7th Doulas de France convention, May 8-10th 2009 :: Doula

Doulas, Accompagner la naissance - http://www.doulas.info

7TH DOULAS DE FRANCE CONVENTION, MAY 8-10TH 2009

Program
Friday 8th May
Saturday 9th May
Sunday 10th May
De Mères A-mères
Guests' biography
Fees
How to get there
Practical information

Special guests

Authors and professionnals : Eliette Abécassis, Diaryatou Bah, Suzanne Colson,
Mauricio Kruchik-Biderman, Catherine Piraud-Rouet, Emmanuelle Sampers-Gendre,
Chantal Schouwey, Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos, Joelle Terrien, Jan Tritten, Naoli Vínaver, ...

Artists : CatMat, Laetitia Lameyra, Marie Martias, Shein B

Associations of doulas : Belgium, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Switzerland, United-Kingdom...

Birth centres initiatives in France : les Bluets, Lyon, Pontoise...

Events

Screening of « Orgasmic Birth » by Debra Pascali Bonaro, french premiere
A documentary that examines the intimate nature of birth and the powerful role it plays in womens lives when they are permitted to experience it fully.

Représentation de la pièce de théâtre « Birth the play », by Karen Brody
8 women express their emotions as they tell their birth stories in a moving and sometimes comical way.

Red tents
Red tents are cosy spaces in which groups of women share the intimate side of their birth stories. The red tent is taken from ancient traditions in which women had a special place dedicated to them were they shared and celebrated the milestones of their sexual lives: puberty, pregnancy, birth...

Recueil de textes « De Mères A-mères - Motherwhelmed », slammed by various artists

Galerie

Groups for fathers

In partnership with

Introduction

Around the world, passing on experience from woman to woman, from man to man, never ceased. Families first draw and grow from their own intimate resources and then reach for outside help. They also call upon support offered by those close by, by society and their knowledge of it. The social cohesion, local and wider networking, support from friends, here are the pillars to built one’s identity and family.

Today many parents shout their incomprehension at a system which strips them from their humanity, is deaf to their questions, proposes arbitrary answers and denies their individual experience. Mothers are shouting, "mother to mother", that the reality of their experience of motherhood is not what they expected it to be.
How to express these emotions, where and who with can man and women talk about themselves? How can we listen better to the future parents' particular needs and stories, and to the stories that preceded them? For the doctors and midwives who whish to listen to parents needs and who can’t practice the midwifery model they believe in, how could this be done?

This year we propose 3 days of sharing centered around women's words. At the heart of it the project: "De mères A-mères" "Motherwhelmed" - a collection of texts which will be read out, slammed by artists and "The Red Tents"- women gathering to tell their childbirth stories in an intimate atmosphere.
For the first time in France, the film "Orgasmic Birth" by Debra Pascali Bonaro will be showed and the play "Birth" by Karen Brody will be performed again.
With, around these major events, an exhibition of paintings, pictures and photographs, conferences and workshops lead by French and International speakers. Special support will be given to midwives working towards the creation of birth centers in France.

Listening to and sharing experiences, working towards the creation of a network where everyone has a place, respecting each other, to support together parents own choices.

Programme

Friday May 8th: Gathering

8.45am : Welcome and singing
9am - 12.30am : Conferences

2pm - 4pm : Workshops to choose from

4.30pm - 6pm : Conferences

8pm : Film « Orgasmic Birth » (English with French subtitles)
A documentary that examines the intimate nature of birth and the powerful role it plays in women's lives when they are permitted to experience it fully. By Debra Pascali Bonaro

Saturday May 9th: Sharing

8.45am : Welcome and singing
9am - 12.30am : Conferences

2pm - 4pm : Workshops to choose from

5pm - 6pm : Conferences

8pm : « Birth – The Play » by Karen Brody (discussion panel after the play)

Sunday May 10th: Asserting ourselves

9am - 10.30am : Workshops to choose from

11am - 12.30am : Conferences

2pm - 4pm : Conferences

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De Mères A-mères - Motherwhelmed

A blog "De Mères A-mères" is now opened to collect your texts, your words, your shouts. They will also be published in a Doulas de France collection of texts. Selected texts will be slammed or read out by invited artists, throughout the event.
These texts will express women emotions and feelings. They might echo in you, surprise you, or possibly shock you. These words will reflect individual opinion and not always ours. We choose to free these words by giving everyone the opportunity to express them at last.
Thanks for your contribution!

