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Childbirth education has been my passion for the past 39 years.
I have been a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (trained at UCLA School of Nursing) for over 39 years and have prepared more than 4000 couples for birth, for 16 years at Misgav Ladach Hospital and, since its closing, in private practice. I am also a Lamaze-accredited childbirth educator trainer, enabling new childbirth educators to bring high quality birth education into different communities. I was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Lamaze International for a 4 year term beginning January 2024.
With Ina May Gaskin
As an advocate for normal birth, I have organized, hosted and co-hosted five international childbirth conferences in Jerusalem with presenters such as Ina May Gaskin, Penny Simkin, Gail Tully, Rachel Reed, Robbie Davies-Floyd and Denis Walsh.
I am a DONA Certified Birth Doula and a Certified Yoga and Pilates Instructor. I am an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified fitness professional with over 38 years of experience working with prenatal and postnatal fitness, giving lectures and workshops to physicians, midwives, physiotherapists and birth and fitness professionals in Israel and around the world. I specialize in helping women heal their separated abdominal muscles, known as diastasis recti, and have developed an online course for Improving Core Function (see: www.improvingcorefunction.com).
I began meditating in 2008 and went on to complete professional training in MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) taught by Dr. Dina Wyshogrod and participated in a professional training retreat in NY with Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn (the originator of MBSR) and Dr. Saki Santorelli. I completed professional training to teach MBCP (Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting) with Nancy Bardacke, CNM, author of “Mindful Birthing, Training the Mind, Body and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond”. I have been teaching MBCP classes for the past 5 years. Dina and I co-lead annual Mindful Tours trips to India and Africa.
Professional training retreat with
Jon Kabat-Zinn in Rhinebeck, NY
Presenting at the Lamaze International Conference in 2016 in Florida on "Incorporating Innovative, Evidence-Based Mindfulness Techniques into your Lamaze Classes”
I teach ongoing Lamaze classes, MBCP courses and The Mind In Labor workshop in Jerusalem and online. My recent blend of Mindfulness tools with Lamaze classes has resulted in Mindful Childbirth Education, a format I developed which has been very well received by my clients. I am excited that, not only will expectant couples be learning techniques to cope with the stress of pregnancy and the intense experience of childbirth, they will also have valuable techniques for parenting and life skills in general.
Helping couples find their way through this maze of medicalized birth is a huge focus of my childbirth classes. I want to give couples the opportunity to practice making decisions, negotiating options and exercising choice and I help them identify the issues surrounding birth that have personal significance. I am passionate about my work and the greatest compliment I can receive is when a couple tells me that they are no longer scared of labor but look forward to the birth of their baby with joy and confidence.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, I moved to Israel in the mid-70s and live in Jerusalem with my husband. We have 3 grown sons, 3 daughters-in-law and 5 grandchildren.