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Doula Conference
Session Recordings
FULL AVAILABLE 2025 CONFERENCE
A$175.00
Retracing, rekindling and reclaiming inner knowing for more attuned birthing in our modern times
https://www.doulaconference.com.au/program.html
This excludes Kerryn O'Rourke talk on
‘Tuning into and adapting to client need and care context’
Anna Watts 'Embracing the Shakti of Birth'
A$20.00
Embracing the Shakti of Birth
Shakti is the primordial creative potentiality representing the dynamic source energy that is believed to have given birth to the entire universe. Shakti is one the earliest recorded terms related to the divine feminine, meaning to bring forth or to give birth to – whether this is the birth of a baby, of consciousness, or the birth of mother earth herself. Known in Sanskrit as Śakti, the literal meaning of shak is power or potency, married with the Sanskrit root div which means to shine.
Shakti power is present in us all and to fully embrace this instinctual and intuitive energy we must disentangle ourselves from the controlling power of the patriarchy, including dismantling internalised patriarchal influences in our lives. This is never truer than in modern day birthing practices which are driven by out-dated medical procedures to claim ownership over pregnant and birthing mothers under the guise of safety in the time of maternity.
This presentation will explore our role as doulas and guardians of the birth space, in facilitating the recognition and release of negative patriarchal beliefs before reaching the threshold of labour. Embracing our own shakti essence and supporting mothers to connect with their true feminine presence for giving birth with embodied confidence and joy.
Anna Watts
Founder of Celebration of Birth, Anna Watts, affectionately known as the ‘Wise Woman of Doulas’, has been guiding families through the journey of pregnancy and birth for over 30 years, honouring and celebrating birth as a ‘rite of passage’ for mother, father,
and baby.
In 2009 the Celebration of Birth Doula Academy was established to provide holistic training for Birth and Postnatal Doulas with a strong foundation of skills, including professional mentoring, to become a confident doula, or to build on your current doula
experience.
The Celebration of Birth courses are a rich blend of educational, experiential, creative and healing processes, supporting empowered birthing choices, and strengthening the spiritual connection in pregnancy and birth. A much-loved experience during the Sacred Birth training is the ‘water doula’ session, where participants hold loving space for each other in a warm water pool, a time to practice being present and to receive
gentle care from a doula partner.
Anna’s experience as a Sacred Birth and Doula Educator, Prenatal Yoga Teacher, Spiritual Healer, Counsellor, and mother of two beautiful daughters both born at home (one a water birth) brings a depth and grounded warmth to her teaching.
In the Maga season of her life, as a new grandmother, Anna is delighting in supporting her family to blossom and flourish by holding true holistic care at the centre of wellbeing for future generations. The red thread lineage continues to be grounded in deep trust for birthing wisdom.
Jane Palmer 'Supporting our clients to achieve a positive birth'
A$20.00
Background
Over thirty-two years ago, my passion for birth and parenting education began. After a traumatic birth experience, I wanted to change experiences for other birthing women and their partners through birth and parenting education. I aimed to empower expectant parents to make choices right for them. Knowledge is power, but how we deliver that knowledge is critical to getting the best outcomes. I will share the knowledge and research evidence I've gathered over my career to help you facilitate evidence-based education programs for expectant parents to help them achieve a positive birth.
AimTo explore how to facilitate evidence-based education programs for expectant parents to help them achieve a positive birth
MethodsFirst, I’ll take a look at how birth practices have changed over the past 30 years, especially with the rise in intervention rates (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024). I’ll also do a quick comparison of different birthing environments and models of care. Then, I’ll dive into private midwifery practice statistics to see how they stack up against national birth trends. After that, I’ll explore the latest research to help guide doulas and childbirth educators in their practice, including key topics and skills that should be part of their programs.
