Curriculum Outline: Early Pregnancy Classes
May 30, 2014
This class required an outline for a childbirth education course. The outline below was the one I created for my assignment. A quick disclaimer, I created this outline some time ago. The outline of my course has changed since that time.
Early Prenatal Classes
One Saturday (6 hours with a lunch break) or Two Week Nights (2 ½ hours each)
Day One or Morning
Day Two or Afternoon
One Saturday (6 hours with a lunch break) or Two Week Nights (2 ½ hours each)
Day One or Morning
- Patients Rights:
- Rights of the Expectant Mother and her Birth Partner (Childbirth Connection, 2004)
- Right to health care
- Preconception
- Pregnancy
- Labor and Delivery
- Postpartum
- Evidenced based care
- Choice of care provider
- Choice of birth setting
- The right to leave caregiver and select another
- Information about the professional identity and qualifications of caregiver(s)
- Residents
- Attending physicians
- Student nurses
- Student midwives
- Privacy
- Education
- Informed consent regarding procedures, tests and medical interventions
- To accept or refuse procedures, drugs, tests and treatments, and change her mind
- To be informed if she or her infant will be enrolled in a research study
- Unrestricted access to all available medical records for herself and her infant
- Maternity care that is culturally and religiously appropriate and in her language
- Family members and friends attending during all aspects of her maternity care
- To receive continuous support during labor and birth
- Full advance information about risks and benefits of all available pain relief
- Freedom of movement during labor and give birth in the position of her choice
- Uninterrupted contact with her newborn from the moment of birth
- Receive complete information about the benefits of breastfeeding and access to skilled lactation support
- Decisions made collaboratively with caregivers about discharge from birth facilities
- Right to health care
- Principles of Informed Consent (Rao, 2008)
- Patient autonomy
- Full disclosure of information
- The condition/disorder/disease
- Necessity for further testing
- Natural course of the condition and possible complications
- Consequences of non-treatment
- Treatment options available
- Potential risks and benefits of treatment options
- Duration and approximate cost of treatment
- Expected outcome
- Follow-up required
- Accurate
- Adequate
- Relevant
- Truthfully
- Non-scientific terms
- In patient’s language
- Implied consent
- Expressed consent
- Blanket consent
- Opportunity to ask questions and express doubts
- Informed refusal
- Rights of the Expectant Mother and her Birth Partner (Childbirth Connection, 2004)
- Birthing Options
- Caregiver
- Midwife
- Experts in normal birth
- Appropriate for all low-risk pregnancies
- Styles of midwifery care
- Hospital based
- Homebirth
- Birth centers
- Certification (California)
- CNM
- CM
- CPM
- LM
- Doctor (Family Practice Physician, Obstetrician or Perinatologist)
- High risk pregnancies
- Preconception medical condition in mother
- Medical condition of baby
- Preterm labor
- Twins, triplets etc.
- High risk pregnancies
- Midwife
- Delivery Location
- Hospital
- Certified Nurse Midwife, or Certified Midwife
- Doctor
- Home
- All midwives
- Birth Center
- All midwives
- Hospital
- Birth Attendants or Assistants
- Family members
- Close friends
- Doula
- Caregiver
- Pregnancy Anatomy and Fetal Development:
- The woman
- The pregnant body
- Changes
- Facilitating labor
- Fetal development
- Zygote
- Blastocyst
- Embryo
- Fetal
- Trimesters
- The woman
Day Two or Afternoon
- Maintaining a Healthy Pregnancy:
- Comfort measures in pregnancy
- Backache
- Heartburn
- Insomnia
- Constipation
- Hemorrhoids
- Leg Cramps
- Nasal Congestion and Nosebleeds
- Varicose Veins
- Swelling/Edema
- Exercise
- Low-impact activities
- Walking
- Swimming
- Stationary bike
- Low impact aerobics
- Yoga
- Basic strength and stretching
- Kegels
- Squats
- Wall Squat
- Wall Squat with Ball
- Pole Squat
- Back Stretches
- Spinal Twist in a Chair
- Spinal Twist on the Floor
- Side-Lying Spinal Twist
- Hip Stretches
- Butterfly Pose
- Cat/Cow Pose
- Child’s Pose
- Abdominal Exercises
- Pelvic Tilt
- Modified Sit-up
- Incline on Ball
- Low-impact activities
- Psychosocial and emotional changes in pregnancy
- Family dynamics
- Employment impact
- Relationship impact
- Public impact
- Comfort measures in pregnancy
- Nutrition
- Foods
- Variety
- Quality
- Frequency
- Amount
- Safety
- Mercury
- Bacteria
- Weight gain
- Hydration
- Nutrition in early pregnancy
- Morning sickness
- Nutrition in the last month
- Heartburn
- Nutrition in the year after birth/breastfeeding
- Fluid intake
- Impact on milk production
- Foods
- Warning signs in pregnancy
- General Pregnancy Warning Signs
- Vaginal bleeding
- Fever above 100 °F (37.7 °C)
- Pain or burning with urination
- Sudden swelling in your face or hands
- Problems with vision or recurring headaches
- Vomiting or diarrhea lasting 24 hours or more
- Major change in your baby's movement
- Sudden pain in the abdominal area
- Anything that doesn't feel right
- Preterm labor warning signs:
- Change or increase in vaginal discharge (watery, mucus-like, or bloody)
- Pelvic or lower abdominal pressure
- Constant, low, dull backache
- Mild abdominal cramps (with or without diarrhea)
- Regular or frequent contractions that occur four or more times in one hour (may feel like a painless tightening of the uterus)
- Water breaks in a trickle or a gush
- Obstetrical tests
- Tests
- Mother
- Maternal blood screening
- Glucose screening
- Group B strep
- Baby
- Noninvasive prenatal testing
- Ultrasound
- First-trimester screening
- Mother
- Tests
- General Pregnancy Warning Signs
References
Childbirth Connection (2004). The rights of childbearing women. Retrieved from http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10084
Rao, K.H.S. (2008). Informed consent: An ethical obligation or legal compulsion? Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 1(1), 33-35. doi:10.4103/0974-2077.41159
Childbirth Connection (2004). The rights of childbearing women. Retrieved from http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10084
Rao, K.H.S. (2008). Informed consent: An ethical obligation or legal compulsion? Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 1(1), 33-35. doi:10.4103/0974-2077.41159
Reflection
Childbirth education is one of my passions. As you may have read in my About Me page, "My greatest passion for becoming a midwife has been to educate women about the miracle of the female body specifically and the human body in general." Having the opportunity to conduct childbirth education courses in addition to doula work in the past has been the best of both worlds related to being a midwife. Teaching women about their innate divine gifts have given me the greatest joy.
I learned by creating the the online above that preparation and planning is key to any successful course. The plans for the course caused me to seek resources and gather information that had not been in my own files before that time.
I learned by creating the the online above that preparation and planning is key to any successful course. The plans for the course caused me to seek resources and gather information that had not been in my own files before that time.
Document
As a bonus this class also required a very unique document to be created, a client handout about the Birthing From Within method os childbirth education. The document below was the one I created for my assignment. A quick disclaimer, I created this document more than 2 years ago. The contact details and any updates to the Birthing From Within program may have changed since that time.
Copyright © 2016 Kathryn S. Ramirez, all rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited.
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