Standing Strong

Standing Strong is at the center of Birth it Forward’s calling as supporters of women in their birth spaces. As a doula, learning to work together with your clients’ entire birth team is essential. This workshop is for birth workers who want to develop advocacy skills, including working with medical staff, while fully supporting their client’s wishes and not overshadowing their voices. 

We will also talk about Practitioner Violence and Abuse

• What it is and how to recognize it
• Your clients’ rights and the laws backing them
• Techniques for preventing practitioner violence and abuse before your clients go into labor
• Steps to take if your client is experiencing practitioner violence and abuse

Finally, we will put these techniques and tips into practice with role play. Standing Strong’s goal is for every attendee to leave knowing their clients’ rights and how to effectively advocate for them before they even come into question, stopping Practitioner Violence before it even happens. Each birth worker will leave with a packet detailing the birthing mothers’ human rights, Birth it Forward’s tips for encouraging respect of those rights from your birth team, and steps to take if you become a victim of practitioner violence. 

Birth it Forward doulas can sign up to take the Standing Strong annually. Standing Strong is hosted every six months at the Birth it Forward Conference.