Discussion
Thinking carefully about the design of childbirth and parenting programs enables effective, dynamic and practical facilitation. To help with effective program planning, I plan to look at
- The teaching spaces
- Facilitating rather than teaching
- Creating excitement and engaging the group (no more boring sessions)
- Storytelling
- Effective use of teaching aids
Next, I’ll go over key topics to include in an education program to help participants prepare for a physiological birth. I’ll also share the latest research on why birth and parenting education programs are so beneficial.
Jane Palmer
Jane Palmer, has worked in the field of childbirth education for over 32 years. After qualifying as a midwife in 1997, Jane entered private midwifery practice a few years later. Today, she maintains a small clinical practice as a private midwife, lactation consultant and childbirth educator.
Additionally, Jane job shares the role of Consumer Health Education and Information Manager at Westmead Hospital. Her role includes development of childbirth education programs, managing all parenthood education programs and consumer information in print and online. Jane also manages the company Birth International.
Since 2010, Jane has facilitated a variety of workshops for midwives and maternity care professionals
Catherine McInerney 'Pregnancy Massage and its Multifaceted Benefits'
A$20.00
Pregnancy Massage and its Multifaceted Benefits
Introduction:
Pregnancy Massage: Meeting Multiple Needs and Empowering Women
Objective:
Helping women become the best version of themselves as they prepare for motherhood.
Key Benefits of what women experience from Pregnancy Massage
Catering to various needs:
- Physical, emotional, social and self-care.
- Creates a safe and nurturing space for women.
- Helps reduce feelings of isolation by fostering connections within the community.
- Access to valuable resources for women's well-being.
Latest research on Pregnancy Massage
Practical Skills Session:
We will explore how pregnancy massage applications can connect, support, and nurture women during this transformative phase of their lives.
Conclusion:
Pregnancy Massage Centred Care is committed to addressing limitations and ensuring every woman receives the support and care she deserves throughout her pregnancy journey. By striving to empower birthing women and addressing their unique needs, through education and fostering connections within community; by providing the necessary support and resources. Together, we prepare women to embrace the beautiful journey of motherhood.
Catherine McInerney
Catherine McInerney is a pioneering figure in the field of specialised pregnancy, labour, and postnatal massage techniques in Australia. With over 26 years of experience in Women's Health Massage, she is the Founding Director of Pregnancy Massage Australia® established by Catherine in 2010. Her vision is to establish massage as an essential component of perinatal care, emphasising the natural and comprehensive approach of the NurtureLife® massage experience, which offers a unique focus on support and therapeutic care. Throughout her career, Catherine's dedication to expanding her knowledge and expertise has led her to study the therapeutic benefits of massage during pregnancy internationally. A strong advocate for research in prenatal massage, Catherine has contributed to multiple publications and is committed to furthering research programs, particularly in the perinatal period. Her expertise has led her to present at both international and national conferences and expos. Catherine's passion for education has extended to training thousands of massage therapists from across Australia and the Asia Pacific region in her signature NurtureLife® method. This method focuses on supporting women through pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period with an emphasis on health and wellbeing. Catherine has also written extensively for industry journals and media publications. Previously, as the owner and director of her own College of Massage Therapy, she delivered Nationally Accredited Training Programs, earning respect from her peers and associates in the
industry.
Dr Catina Adams & Dr Abbey Love 'Neuro-affirming practice for doulas'
A$20.00
Neuro-affirming practice for doulas : Learnings from Autistic pregnancy research
Dr. Catina Adams will present her current research, which aims to identify the parenting support needs of neurodivergent parents. Dr. Love will present findings and resources from her recent study on the experiences of Autistic individuals during pregnancy and early parenthood. The presentation will highlight neuro-affirming practice recommendations informed by lived experiences and research.
Dr Catina Adams
Catina Adams is a doula, midwife and a nursing academic. She coordinates the Child, Family, and Community Nursing course and is the Postgraduate Nursing Discipline Lead. She was awarded her PhD in October 2022, asking how the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health program supports women experiencing family violence. Her research interests include Neurodivergence, Family Violence, Perinatal anxiety, Child, Family, and Community nursing practice, father- and non-birth-parent inclusive practice, and family-centred care.
