Sunrise Breakfast Seminar

8:00–8:30     Suzanne Arms. Birthing the Future: Suzanne discusses current research relating to the physical and psychological aspects of choosing the best option when a pregnancy is in conflict.

8:30–9:00    Judith Simon Prager, PhD: Wing of the Butterfly.
     Dr. Prager, author of The Worst Is Over: What To Say When Every Moment Counts, describes how ancient cultures recognized the existence of fetal awareness in the womb and learned to communicate with the baby before birth. Judith will provide information on how mothers can relate to and forge alliances between family/community and the unborn child to set the course for a healthy, fully realized life.

                                              9:00-9:15 AM Break

Keynote Speakers

9:15–10:15 am   Sarah Buckley, MD:  Undisturbed Birth the Ecstasy and the Evidence. Australian family physician, researcher and writer, Sarah describes the complex web of biochemical communications connecting the mother's psyche with the baby during labor and birth. Dr. Buckley will review how obstetric interventions may alter the hormonal milieu and interfere with the ease and safety of birth, as well as provoke possible long-term effects.

10:15–11:15     Wendy Anne McCarty, PhD, RN: Welcoming Consciousness and Being with Babies in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges
     Dr. McCarty, author, cofounder of the BEBA Clinic & founding chair and faculty of the Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Program at SBGI, will focus upon the opportunities and the challenges for welcoming, nurturing, and supporting families and babies during the prenatal and perinatal period.

11:15–11:45     Break

11:45 - 12:45   Frederick Wirth, MD: How Perinatal Healthcare Professionals Build World Peace
     Dr. Wirth, President of the Institute for Perinatal Education, author, and developer of Wirth Prenatal Parenting Techniques, provides evidence of how prenatal stress is linked to early childhood behavior disorders, ADHD, and teenage violence. He will offer proven techniques for reducing stress in birthing families that can reduce the tendency toward violence and support both human health and planetary peace.

12:45–2:00 pm   Luncheon (Optional Discussion Tables) 

                                                            Afternoon Program
                   
2:00–3:00 pm  Concurrent Sessions

     Ray Castellino and Mary Jackson:  Womb to Breast: Beginning Breast
     Feeding Made Easy. Dr. Castellino and Ms. Jackson will discuss a baby-
     centered approach to bonding and attachment. This approach builds on the
     self-attachment behaviors of infants at birth and during the days after birth.
    
     Joel Evans, MD: Bringing Spirit into Form: Balancing Science and
     Psyche to Create a Whole Pregnancy. Dr. Evans provides information on how
     to safely incorporate Holism into pregnancy care. He will provide cutting-edge
     information on natural approaches to both normal and complicated pregnancies
     with the goal of building a community where both women and caregivers open
     themselves to the miracles of pregnancy and birth.

     Deborah Peters, DC: The Importance of Cranial-Sacral Therapy for
     Newborns, Toddlers and Preschool Children. Dr. Peters presents evidence
     of how cranialsacral therapy optimizes immediate relief of common presenting 
     symptoms and provides long-term developmental benefits for the newborn.
     Hallmark scientific studies and practice cases will be used to demonstrate the
     efficacy of this therapy in harmony with discoveries in prenatal and perinatal
     psychology and health.

     Dianne Maroney, RN, MS: Mental Health and the Preterm Infant.
     Preterm infants face many mental health challenges throughout their
     lifetimes including depression, anxiety, angry outbursts, abnormal fears,
     and social rejection. Ms. Maroney will review causes of preterm infant
     mental health issues and offer information on improving outcomes both in the
     Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and throughout life.

     Peter Fairfield, L. Ac. Larger Dimensions of Bonding: Perspectives from the
     Practice of Oriental and Energetic Medicine.  Dr. Fairfield introduces a new
     paradigm for both assessing and correcting issues resulting from deficits in
     parental bonding. He reveals how bonding dysfunctions can be observed in 
     patterns of physical demeanor and posture, be heard in vocal inflections, and
     noticed in fundamental emotional style and defensive patterns.

     Myrna Martin. Community Development Approaches to Strengthen
     Support for Families in Your Hometown.  Disruption of attachment bonds
     leads to interference with emotional and physical health, learning, and the
     capacity to develop healthy relationships. Family therapist Myrna Martin
     describes a successful community development approach to strengthen
     attachment bonding that creates a healthy supportive place for young families
     to live and thrive.

Prenatal Healthcare  Wendy McCord, PhD, Teresa Robertson, CNM, and Mary Jackson, RN
     Science now reveals that all of the mother's experiences, be they positive or
negative, are also experienced by the fetus. These experiences in utero
profoundly influence a child's genetic activity and shape the health and
behavior of the child in adulthood. This discussion of prenatal
environmental influences will offer parents and healthcare providers
important insights into enhancing the future health and life of our children.

