideal for those expecting to give birth between late June and August.

**If you would prefer a weekday evening course, there are still a few spots available in my Late Spring Prenatal Series as well.

To register, send an email to register@labourdoula.com with your name, your partner’s name (if applicable) & email address, your estimated delivery date and your phone number. The fee for the course is $240 per couple. Discounts are available for doula clients.

Topics for the course will include (but are not limited to):

-natural pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positions for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions (including pain medications)

-self-advocacy/informed decision-making skills

-breastfeeding

-postpartum care

-newborn care and characteristics

Wondering why you should take an independent class instead of one offered by your local hospital? 9 great reasons here.

photo credit: Steve took it via photopin cc

It’s MINE! Shared decision-making and evidence-based practice in childbirth

Posted on by
Reply

This is a brief, but interesting interview with Maureen Corry, MPH, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection on the subject of shared decision making.

Right off the bat, Corry mentions exactly what came to mind for me when I was confronted with the term “shared decision making”. She says,

…we’ve heard some concerns from women that shared decision making means giving up some control of decision making to the care provider – essentially a move away from informed consent and refusal. Because of the history of childbirth in the United States, and many troubling practices that still happen today, childbearing women are justified in being concerned about their rights.

Continue reading →

Late Spring Prenatal Classes

Posted on by
1

There are spaces available for my May/June Prenatal Class at the Centre for Social Innovation. This is a six week course designed to help you feel confident, calm and prepared as you approach your birth and new parenthood. It will also provide your partner with skills and knowledge that will aid them in supporting you during labour and birth, as well as postpartum.

Classes will be held on Monday evenings, from 6-8:30pm, beginning May 6th, 2013 at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). This series is ideal for those expecting to give birth between late June and August.

**Please let me know if you are interested in the course but not available on week nights.

To register, email me at heather@socialinnovation.ca. The fee for the course is $240 per couple. Discounts are available for doula clients.

Topics for the course will include (but are not limited to):

-natural pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positions for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions (including pain medications)

-self-advocacy/informed decision-making skills

-breastfeeding

-postpartum care

-newborn care and characteristics

Wondering why you should take an independent class instead of one offered by your local hospital? 9 great reasons here.

Weekend Prenatal Classes!

Posted on by
Reply

Too busy to attend a six-week prenatal series? Then you’re in luck! Due to popular demand I am now offering weekend prenatal courses at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). Email me now to register!

The first weekend course will be held Saturday March 16th and Sunday March 17th, 2013 from 10am to 5pm.

The course is $240 per couple.

Topics will include (but are not limited to):

-pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positioning for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions

-breastfeeding

-newborn care, characteristics and abilities

-parenting options

Education is the key to having a birth experience in which you feel confident, calm and in control.

Don’t Believe the Hype

Posted on by
Reply

This article from The Wall Street Journal provides some great historical information that connects meaningfully with my previous post (Home)Birth is Safe.

The author, Nathaniel Johnson notes that,

In 1923, Mary Breckinridge started the Frontier Nursing Service in rural Appalachia….Within a decade, the astonishing impact of that care was apparent. The women the Frontier Nursing Service cared for, who were desperately poor and usually gave birth at home, were 10 times less likely to die in childbirth than the average American at the time. The nation as a whole wouldn’t catch up until the 1950s, after the widespread acceptance of antiseptic and the discovery of antibiotics.

Given that antiseptic practices and the use of antibiotics are available and in use in midwife-attended home births today, it makes sense that, as Sheila Kitzinger has argued, it is not a high level of medicalization that makes birth safer – it is overall health: access to good pre-conception, prenatal and postpartum healthcare, good quality nutrition, access to clean water and access to skilled birth attendants. This has been borne out the world over, regardless of whether women are typically birthing at home or in hospitals. Access to medical interventions for the few women who actually need them is important, which is why midwives are thoroughly trained to detect possible complications before they become problematic and why they only support home births for women who are not at risk. Obstetricians are trained to deal with problems when they arise, but midwives are far more likely to be able to prevent them in the first place. Continue reading →

Education is key! Next prenatal course begins March 5th.

Posted on by
2

I have another upcoming prenatal series starting at the Centre for Social Innovation, in the Annex, on March 5th. This course will run Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9 pm for six weeks.

If you are expecting a baby between late April and early June, this is the class for you! I cap my courses at six couples, so that my students can get to know one another and start building those new parent networks early. This course will give you and your partner the information and skills you need to cope with labour and birth; self-advocate effectively with your healthcare providers; know how breastfeeding should look and feel; know what to expect of a newborn; and make decisions about parenting that will work for you and your family.

The course is $240 per couple. Discounts are available for doula clients. Email me for more information, or to register.

Topics for the series include (but are not limited to):

-pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positioning for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions

-breastfeeding

-newborn care, characteristics and abilities

-parenting options

Education is the key to having a birth experience in which you feel confident, calm and in control.

You Can’t Beat Mother Nature

Posted on by
Reply

I’m always excited to read about good hard science that reveals more about the awesome power of women’s and babies’ bodies. Check out this article about the hundreds of different bacterial microorganisms that have been identified in breast milk through DNA sequencing.

In addition to the further confirmation that a mother’s milk can’t be duplicated in its richness and complexity, this article also lends support for minimizing interventions in labour where possible:

The type of labour also affects the microbiome within the breast milk: that of mothers who underwent a planned caesarean is different and not as rich in microorganisms as that of mothers who had a vaginal birth. However, when the caesarean is unplanned (intrapartum), milk composition is very similar to that of mothers who have a vaginal birth.

These results suggest that the hormonal state of the mother at the time of labour also plays a role: “The lack of signals of physiological stress, as well as hormonal signals specific to labour, could influence the microbial composition and diversity of breast milk,” state the authors.

Our bodies truly are amazing.

Prenatal Classes at CSI Annex – Spaces Left!

Posted on by
Reply

I still have room left in the prenatal series beginning on Tuesday, January 8th at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). This is a six-week course, running from 6:30-9pm Tuesday evenings.

Register now! heather@socialinnovation.ca

Two Prenatal Series Options!

Posted on by
1

CSI_LogoWCH_Logo

I will have two new prenatal education series’ starting in the new year for those expecting a baby between late February and early April, 2013. Classes at the Centre for Social Innovation (Annex) will be on Tuesday evenings, from 6:30 – 9pm, beginning January 8th. Classes at Women’s College Hospital will be on Wednesday evenings, from 6:30 – 9pm, beginning January 9th. Both courses are six weeks in length. You can choose the series that best suits you in terms of day and location.

In taking the role of prenatal instructor at Women’s College, one of my top priorities was that I would be able to use my own curriculum and that there would be no imposition of a hospital agenda upon my prenatal course content. In other words, these two courses will be identical in content and will focus on preparing for birth as a normal, healthy experience that can be anticipated and experienced without fear and in a calm an relaxed manner. We will also cover topics related to the postpartum phase and parenting.

To register for the course at CSI Annex (Tuesdays), email me at heather@socialinnovation.ca. To register for the WCH course (Wednesdays), email janelle.noel@wchospital.ca or call 416-323-6494.

For more info on topics that will be covered, hit the jump! Continue reading →