CAPPA Blog

One Thing Leads to Another

Posted on April 22nd, 2008 by Michelle Schnaars

Spring certainly is in the air, and as one thing leads to another spring will lead to summer, and summer leads to the 9th Annual CAPPA Conference.

The 9th Annual CAPPA Conference will be in beautiful Dallas, Texas, August 21-24, 2008. This year CAPPA will be celebrating our 10th Birthday party! Ten years is an amazing accomplishment and we invite you to celebrate with us during the conference on Friday evening at 6:00pm, August 22nd. This is an event to remember with a special presentation from CAPPA's own Tracy Wilson Peters, and includes dinner, cash bar, music, and cake! We also have 'giveaways' which include a two night stay at the host hotel of the 2009 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona!

We didn't forget a thing. To help you accomplish certification requirements we have scheduled the following trainings: Childbirth Education, Lactation Education, Labor Doula, and Postpartum Doula. We have also scheduled Breakout Sessions to enhance the certification and professional experience. Topics that we will cover include:

We also have fabulous exhibitors including Cutting Edge Press, Hale Publishing, and more!

But don't just take my word that a CAPPA Conference has it all. Hear first hand what attendees say.

CAPPA members strive every day to provide information, resources, and support to expectant and postpartum families. And the 9th Annual CAPPA Conference is where we can come and reconnect with friends, make new friends, network with professionals, become rejuvenated and grow as professionals and as people.

Seats are first come first serve and filling fast, so register today to reserve your place!

I look forward to seeing you there.

Go CAPPA!

Michelle Schnaars
Assistant to the Director of Publications

Blog from Sarah Lynn Coleman

Posted on April 7th, 2008 by Sarah Lynn Coleman

As I have been preparing to teach a CAPPA Childbirth Educator training in Ohio next week, I have been reviewing the material I am going to be teaching, and I was reminded again of what a powerful gift we give and receive as educators.

As educators, we are in a position to influence decisions that our clients make which will have huge impact on their future parenting skills. For example, when a couple is taught to use comfort measures in order to cope with pain during labor, we teach them to look for other answers and to try several things before giving up. That same lesson will come to mind when they seek to soothe their crying infant in the middle of the night in a few short months. Again, that very same lesson will come to mind when/if they have difficulty breastfeeding their infant, and can’t seem to make it work.

As educators, we teach parents to make informed decisions. We spend hours teaching material and coming up with really creative ways to hit our point home. We have families come in and share their stories, hoping to make an impact. We prepare handouts, research topics, evaluate and make changes where they are necessary. We go to continuing education seminars and workshops seeking materials that will help parents see all of the choices that are before them. Every step that we take to prepare our materials brings us one step closer to helping those parents make the informed decisions when the time comes.

I am so glad that I have an opportunity to not only teach future parents, but to teach the future teachers of parents as well. Every woman I have ever trained has had a unique impact on me as an educator. I have grown as a teacher because of my students and their experiences. They give me the gift of learning as well. I have learned to see people in their own unique light, and appreciate the talents that they bring to the training. I have learned to see the information that I teach in new ways. I understand Cesareans a little better, though I have not had one. I have had so many women share their stories and I can recognize the need for appropriate intervention. I have been given the special gift to know that everything is not all black and white. There are gray areas in childbirth, breastfeeding and parenting. You have to learn what works best for you.

I thank the women I have worked with during my past 8 years with CAPPA. You have helped me become a better educator as a result of our experiences.

- Sarah Lynn Coleman

Two new features!

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by Tracy

Hi, everyone! I am very excited to tell about you about two new features on the CAPPA website.

ASK THE PROS!

1. We have added an Ask The Pros section. Do you have a question related to your birth business? Our expert Janice Banther is here to answer all your inquiries*! You can submit your question by filling out the form or you can browse past questions.

Janice is a seasoned professional who has been helping women during their birth since 1982 and has attended over 500 births. She is a certified childbirth educator, certified labor doula and an approved trained counselor and trainer with RTS Bereavement. She is also a postpartum doula and breastfeeding counselor. Janice is the founder and executive director of For The Love of Birth, Inc. which is a non-profit organization in Tarpon Springs, Florida. She teaches childbirth classes and is a doula for one of the county jails.

* Please note that this section is devoted to questions pertaining to running your birth business, such as "How do I network with other doulas in my area?" or "A client had a C-section and wants a refund. What should I do?" You can visit the site and post a question here.

2. CAPPA is pleased to announce the birth of CAPPA Radio! CAPPA Radio is free! Just select an episode and press 'Play' to listen now. If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast the options are highlighted in the box below at the bottom of the web site page. CAPPA Radio is a talk show hosted by the CAPPA faculty, and it's a fun and informative way to expand your knowledge of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and parenting. Each episode will have a specific topic of interest, and a special guest speaker who will educate our listeners. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Kacy, our awesome webmaster, for all her help!

