Elizabeth Davis, Director/Instructor

Purpose | Who May Attend | Format | Course Content | Skills & Demonstrations
Schedule, Fees & Registration | Upon Completion | The Instructor

Elizabeth Davis (bottom row, center) with Heart & Hands students

PURPOSE

HEART & HANDS MIDWIFERY INTENSIVES were founded by Elizabeth Davis in 1982. The class originally developed at the request of a group of birth assistants seeking to acquire practical midwifery skills. Over the years and by demand, the class evolved to include basic introductory information and emphasis on the intuitive, interpersonal skills essential to effective midwifery care. The purpose of HEART & HANDS class is to provide students with a strong and integrated foundation in the art and science of midwifery.

WHO MAY ATTEND

HEART & HANDS MIDWIFERY INTENSIVES are ideal for women interested in discovering their unique relationship to the art and practice of midwifery. Students in the health field, psychotherapists, nutritionists, bodyworkers, mothers--anyone who desires to empower women and their supporters in the act of giving birth is welcome to attend. The class is designed to accommodate students at various levels of sophistication. Beginners are always welcome!

FORMAT

HEART & HANDS class is designed to encourage students to incorporate life experience in their learning process. We work in circle, and support each other's work empathetically, in an open, egalitarian fashion. Groups are small: close personal attention enables students to integrate theory with practice as they consult with their peers.

Also available is HEART & HANDS course work for distance students. Thirteen beginning and advanced modules combine academic material with many self-directed activities of classroom learning. Call (800) 594-3644 for details.

COURSE CONTENT

•	History and Politics of Midwifery
•	Prenatal Care and Complications
•	Counseling and Communication Skills
•	Sexuality in the Childbearing Cycle
•	Facilitating Labor and Assisting Delivery
•	Labor Complications and Transport
•	Perineal Assessment and Repair
•	Newborn Complications and Neonatal Testing
•	Postpartum Care, Breastfeeding, and Maternal Adjustment
•	Homeopathy and Herbs in Pregnancy and Birth

SKILLS AND DEMONSTRATIONS

In class, students have hands-on practice of blood pressure, pulse and fundal height assessments, fetal heart auscultation and palpation, pelvic and cervical examination, nutritional analysis, intramuscular injections, and suturing.

Demonstrations are made of set-up for delivery, perineal support and newborn exam. Hand maneuvers for shoulder dystocia, posterior arrest, compound presentation, retained placenta, and breech birth are also demonstrated. 

Distance students will find, whenever feasible, instructions in their modules for the self-directed acquisition of skills cited above.

SCHEDULE, FEES AND REGISTRATION

Class meets eight Sundays in San Anselmo (located in Marin County, twenty minutes north of San Francisco). Tuition is $1075, payable with a $325 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit (made out to Elizabeth Davis), with balance due in per class installments. Advanced class is $425 and also meets three Sundays in San Anselmo. (Heart & Hands distance fees are the same, payable in advance.)

Send registration to:

ELIZABETH DAVIS
3201 Burnside Rd.
Sebastopol, CA 95472

PHONE 
(800) 594-3644

UPON COMPLETION

Letters of recommendation are available on request. Students seeking further instruction may wish to enroll in the National Midwifery Institute, Inc., a three-year program requiring HEART & HANDS course work.

THE INSTRUCTOR

ELIZABETH DAVIS, C.P.M., B.A. has been a midwife, educator, and women's health specialist for over 30 years.  

She served as Pacific Regional Representative and the Education Committee chair for the Midwives Alliance of North America, President of Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, and consultant to the State of California's Alternative Birthing Methods Study. She holds a degree in Holistic Maternity Care, and is NARM certified.

Her books include Heart & Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth (now in its 4th edition); Women's Sexual Passages: Finding Pleasure and Intimacy at Every Stage of Life; and, newly released, The Circle of Life: Thirteen Archetypes for Every Woman; She is co-founder of the National Midwifery Institute, Inc.