Impact of Trauma on Pregnancy & Birth  Phyllis Klaus, MFT, CSW, Joann O'Leary, PhD, Tami Kent, PT
     Physical and emotional traumas, including perinatal loss, can have both
immediate and long-range effects such as adult psychological and somatic    conditions and a negative self-concept. The panel will offer Information from academic research, clinical practice and family therapy with those suffering from traumas during pre- and perinatal development. Interventions and resources to alleviate these traumas include helping previously traumatized parents successfully attach to a future child.  

Family Communications  Brad Sachs, Ph.D, Michael Medizza, and David Frees, JD
     What families consider to be an individual member's 'problem' is actually
that individual's attempt to 'solve a problem.’ This panel will focus on
methods of verbal engagement amongst family members that solve more
problems than they create, and that contribute to a family-wide climate of
candor, empathy, and acceptance. Techniques will be offered for family members
to address problematic behavior in ways that enhance cooperation and
collaboration, rather than create antagonism and alienation.

                                                 Dinner Break 5:- 7

7 – 8 pm  The David B. Cheek M.D. Memorial Lecture on Psychosomatic 
               Obstetrics
               Invited Lecture presented jointly by F. Rene and Kristin Van de Carr

    David B. Cheek, MD was a beloved obstetrician and a devoted supporter and Director of APPPAH. His pioneering work in clinical hypnosis illuminated the realities of consciousness at birth and taught psychological approaches to deal with birth trauma, premature birth, infertility, and promote comfortable labor. His fifty scientific papers and books emphasized the importance of psychology in all aspects of reproductive medicine and childbirth. This lecture was established in his honor following his death at the age of 84 in 1996.

Rene Van de Carr, MD & Kristin J. Van de Carr, PhD: Can New Developments in Prenatal-Postnatal Stimulation Lead to Happier Babies?

    The doctors Van De Carr offer recent insights from the field of “happiness research” that indicate the development of happier babies may be facilitated through the use of applicable pre- and perinatal stimulation. Research and the current understanding of the mechanisms of happiness, self-image, and perception of contentment as they relate to pre- and perinatal development are cited.

8:00-10:00 pm  Education Fair: Poster Sessions, Exhibits, and New Films
               Research Poster Sessions and Exhibits in the Garden Ballroom.
               New Documentary Films will be presented in the Regency Ballroom:
               
      What Babies Want: An Exploration of the Consciousness of Infants. This documentary, narrated by Noah Wyle, provides a remarkable exploration into the miracle of birth and various facets of prenatal and perinatal psychology. Debbie Takikawa, one of the film's producers will introduce the film and field questions from the audience.
      Cellular Echoes: Environmental Influences in the Journey from the Womb to the World. Writer and producer DeAnna Elliot will present her film that focuses upon both scientific and ancient wisdom exploring imprinting as it occurs in animals and humans.
       Birth Imagery and Stories Close to Home: Dream the Dance is a multimedia presentation of the prenatal and perinatal experience by counselor and artist Catherine Fraser. Catherine will share artistic images of her own personal work and those of other artists and clients in the mediums of clay, drawings, paintings and photography.

:                                         Saturday, November 19, 2005

6:30-8:00 am     Breakfast  

8:00–9:00 am    Sunrise Seminar Chiropractic Approaches to Childbirth Jeanne Ohm, DC. Dr. Ohm will provide an understanding of modern day birth processes and focus on the frequent traumas associated with a technological approach to birthing.  This illustrated presentation will focus on issues associated with and prevention of dystocia.

9:00–9:15 am     Break

9:15–11:15 am  Keynote Panel
Creating Family in the Face of Technology in the 21st Century  Robbie Davis-Floyd, PhD, Peggy O'Mara, Michael Mendizza, Kristin Kali, CPM, and Kara Spencer, CMT.
     Anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd begins with an evolutionary overview of how the meaning and nature of the “family” has changed over the course of human develop- ment.The panel will discuss the need to create new social structures that give today's families the extended family experiences that traditionally nurtured all families. A new “Nurturing” Model has been developed and will be presented as an alternative and adjunct to existing systems.

11:15–11:45 am     Break    

11:45–12:45 pm  Keynote 
Attachment and Intersubjectivity in Infancy and Beyond by Daniel Hughes, Ph.D, author, clinical psychologist, and developer of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy®, explores how attachment security serves as the ideal foundation for human development. The presentation describes how intersubjective experiences serve as stem cells for subjective experiences. A brief overview of the theory, research, and related principles involving attachment and intersubjectivity will be given with relevant case examples.