Dr Abby Love
Dr Abbey Love is an Educational Psychologist working as a Research Fellow for the Aspect Centre for Autism Research (ARCAP). She is a lecturer, teacher and advocate who focuses her work on supporting professionals who work with Autistic people. Her research agenda emphasizes applied, co-produced studies, with projects exploring Autistic experiences of pregnancy and parenthood, individualized planning in education, policing, and improving mental health by understanding loneliness and social connections.
Di Diddle 'Innate breastfeeding in the immediate hours after birth'
A$20.00
Innate breastfeeding in the immediate hours after birth
A deep dive into the science and wisdom of the very first breastfeed & what you can do as a birth space holder to facilitate the innate and instinctive desire of a newborn to initiate breastfeeding. Learn how to inform the women you work with and how you can hold the space for her to connect with her baby in the vital and precious golden hours that follow the birth.
Di Diddle (She/Her)
Di Diddle has been working in the birth space for over 20 years. She runs birth classes and workshops in inner Melbourne and regionally. Her work is informed by her studies in Calmbirth, Bodywork and Spinning Babies, but mostly through her own experience birthing her 3 daughters, her innate creativity as well as what birthing women have taught her through her work as a doula.
She is a qualified Thompson Method Breastfeeding Educator and makes her way around Melbourne visiting breastfeeding women and their new babies, helping them to tap into their instinct and fine tuning any early breastfeeding issues they may be encountering.
Dr Hazel Keedle 'Doulas in the Birth Experience Study'
A$20.00
Doulas in the Birth Experience Study
The Birth Experience Study (BESt) results and what are they saying about the influence of doulas.
Jane Gould-Dowen ‘The empowerment of freebirth: why society needs to go backward to go forward’
A$20.00
The empowerment of freebirth: why society needs to go backward to go forward
In this session, hear first hand from a doula who found her love for birth support through freebirthing her own child. The highs, the lows, the hurdles and breakthroughs, Jane will not only take you on a guide of the facts and stats, but also shed light on a forgotten approach that has unfortunately become shrouded in mystery and taboo. All this whilst providing a toolbox of tips and tricks for any doula to provide their birthing mothers so they can empower themselves with the innate wisdom of old.
Jane Gould-Dowen
Jane was thrust into the world of motherhood five years ago, and since beginning that soul opening wild journey, has been an avid student of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, matrescence, parenthood, women, community, ritual and ceremony ever since. After birthing her own second daughter completely undisturbed or unassisted, Jane has furthered her passion work into supporting women & families to feel their epic power and complete soul rebirth as they journey through this amazing Rite of Passage, whether that be through freebirthing or empowering cesarean. Jane is honoured to live life down on Wadawurrung Country, where the country meets the sea, and cares deeply about cultivating community, all members of the family unit being held & listened to, and above all else, centering the person birthing as the true expert regarding their body and their baby. At all stages of the journey
Dr Kirsten Small (Keynote) 'CTG's for planned VBAC?’
A$20.00
CTGs for planned VBAC
Most women planning a vaginal birth in hospital after one (or more) caesarean sections will be told they must have continuous CTG monitoring. Is this evidence-based or nonsense? Dr Kirsten Small from BirthSmallTalk will take us through what the research says and doesn't say, and why registered maternity professionals do this. She'll give you practical tips to help you support women to make their own minds up about which fetal monitoring approach to use.
Dr Kirsten Small
Dr Kirsten Small is an obstetrically trained educator and researcher. Her research has focussed on the use of CTG monitoring during labour, something she writes about regularly on her blog BirthSmallTalk. She is committed to making maternity care more respectful and evidence based. Kirsten is currently the Senior Research Lead on the Australian Midwifery Futures project. She lives on Gubbi Gubbi land on the Sunshine Coast.
Misty Barth 'The Ancient Art of Bellydance'
A$20.00
The Ancient Art of Bellydance
Misty will raise the vibration and have you moving with shimmies and sways, bringing us back home to our bodies.