Of bitter mother, let me tell you the pain
From mother to mother, let me tell how tough it is
Of bitter mothers, let me tell you the words
From mother to mother, let me tell you loudly
Because you, bitter mother, you feel... what they do not know

Stéphanie

A baby, it takes 9 months to make it and 9 months to undo it
Well, for me, it's more or less what happened and, since last Friday, I feel becoming a woman again and not only a mother, although the tracks of my pregnancies went on the rampage with their extra-kilos, but that's another subject ! Indeed, after this blessed period of expectation when one feels moving this still unknown baby ; when the «I» is somewhat vague, as we are two without being «we» already. After this initiatory rite when the huge pain, which comes to every contraction, that we cannot repel, that others cannot share with us… And then later, that water which escapes, a few more minuts and the baby is there, I've no pain anymore, it's over, my baby is there. And then comes another period when the body naps, when hormones dominate, when breastfeeding is omnipresent. There is no rythme, baby's rythme is anarchy, no moons, interrupted sleep, little naps gathered during the day. And then, one day, the baby begins to eat, to eat something that's not coming from us, and the worst, he seems to appreciate it ! A biscuit, a fruit, a purée. And sometimes crumbs, because this baby is on all fours. As a new spring, as a nature which wakes up, a stream which passes by. A stream which would have been able to give life again, but no, it will be for next time, or for the time after. Still a little more time. A baby, even a 9 months baby, is still small. Still a little time for him. To carry him, to cherish him, to breastfeed him, to see him waking up like a flower which opens and shows us it's petals, one by one, each one being more beautiful than the previous one. Is this time to be regretted, this moment out of time when one's everything to it's baby? No, I don't think so, for me, it took me 9 months, that was more than last time, but I took it as a gift, as a gilded bracket, for me and my baby. Since Friday, the small cup is back, it was welcome, it's time had come.

Isabelle

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Guests' biography

Catherine Piraud-Rouet et Emmanuelle Sampers-Gendre journalists and authors of « Attendre bébé... autrement ».

CatMat, multimedia artist and cofounder of Slam ô Féminin.

Chantal Schouwey, president of CIANE (Collectif Interassociatif Autour de la NaissancE) and Bien Naître association of Lyon.

Diaryatou Bah Born in Guinea, Autor of "On a volé mon enfance". Founder of l'associatoin "Espoirs et Combats de femmes". She fights form women's rights.
Diaryatou Bah's blog

Eliette Abécassis Writer and philosopher. Some of her titles include "Qumran", "L'or et la cendre", "La répudiée", "Mon père", "Clandestin » Se shares her experience as a birthing mother in her 2005 book "Un heureux événement".

Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos, BA in Human Resources, Licensed Massage Therapist, was born in Managua, Nicaragua. She became interested in birth when she was nine, after observing a midwife resolve a prolonged second stage by simply having the mother blow into a bottle three times. Eneyda has been involved in childbirth, breastfeeding and homeschooling for the last 21 years and has attended homebirths for the last 13 years. She currently co-directs The Rites of Passage Midwife Training (RPMT) program, which is a two-year program provided by the International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC), in Portland, Oregon. RPMT is an African-centered health promotion and midwife training non-profit organization formed in August of 1991.

Jan Tritten midwife, chief editor and founder of Midwifery Today. International speaker.

Joelle Terrien Midwife with a large scope of experience in birth from hospital to homebirth from África to Europe. Autor of "Passage de vies - Pour une naissance libre".