12:45–2:00pm     Luncheon (Optional Discussion Tables) 

Kittie Frantz, film producer, will focus attention on self attachment from the baby’s perspective. Dr. Righard & Dr. Bergman have shown us that even premature babies can self attach. Kittie will share her latest film of a 36 week old baby self attaching while mother holds him in a chair. She will raise the question: Have we been forcing babies to attach when they know how to do it themselves?

Connie Rock.  Connie has over 14 years experience as a licensed midwife specializing in water birth. She will lead a discussion on myths and realities of water birth. Come and explore the safe world of birthing in water.

Cynthia De Meester: Dr. De Meester is a pediatrician who has been incorporating pre and perinatal psychology into her practice over the last five years. She will focus discussion on occasions when healers cause pain and trauma and will have recommendations for how clinicians, parents, and friends can bring consciousness into pediatric traumatic procedures.

Emma Miller believes that each of us has a story to tell and therefore has a part to play in increasing public awareness about prenatal and perinatal issues. Discussion will point to creative and practical strategies that can be used to energize and organize your community on behalf of prenates, newborns, and infants and their families.

Shivam Rachana. Learn from the author about “Lotus Birth,” a practice that leaves the placenta and umbilicus undisturbed until it comes away naturally, thus providing the newborn with optimum advantage/opportunity for full reception of the vital cord blood and the extraordinary energetic transfusion from the placenta.

Erica Longton. Come and learn about the gentle birth method developed by obstetrician Dr Gowri Motha, an empowering pre-natal program that is taking London by storm!  Discuss this integrated program that helps mothers to become "birth fit" and significantly increases their chances of experiencing a natural, intervention-free birth.

Deva Daricha. Deva Daricha has been working with men for over 15 years and understands the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual scarring that often results from infant circumcision. Join an open discussion on the strategies he has developed to help heal the wounds of circumcision in adult males.

Bobbi Jo Lyman, psychologist and faculty member at SBGI will invite feedback and discussion of an integrative model of therapy with adults that includes prenatal and perinatal anecdotal accounts and is supported by the latest brain research.

Jeane Rhodes, Jungian psychologist, will share her experiences with birth imagery encountered in sandplay with children. She will explain the value of sandplay in working with birth and prenatal issues and comment on the relationship between Jung's archetypal images and birth imagery.

Karen Strange, midwife and instructor in neonatal resuscitation, will share her experiences and focus discussion on helping babies integrate their birth experience, whether they are normal occurrences or major complications.

Marilyn Milos will focus on the importance of genital integrity and invite discussion on the growing trend of parents saying “No” to circumcision.

Afternoon Program

2:00-3:00 PM  Keynote:
Entering No-Man's Land: Mapping the Terrain of the Father-Child Bond  Brad Sachs, PhD, psychologist, author, and founder-Director of The Father Center in Pennsylvania will focus on the psychological, historical and sociological origins of men's reluctance to engage intimately with their offspring during childhood and adolescence. The discussion will delineate numerous clinical strategies that are designed to address and soften this reluctance so that fathers can become more salient, effective, and compassionate parents at every stage of their children's development

                                                   3:00-3:15 PM Break

3:15–4:45 pm     Concurrent Sessions

Care in Labor and Birth: Giving the Best to Mothers, Babies, and Families in the 21st Century  Sarah Buckley, MD, Joel Evans, MD,  Ann Fulcher, and midwife Ina May Gaskin. An Australian family practice physician, a U.S. obstetrician, a midwife, and a doula define their vision of “the best care” for mothers, babies, and families during labor and birth. They will discuss the challenges each profession faces in the application of these ideals.

Adoption and Other Realms of Malattachment  Marcy Axness, Ph.D,  Pam Burnham, Ph.D, and Curt Sandman, Ph.D discuss stressful or traumatic prenatal circumstances as early attachment experiences, with lessons implicitly learned and retained as adaptations to a threatening environment. Lifelong implications will be considered at three levels: recapitulation through feelings and behavior, developmental implications of altered brain architecture / chemistry, and energetic and nervous system shock/trauma/stress embodied and enacted somatically.    

Healing the Caregiver Using Primal Integration and Other Approaches  Julie Acott, C.Counselor, Chris Andrew, MD, and Sam Turton. Three internationally noted practitioners present established and innovative holistic approaches for both discussion and as a creative options for personal growth and development of birth caregivers.

