1. family and parenting
2. motherhood
3. pregnancy

Schedule
Registration: April–May 2015
• Apply at www.ictcmidwives.org
Training: July 2015–February 2016
• Total of 93.5 hours
(excluding internship and externship hours)
• 8 Workshops (48 hours):
• Monthly, 2nd Saturday during July
through February, except
• 3rd Saturday in September and October
• 10 am–5 pm (6 hours/workshop)
• Doula Training: Thursday–Sunday,
September 10–13, 2015 (29.5 hours)
• waived if doula training has already been
completed
• Peer Breastfeeding Counselor Training:
Saturday–Sunday, December 11–12, 2015
(16 hours)
Graduation: March 2016
Additional Details
• Minimum Qualifications: High School
Diploma or GED
• Trainees are not required to have given birth.
• Both women and men can participate in this
training program.
“Education helps one cease being
intimidated by strange situations.”
Maya Angelou
ICTC History and Mission
The International Center for Traditional
Childbearing (ICTC) was founded in 1991 as
an infant mortality prevention, breastfeeding
promotion, midwife and doula training nonprofit organization.
Our mission is to increase the number of
midwives, doulas and birth workers of
color and to empower families in order
to reduce infant and maternal mortality and
increase breastfeeding rates.
International Center for
Traditional Childbearing
PO Box 11923
Portland, OR 97211
P 503.460.9324
F 503.445.7760
www.ictcmidwives.org
ictc@ictcmidwives.org
Training Investment
• The African American Childbirth Educator
Training Program is valued at $1600 and
includes all trainings and course materials.
• Thanks to a generous grant, we are able to
offer this training to eligible applicants for a
reduced fee using an income-based sliding
fee scale.
• Financial aid, scholarships and payment
plans are available.
BLACK BABIES
MATTER!
African American
Childbirth Educator
Training Program
TM
Special Thanks to Kaiser Permanente
for its financial support of this program.
4/2015
“Healthy Babies are Everyone’s Business”
The community needs YOU to train as a Childbirth Educator.
African Americans have always believed that
education is power and that the teacher is powerful.
Our families need African American childbirth
educators who will teach Black birth traditions,
labor and birth as a normal process, emotional
aspects of pregnancy, nutrition, breastfeeding,
newborn care, stress reduction, and confidence
in mothering. Childbirth educators can
promote doula care, build community and teach
empowerment to support self-advocacy in the
perinatal period.
• empower African American families to make
informed choices about labor, birth and their
newborn.
ICTC’s African American Childbirth Educator
Training Program is a pilot project designed to
certify a cohort of African American trainees
who will gain the education, skills, confidence,
and resources necessary to provide women and
their families with culturally competent perinatal
education.
This unique program will give you, the trainee,
an opportunity to learn and share in a group
setting, within an environment of community,
respect and trust which is designed to support a
transformational learning experience.
• Breastfeeding
• Comfort Measures in Pregnancy, Labor and
Birth
• Nutrition during Pregnancy
• Physical and Emotional Changes of Pregnancy
• Postpartum and Newborn Care
Training Highlights
African American Childbirth Educator Training Program
ICTC is dedicated to increasing the number of
African American childbirth educators in Oregon
who will: • provide more options for African American
pregnant women to attend childbirth
education classes or workshops in their
community, and
Training Basics
African American Childbirth Educators employ
positive group dynamics, respect each family’s
uniqueness, and offer current information on the
mechanisms and techniques of a healthy birth.
Your role is to create trust in the birth process
and empower women to trust their bodies, make
informed decisions, and understand the collective
experience of Black women’s birthing experience.
Our training teaches you how to use lecture,
personal interaction and resources to provide
information to families on:
• signs of labor and comfort measures
• advantages of natural child birth
• Cesarean section prevention and vaginal birth
after cesarean (VBAC)
• pain medication options
• role of the father/partner during labor and
recovery
• role of a Doula
• the newborn and bonding
• patient rights
• creating a birth plan
• places to birth
• Cultural Practices and Birth Traditions
• Entrepreneurial Development
• History of Childbirth Education in African
American/Black Communities
• Internship + Externship
(observational + student teaching hours)
• Systemic Racism’s Effects on Birth Outcomes
• Skills for teaching and sharing experiences
Certification Process
• Complete monthly workshops (48 hours)
• Complete independent study (5 books)
• Observe one childbirth education class series
(6+ hours)
• Conduct student teaching (12+ hours)
• Complete Doula Training (29.5 hours)
• Complete Peer Breastfeeding Counselor
Training (16 hours)
• Observe 1 birth (hours vary per birth)
• Pass final exam