She will teach us some technique then thread it together in combinations of movement that will be easily formulated into a choreography and danced to a chosen piece of music.
When women come together to dance magic happens
Fun, laughter, joy, celebration.
BYO coin belt if you have one. Some will be supplied.
Misty Barth
Misty of Luna Tide Doula Services is a Geelong born local birth doula who studied with Rhea Dempsey and is now working with Lyndelle Anson around the Geelong, Bellarine and Surfcoast regions. Misty birthed both her babies at home and is passionate about educating and supporting women and families to make empowered decisions as they prepare for their births.
Co-hosting The Geelong Pregnancy Circle fortnightly with Kate of Matriyoga and a monthly Doula Circle with Lyndelle, and with many more exciting things brewing in the background, Misty is well and truly making her mark in the birth culture in this region.
Misty began her belly dance journey almost 20 years ago as a fun activity to share with her Mum. What initially started as a weekly class for fun and exercise swiftly blossomed into a transformative experience that transcended the boundaries of a hobby. Her passion for this ancient Middle Eastern dance form propelled her into the realm of performances, where she graced the stage as part of troupes, engaging in mesmerizing duets, and even captivating audiences with the occasional solo act at a variety of events, as well as teaching classes and workshops within her community.
The allure of belly dance lies not only in its graceful movements and captivating rhythms but also in the profound sense of connection and empowerment it fosters among women. When women gather to share this ancient art form, something truly magical transpires. The dance becomes a vessel through which stories are told, emotions are expressed, and bonds are forged.
As Misty embarked on her work in the birth world it became apparent that these two worlds would somehow collide. Finding fluidity and movement through their body is a wonderful tool to prepare women for birth and beyond. Through the art of belly dance, Misty empowers women, encouraging them to embrace their bodies, celebrate their femininity, and embark on their own unique journeys of self-discovery.
Nisha Gill (Mini workshop) 'Soft & Fierce: Facilitating Instinctual Boundaries For Birth & Motherhood'
A$20.00
Soft & Fierce: Facilitating Instinctual Boundaries For Birth & Motherhood
The enormous journey for a mother from pre-conception to the postpartum can challenge and rearrange her on every level of her being. It will highlight her entrenched ways of doing life, and also her default ways of managing stressful situations.
The Appease or Fawn response is known to be rooted in early trauma as a way of protecting ourselves when feeling psycho-emotionally or physically vulnerable. This attachment imprint of the ‘good child syndrome’ within family dynamics is usually the result of cumulative moments of not having the need for security and safety sufficiently met in childhood rather than the result of a definable traumatic experience. It is often reinforced through cultural conditioning where submissive behaviour is encouraged in females.
Fawning can be activated in challenging moments during the perinatal journey as the person’s automatic survival response. All too often, it leads to the birthing family handing over their inner authority and submitting to the agendas of others, in particular maternity care systems. Along with the Freeze response, it is under-recognized as a protective survival pattern of birthing mothers when overwhelming challenges arise in pregnancy, birth and the postpartum. Unlike Fight-Flight responses, both Fawning and Freezing can be hard to pinpoint. The birthing person’s true boundaries can often be seriously compromised in either of those survival states. When these distress signals are not accurately picked up by doulas and other perinatal professionals, there may be lost opportunities to prevent trauma in birthing families.
Our fast-paced, box-ticking lifestyles do not promote access to our instinctual intelligence or agency. And yet, this as we know is what’s necessary for normal physiological or undisturbed birth to become a reality. Birth preparation that focusses on true embodiment of a primalnature, facilitates the understanding of our protective patterns, and cultivates clear boundaries with access to inner Yes, No and Mayberesponses can help couples get ahead of outworn protective patterns from their past and step into parenthood with greater confidence and ease.
The presentation will explore some of these themes and culminate in a simple process for tapping into a felt-sense of instinctual boundaries which can be shared with the families you support.
Nisha Gill
Nisha Gill draws from her work in the fields of trauma, birth and female embodiment to create a unique suite of services for families along the perinatal continuum.
