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CAPPA Childbirth Educator Training

CCCE Training Materials

Childbirth Educator Required Reading List. You are required to read a minimum of eight books in addition to the CAPPA Childbirth Educator Manual, The Understanding Birth, The Understanding Breastfeeding, and The Postpartum Health & Baby Care booklets.

Optimally, you should read at least one (1) book from each section and three (3) books from the last section. Always check to make certain you are reading the most current edition of each book.

General Reading

(Every student must read the following)

  • CAPPA Childbirth Educator Manual (provided at training)
  • The Understanding Birth Booklet
  • The Understanding Breastfeeding Booklet
  • The Understanding Postpartum Health & Baby Care Booklet (formerly Mother & New Baby Care)

Public Speaking

(Select at least 1 book from this category)

  • Five Steps to Conquer 'Death by PowerPoint': Changing the world one conversation at a time (Bergman)
  • Speak with No Fear: Go from a nervous, nauseated, and sweaty speaker to an excited, energized, and passionate presenter (Acker)
  • The Exceptional Presenter: A Proven Formula to Open Up and Own the Room (Koegel)
  • The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual: Take Command of Your Message, Create an In-Person Experience and Captivate Any Remote Audience (Koegel)

Adult Learning Principles

(Select at least 1 book from this category)

  • Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg)
  • Planning Programs for Adult Learners: A Practical Guide (Daffron & Caffarella)
  • Producing Virtual Trainings, Meetings and Webinars: Master the Technology to Engage Participants (Kassy Laborie)
  • Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning (Cranton)

Breastfeeding

(Select at least 1 book from this category)

  • Baby-Led Breastfeeding: Follow Your Baby's Instincts for Relaxed and Easy Nursing (Rapley & Murkett)
  • Breastfeeding: Keep It Simple (Spangler)
  • Free to Breastfeed: Voices of Black Mothers (Logan & Sangodele-Ayoka)
  • Lactivate! A User's Guide to Breastfeeding (Krause & Rosenthal)
  • Latch: A Handbook for Breastfeeding with Confidence at Every Stage (Kaplan)
  • Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race & Injustice (Freeman)
  • The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International)

Pregnancy, Labor & Birth

(Select at least 1 book from this category)

  • Birth Without Fear: The Judgment-Free Guide to Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum (Harshe)
  • Black, Pregnant and Loving It (Allen-Campbell & Greenidge-Hewitt)
  • Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond (Bardacke)
  • Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood and Trusting Yourself and Your Body (Chidi-Cohen)
  • Oh Sis, You're Pregnant! The Ultimate Guide to Black Pregnancy & Motherhood (Boswell)
  • Optimal Care in Childbirth: The Case for a Physiological Approach (Goer and Romano)
  • Pregnancy, Childbirth & the Newborn: The Complete Guide (Simkin, Whalley, Keppler, Durham)

Health Equity & Social Justice

(Select at least 1 book from this category)

  • Battling Over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Health Care Crisis (Oparah, Arega)
  • Birth Work as Care Work: Stories (Activist Birth Communities)
  • Birthing Justice, Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth (Oparah & Bonaparte)
  • How to Be an Anti-Racist (Kendi)
  • Me and White Supremacy Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor (Saad)
  • Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy and Premature Birth (Davis)

Other Recommended Titles

(Select at least 3 books from this category)

  • A Clinician's Guide to Gender Affirming Care: Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients (Chang, Singh & Dickey)
  • A Good Birth: Finding the Positive and Profound in Your Childbirth Experience (Lyerly)
  • Celebrating Pregnancy Again, restoring the lost joys of pregnancy after loss of a child (Cox)
  • Give Birth a Chance: How to Prepare for an Empowered VBAC (Blandina)
  • How To Heal A Bad Birth: Making Sense, Making Peace And Moving On (Bruijn & Gould)
  • Impossible Parenting: Creating A New Culture of Mental Health for Parents (Scobie)
  • Natural Pregnancy Guide: Empowering Moms To Make Healthy Choices (White)
  • Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition (Nichols)
  • When Hello Means Goodbye (Kirk & Schwiebert)
  • Why Birth Trauma Matters (Svanberg)
  • Your Birth Plan: A Guide to Navigating All of Your Choices in Childbirth (Davidson)

Video Options

(Only one video may be used as a required reading under the Extra Resource list.)

  • Business of Being Born (Epstein & Lake)
  • Dark Side of the Full Moon (Fura)
  • More Business of Being Born (Epstein & Lake)
  • The Milky Way Documentary (Molnar & Davidson)