Laetitia Lameyra mother musician and singer.

Lauriane Chamming'sprofessional dancer.

Marie Martias, social worker and educator by day, by night she writes for onemanshows and slams. She is also a radio artistin France Culture.

Mauricio Kruchik-Biderman is a founder of maternityreflexology.net He manages his own clinic: Carelife Wellness Center in Israel. He qualified as a Reflexologist, as an Aromatherapist and finally as a Pregnancy and Childbirth Therapist at the MediCin College of Complementary Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel. He qualified as Birth Educator at the Dyada Center for Parenthood and Birth in Tel Aviv, Israel. As a Reflexologist, He worked in hospitals both with adolescents suffering paranoia, schizophrenia and other behavioral disorders and with mothers giving birth in the delivery room as a Doula, escorting them and their couples in this special moment of their lives.
He gives international conferences worldwide and sign many articles were published by magazines specialized in Reflexology like Footnotes (Scotland), Zoneterapeuten (Denmark), Feet First (Ireland), Reflexology World (Australia) and more.

Naolí Vinaver mexican midwife. She has helped women with total respect for the physiology of birth since 1990. she mixes mothern knowledge and traditional practices that work. She is also an author and illustrator of children's books about pregnancy and birth.

Suzanne Colson is a midwife with 35 years experience supporting breastfeeding mothers in both hospital and community settings. She is an honorary member and founding mother/leader of La Leche League France. Suzanne is currently a senior lecturer/researcher at Canterbury Christ Church University. Results of her award winning PhD, the first study to describe a range of optimal maternal breastfeeding positions releasing innate behaviours, are published on Science Direct. Biological Nurturing, the new breastfeeding approach studied is the focus of a practice development project aiming to increase breastfeeding rates at the hospital in East Kent where breastfeeding rates are the lowest in the county. Despite all odds, preliminary results show a 7 point increase in breastfeeding rates of initiation (over 10%) from May to September 2008 (the project time).

Shein B author and slammer"

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Rates

Fees (*)
Members of l'association Doulas de France (DDF): 100€ 3 days, 80€ 2 days, 60€ 1 day 140€ 3 days-couple
Non-members of DDF: 120€ 3 days, 100€ 2 days, 80€ 1 day 160€ 3 days-couple

People coming from abroad: 30€ 3 days, 20€ 2 days, 15€ 1 day
We have been obliged to ask for a minimum attendance fee due to increasing conference costs. We welcome any additional donations.

"Birth" the play : 5€ conference attendees (12€ others)
Film Orgasmic Birth : 4€ conference attendees (8€ others)

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How to get there

La Bellevilloise - 19,21 rue Boyer - Paris 20ème

By car:
Parking Saint-Fargeau

Métro (subway):
Gambetta (line 3) exit Martin Nadaud or Ménilmontant (line 2)

Bus:
Lines 26, 61, 69, 96 / Noctilien N16, N34

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Practical information

Meals
For lunch La Bellevilloise offers an Organic Menu, (prior reservation and payment required) for 11€ this includes salad + quiche + fruit + drink.
There are also various Coffee shops and restaurants available in the area. La Bellevilloise also offers meals from 15 to 25€ without prior reservation from Friday night to Sunday night.

Lodging
We strongly suggest you reserve as soon as possible as it is a long WE in Paris.
Hotels close to La Bellevilloise :
Nadaud Hôtel (~56€/night double bdre)
Hôtel Ermitage (~65€/night double bdr)
SuperHôtel (~60€/night double bdr)
Citea (~120€/night for quadruple bdr, 2 double beds or 30€/pers)

A bit further away from La Bellevilloise :
Résidence Internationale de Paris (108€/night for quadruple bdr, 4 individual beds or 27€/pers, taxes and breakfast included)
We recommend this place that was our venue for 2 years.

Lodging with locals is available upon request and availability. Please contact us .

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