'Til next time, happy birthing!
TWP aka Tracy Wilson Peters

The Roots of a Woman

Posted on March 13th, 2008 by Tracy

The Roots of a Woman Examine the picture of the tree. Notice that in this picture the viewer is given a glimpse of what is below the surface of the tree. In life, we are not given this opportunity. When we meet a woman we only see what has emerged and grown as a result of what is underneath the surface; upon first meeting someone we do not get a glimpse of her roots. Some women are strong, confident, courageous and accomplished while others that we encounter are fearful, weak-minded, full of self-doubt... and they have doubt in the world.

A woman's roots have been growing since before she was born. Every experience in her life has affected her growth and has contributed to the woman she has become, and is still becoming. All of us are the result of our entire life experiences, which make up our roots. Some trees have deep roots that are strong and healthy that stretch far. Other trees are weak and have been deprived of support and sustenance that is vital in order to grow and sustain a strong healthy tree.

As women our roots are a lot like those of the tree. Growth and strength is often the result when we branch out and expand into new directions. Yet when we stay close to what is comfortable our growth is often inhibited since the environment immediately around us only holds a limited number of growth stimulating opportunities. This results in roots that are shallow because our experiences have been limited.

When we have deep and far reaching roots we are less likely to be uprooted when storms hit our lives. Our roots anchor us and hold us, and our foundation is strong. The good and bad experiences that we have had in our lives have helped us to grow and become strong. There may have been a time when we branched off in one direction only to realize it was not the right direction for us. We learned to bend rather than break.

Environmental factors can affect the growth of a woman as well. Like the tree, we have no control of where we are planted and where we came from. The things that happen around us and to us are often out of our control. Unlike trees, adult humans have free will and, more importantly, legs that allow us to get up and move if our environment becomes one that hinders our growth. We can draw from our life experiences to help us in our decision making and choose appropriately in different situations. It takes courage to branch off from the familiar. But it is only when we do that we fully grow and fully absorb everything this world has waiting for us. When we expand our roots, when we grow beneath the surface, those experiences enrich us and nurture us as women, as mothers, and as humans.

- Tracy Wilson Peters

New happenings

Posted on February 19th, 2008 by Tracy

Greetings! Here in Atlanta, we are finally starting to see the signs of spring! I know as I write this many of our members are still enduring the cold, but have hope spring is not far off for you either! Spring is my favorite time of the year. For one thing, I welcome the warm weather and I love soaking up the sun! I also love the beauty of spring, the new little leaves on the trees, the smell of flowers and the feel of new life emerging!

This spring is especially exciting for CAPPA. We have made, and are in the process of making, several improvements. CAPPA members are already enjoying our new and improved website and our new MySpace page.

In addition to those changes, we are also working hard to do our part to preserve our environment. You probably have been hearing more and more everyday in the media about the importance of conservation and taking care of our home here on Earth. At CAPPA, we are doing our part to conserve and taking steps to "go green" as well. One way we are doing this is by going online with the CAPPA Quarterly. This improvement is earth friendly, but also CAPPA member friendly. You will now be able to view the CAPPA Quarterly online here and also access back issues at the convenience of any computer. No more searching the house wondering what happened to that article and which issue was that in. From now on you can log onto the CAPPA website and read the current issue and back issues from anywhere you have internet access.

The Quarterly going digital is one of many changes you will be seeing CAPPA make. We have also just redesigned and printed the new CAPPA brochure and this time it is on recycled paper. We feel good about these changes and want you as CAPPA members to know you are part of an organization that is environmentally conscious.

We know we must change and grow as technology is constantly changing, and we are not through making changes to our website. Over the next several months you will be noticing many new added features that we are sure you will enjoy. Don't forget to register now to be with us in Dallas, Texas, August 21-24th 2008 for our awesome conference and our BIG Ten Year Birthday Bash! Seats are limited and are already filling fast.

Until next time, happy birthing!
TWP aka Tracy Wilson Peters

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Posted on January 20th, 2008 by Tracy

Welcome to the brand new CAPPA website. This is our very first blog! 2008 brings so many great things for CAPPA to celebrate. First and foremost, our 10 year birthday! That's right, CAPPA turns 10 years old this year! To celebrate this milestone we have given CAPPA's website a complete makeover. We hope you will take time to look around the new site.

We have launched the CAPPA MySpace page as a way to encourage networking among our members, you can see and join the new CAPPA MySpace site here. MySpace is free and many of our members are already enjoying networking there.

Mark your calendars now for the free CAPPA conference and convention this August 21st to the 24th in Dallas, Texas. As always, we will have lots of great speakers for you to enjoy and learn from, as well as all of the great birth-related exhibitors in the exhibit and shopping area. Last but not least, we will be hosting an awesome 10 year birthday party for CAPPA that you won't want to miss. So, plan ahead now to be with us for this momentous occasion! If you have never been to a CAPPA conference, you don't know what you are missing. The sisterhood and camaraderie is like no other experience. We want you to be part of our CAPPA family!

Watch for frequent updates on our website. Trainings are added weekly, new items to the CAPPA online store will be added this year, and the CAPPA leadership board will be posting weekly blogs here to keep you updated on all of the CAPPA happenings and birth related news. So, now that you are up to date, take a look around, and send us your feedback on the new site. We always want your opinion.

Have a wonderful and prosperous 2008! MAKE IT GREAT!

- Tracy Wilson Peters

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