Informed Choices: Family Wellness  Bruce H. Lipton, PhD, Jeanne Ohm, DC, and Deborah Peters, DC
    Birth trauma causes injury to both mother and child, physically and emotionally. When a woman is aware of her options throughout pregnancy and in preparation for birth, numerous problems and unnecessary interventions may be avoided. This panel will inform and encourage practitioners and parents to seek viable alternatives intended to help reduce the risk of injury associated with birth.  The more informed families are, the better choices they can make towards health and wellness. 

Prebirth Parenting Carista Luminare-Rosen, PhD, and Laura Uplinger
    A holistic approach to preconception and prenatal health care includes equal regard for the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual developmental needs of the parents and the future child. Parenthood begins before conception as prospective parents prepare their body, mind and spirit and learn to care for and bond with the future child. Ancient and modern wisdom combine in a unique holistic program designed to prepare parents and health care practitioners to optimize a child's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Child Care: Multicultural and Evolutionary Perspectives  Barbara Findeisen, MFT, Dale Glaback, MA, JD,  Emma Miller, D.Div and Aki Murata, PhD will bring a multi-cultural and evolutionary perspective to child care. Aki Murata, who was born in Japan, will address how social and cultural contexts influence the way children learn and develop. Emma Miller works with Appalachian families and members of the Cherokee Nation. Dale Glabach will present principles of Evolutionary Developmental Psychology and provide recommendations that can optimize the psychological health of every developing infant.

4:45 Break
                                          Gala Evening

Come to Dinner and the Cabaret!

     After a hard day of teaching, listening and learning, we hope you will join us for a full-course dinner prepared by the Town and Country's culinary masters. This is a wonderful opportunity to unwind after a very stimulating day and socialize with guest presenters and friends.

6:30 - 8:00pm     The Banquet (reservations required) In the Regency Ballroom.     

8:00–10:00pm     The Cabaret (open to all without charge)  In the Regency Ballroom

     As the dinner winds down, all congress participants are invited to join in a treat of wonderful music and comedy. The intimate Cabaret will feature an open-bar. On stage we are very pleased to offer three outstanding performing artists.
     First, we will be soothed and serenaded by classical guitarist and LA favorite, Daveed. Daveed's music has a blissed-out aura, serenity, and eloquence filled with an energy transcending time and space!  Groove Magazine says “Daveed possesses a unique and intimate delivery that speaks directly to the heart.” 
     Next on our bill, accomplished harpist and comedienne Tracy Moss intertwines music, stories and humor in an engaging stage performance. Tracy's upbeat mélange of Harpo Marx, Henny Yougman, and Victor Borga is simply, wonderful entertainment.
     Closing the program will be the renowned Swami Beyondananda (Steve Bhaerman). Steve is an internationally known author, humorist, and workshop leader who has written and performed as “Swami Beyondananda, the Cosmic Comic,” for the past 18 years. Swami's comedy has been called “irreverently uplifting” and has been described both as “comedy disguised as wisdom” and “wisdom disguised as comedy.”
                                         Come and enjoy!

                                             Sunday, November 20, 2005

6:30–8:00     Sunrise Breakfast

8:00–8:45     APPPAH Annual Membership Meeting
8:45–9:00     Break    

9:10 - 10:10   Keynote 
Peggy O’Mara: The Community of Normal Birth—What does it look like? Where do you find it?   
We often send a pregnant woman off to labor with a birth plan only to find that her birth was influenced more by the experience and philosophy of her birth attendant or the procedures at her birth place than by her own birth plan. Instead of a plan, a woman needs a community. How can we help women find the community of normal birth in
their towns? How can we help them identify practitioners who have experience in normal birth? And, finally, how can we help them to believe in their own ability to birth normally?

10:00–11:10   Keynote
Christiane Northrup, MD:  Birth, The Foundation of Mother-Daughter Wisdom  Dr. Northrup, an obstetrician, will discuss how women's bodies and those of their daughters were created by a seamless web of nature and nurture, of biology informed by consciousness, that we can trace back to the beginning of time. She will explain how the unrealized dreams of our maternal ancestors are part of our heritage, and how every woman who heals her own birth experience helps heal all the women who came before her and all those who will come after her.

11:10–11:40     Booksigning and Break

11:40–11:50     President’s Award to Ina May Gaskin
APPPAH celebrates Ina May Gaskin for her long and distinguished service to mothers and babies.

11:50–12:50  Keynote 
Ina May Gaskin:  Body, Belief, and Beyond
Ina May, influential author and one of America's foremost midwives, will share exciting data from over thirty years of experience at “The Farm” community near Summertown, Tennessee. Her work has been a successful and inspirational proving ground for natural, non-intervention childbirth.      
    
12:50–1:00 pm  Closing Remarks