As a Somatic Experiencing® (trauma) Practitioner, counsellor, embodiment teacher, birth educator, and previously a birth and postnatal doula, Nisha applies a range of bodymind approaches to the resolution of trauma as well as birth preparation and postnatal care for families. Her special focus is birth, developmental, sexual, pre & peri natal, medical and surgical traumas and their prevention.
The common thread through her all her work is an emphasis on our profound mammalian heritage as humans. Nisha supports women to cultivate their instinctual boundaries for pregnancy, birth and parenting via Primal Mama® practices and other embodiment processes.
Nisha’s overall mission is to facilitate perinatal experiences for babies and their families to the blueprint of birth which they can then carry into their lives from this formative time. She delivers trauma education to birth professionals, body-centred practitioners, sexuality coaches, and families. Applying a neuro-physiological or Polyvagal lens to trauma, Nisha supports birth workers to value more wholly their therapeutic presence with the families they serve in minimizing trauma and promoting resilience.
Website: feminineinstincts.com.au
Instagram: feminine_instincts
Facebook: Feminine Instincts - Trauma I Embodiment I Perinatal
Dr Paul Chamberlain 'Infant Examination Essentials for the Birth Worker'
A$20.00
Infant Examination Essentials for the Birth Worker
Dr Chamberlain, Paediatric Chiropractor (MAICE 2023), will offer tips and tricks for doulas to identify when a baby may benefit from chiropractic or osteopathic care. Attendees will learn several examination techniques that will build their confidence in knowing if a baby requires bodywork. ~80% of babies are born with tight joints or muscles, which can impact on their mood, sleep, and development. This way, you will help more families thrive in the early days.
Dr Paul Chamberlain
Dr Paul Chamberlain, Paediatric Chiropractor 2023, BChiroSc, BAppSc(Clin), BSc(Hons), MACA has been a chiropractor since 1999.
He has practised in a child-focused setting since 2003, after studying a Fellowship of Chiropractic Paediatrics in Melbourne.
Paul has:
- Lectured at undergraduate and post-graduate level in Australia and New Zealand in the field of chiropractic paediatrics for nearly 20 years.
- Also a member of the Australian Chiropractors’ Association, with past positions on the Victorian branch’s Professional Standards Committee.
- Opened the Family Tree Health centre in Greensborough in July 2013. He is proud to celebrate 10 years in 2023
Rhea Dempsey (Mini workshop) 'When the Archetypes Stir'
A$20.00
When the Archetypes Stir
Across human evolution the unending flow of generational experiences of care and protection at birth have laid down in our collective unconscious, deep patterns of expectation for particular support figures. We can understand these figures as archetypes.
These archetypes continue to inform cultural, social and individual expectations and yearnings about who will ideally accompany the birthing woman.
In the contemporary era who is it that captures and represents these archetypal yearnings?
In this session we will explore the blessings and dangers within these deep, often unconscious, dynamics.
What archetypes might doulas capture?
Rhea Dempsey
Rhea is a passionate woman of birth; she is an Educator, Trainer, Doula, Counsellor, Speaker, Activist and Author. Rhea’s understanding of birth has been gained over four decades. She has presented nationally and internationally and is recognised as an insightful commentator on the difficulties women, who have a yearning for normal physiological birth, face in navigating present birth culture. And is respected as one of Australia’s foremost thinkers on the topic of working with pain in childbirth and its connection to normal physiological birth.
Her books, Birth with Confidence: savvy choices for normal birth and Beyond the Birth Plan: getting real about pain and power, as well as giving a clear account of the challenges faced by contemporary birthing women, also map out a path to powerful birthing experiences.
Rhea is the mother of three adult daughters, and five delicious home born grandchildren.
To find out more about Rhea’s books and work, visit her website www.rheadempsey.com.au
FaceBook – Rhea Dempsey Birthing Wisdom
Instagram – rheadempseybirth
Twitter - @rheadempsey
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