You have to see these incredible Mandalas!

Mandala Project Click on each one (or start slide show) and watch the steps as it is designed.

I hope she won't mind that I borrowed this image to "nudge" you to go and appreciate her beautiful work. Just watching them is very relaxing to me. I think she is on to something! Think about talking about Mandalas in your childbirth program.

Know any Pregnant women?

Home from China

It has been way too long since I posted. I went to Beijing, China to conduct a Passion for Birth seminar in conjunction with Oriental Baby Care. We had another group of gifted educators!

A couple interesting things happened there, i.e. the internet. I could not get to my blog - yup it was blocked by the Chinese government. That felt really strange. And I also couldn't get on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. I store a lot of my business documents on Google documents - no access. And while I was there Google pulled out of China. It certainly "feels different" when you are experiencing censorship first hand vs. reading about it.

I did experience one of the worse sandstorms in Beijing in 4 years - couldn't smile when we were outside because there would be a layer of sand on our pearly whites!

So I think I am over jet lag - the planes over and back were packed so all those hours I thought I could get things done resulted in no room to type. My seat mates were grumpy - one was mad I wouldn't give up my aisle and the other was one of those arm rest hogs. So I ended up catching up on a lot of movies.

While I complain about the travel to and from, I have to tell you being there and getting to know women who are passionate about birth on the other side of world is truly inspirational.


I have been going there for 7+ years. The woman I work with there, Lisa Jia is one of those visionary people. She started her Parent Education centers about 10 years ago. On my first visit, I think she had about 50 centers across China. This time she is up to 350!

But I have to tell you that she has been trying hard to change birth in China for many years and has decided to pursue a new avenue of change - she is building a new Maternity Care Hospital. Now that's a unique way to get change to happen!

She will be coming to the US to tour model hospitals that she could adapt ideas from. Do you have a hospital you would recommend?

Slings!

All right, slings have been coming under attack with alarms going off about baby's dying. Dou-la-la blog found a great You Tube clip pointing out the style of sling - the bag sling - that is the real concern.



I so agree with what Dou-la-la points out is the higher number of infant deaths in car seats (non-vehicle accident related), cribs and strollers. But the media focuses on the sling....AARRGGH!

Comeback to class

It will be a stretch to relate this video to childbirth education but stick with me. This clip is about a guy trying to win his partner back after she left him and it's quite creative and made me smile (after I got past him running around in his speedo/underwear) And I found myself reflecting on how some women are choosing not to attend childbirth education programs and what creative video could we create to convince them to comeback?

Share your ideas...comeback to class!

Can a clean odor impact your training?

Lenn Millbower reports on a study where two groups were studied and it appears that a clean odor can induce better learner behavior.

Now the question for me is if Windex comes in 3 oz bottles for my carry-on luggage. Maybe I will stick to having fresh oranges as a snack to "freshen" the aroma and serve water with lemons!