Childbirth Education Training for Health & Human Service Workers
Supporting Informed Choices. Cultivating Trust in Birth
Gain skills to teach childbirth education to expectant parents. Help achieve goals for maternal and child health and reduce perinatal health disparities.
Help improve birth outcomes for mothers and infants of color
This class is evidence-based, trauma-informed and celebrates cultural diversity
NEXT HYBRID (VIRTUAL/IN-PERSON) COURSE: FEBRUARY 2023
Can’t attend in person? This course is now available for self-study!
Take this course online in a self-paced format
ABOUT THIS COURSE
Participants will learn about the anatomy & physiology of childbirth, labor support techniques and support methods, and how to teach evidence-based information about pregnancy and childbirth. This class will give

Instructor Cordelia Hanna teaching childbirth education
participants information and skills to help their students or clients make informed decisions during pregnancy and childbirth, cope with labor and cultivate trust in birth.

- Medi-Cal CPSP Workers
- Women’s health staff and clinicians
- Prenatal Staff & Clinicians
- Psychotherapists working with pregnant mothers
- Social Workers working with pregnant mothers
- Nutritionists working with pregnant mothers
- Home Visitors working with pregnant mothers
- Case Managers working with pregnant mothers
- LMAs and CNAs working in prenatal clinics
- Home Health Aides
- Birth or Postpartum Doulas
- Aspiring or Student Midwives
- Pre-Med and Medical Students with aspirations to become OB/GYNs
- Students of Public Health with interest in maternal and child health
- RNs & LVNs working with pregnant and postpartum mothers
- Health Educators working in maternal-child health or women’s health
- Breastfeeding Peer Counselors
- Lactation Educators
- WIC workers
- Community Health Promoters working with pregnant women

Days and Hours of Course: 8:00 am to 2:30 pm (PST) 4 days, 20 hours total. (There will be a half-hour lunch break each day, and two 10-minute breaks, morning and afternoon).
COURSE DESCRIPTION

Instructors Tai Carson and Cordelia Hanna, co-teaching the course
In this class, we will cover the following topics:
- Historical and Social Aspects of Childbearing in USA
- Overview of Perinatal Health Disparities in USA
- Premature Birth Prevention
- Psychological Preparation for Childbirth
- Overview of Prenatal Care
- Nutritional Guidelines for Pregnancy
- Understanding Prenatal Care
- Stages and Phases of Labor
- When to Go to the Hospital
- Labor Coping Methods & Support Techniques for Partners
- The Spiritual & Sexual Aspects of Childbirth
- Understanding Medical Interventions Advantages and Disadvantages
- Informed Consent and Refusal in Maternity Care
- Pain Medication for Childbirth Advantages and Disadvantages
- Promoting Informed Decision-Making in Maternity Care
- Birth Planning
- Promoting Parental-Infant Attachment and Bonding
- Sibling Preparation and Children at Birth
- Newborn Appearance
- Newborn Behavior
- Newborn Care
- Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
By 6-months after the course, participants will:
- Prepare one book report and one summary of a peer-reviewed journal article from the past 5 years on pregnancy or childbirth-related topic, demonstrating the ability to research and synthesize and prepare health education materials in plain language for consumers.
- Develop a Childbirth Education curriculum/lesson plan.
- Observe a Childbirth Preparation Class (online or in community).
- Teach Childbirth Education classes in a community setting (online or in-person).
- Obtain evaluations from participants in the childbirth education class conducted.
ABOUT THE COURSE LEADERS
Cordelia Hanna, MPH, CHES, ICCE, CLE, CBA
Email: Cordelia.Hanna@motherbabysupport.net
Cordelia Hanna obtained her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Health Education and Promotion/Maternal Child Health from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California in 2008 and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1986. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Health Psychology at Walden University. Cordelia is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), the gold standard for professional health educators, accredited by NCHEC. She is also an official Health Educator Consultant for the County of Los Angeles Perinatal Support Services Program for Medi-Cal, helping clinics and agencies develop their CPSP programs. Cordelia is also an ICEA-Certified Childbirth Educator, CAPPA-Certified Lactation Educator, and ALACE-Certified Birth Assistant who since 1991 has taught Childbirth Preparation Classes and Breastfeeding Education to hundreds of couples in private practice, clinics, public health, hospital and community settings. She has attended hundreds of births as a Primary Midwife Under Supervision, Assistant Midwife and Labor Companion/Monitrice in homes, birth centers and hospitals throughout Los Angeles County since 1991. Cordelia worked as a Public Health Educator at Pasadena, California Public Health Department Black Infant Health Program from 2002-2012 where she developed and taught childbirth preparation classes, fulfilling an unmet need in Pasadena, California for quality childbirth education for Medi-Cal eligible persons. Also at the Pasadena Public Health Department Black Infant Health Program, Cordelia Hanna established the first community-doula program for African-American families in Los Angeles County and succeed in lowering rates of prematurity and infant mortality among Pasadena’s African-American population.
From 2011 to 2019, Cordelia worked with Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s Promatora de Salud/Community Health Worker Program, providing training in perinatal health and Doula support for Community Health Promoters/Promatores de Salud working in South Los Angeles, one of the Los Angeles communities with the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality.
Cordelia is the founder and executive director of Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance, overseeing our community-doula program and serving as the lead curriculum developer and trainer for our courses. Cordelia is a mother of two home-born, breastfed and attachment-parented children who are now bright and capable young adults. She is also a proud grandmother of two granddaughters and a grandson.

Carla Michael was born Hollywood and raised in Pomona, CA. As a mother to three girls, Carla is well aware of the necessity of love and care during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period.
Her passionate desire to work with children and families led me to a career as a social worker and to obtain a master’s in social work at California State University Los Angeles. Craving a more personable relationship with families while exploring “birthing and babies”, she decided to take a different route and become a full circle doula.
Carla obtained full circle doula training with Shafia Monroe Consulting’s Full Circle Doula Training® (an intensive 30-hour prenatal, labor and postpartum doula training course). This distinctive training is built on the legacy of the 20th century African American Midwife, who provided holistic perinatal services with birth and postpartum rituals and mothering skills building confidence and leadership abilities within families to improve birth outcomes and increase breastfeeding duration rates.
Carla models this model of care in her practice as a doula, which is improving birth outcomes by reducing prematurity, increasing breastfeeding rates and duration, reducing infant mortality and she has also completed an extensive 14-hour training regarding perinatal mental health and is well versed on the seldom-discussed mental health needs of mamas after birth.
With Carla’s first baby, she had no support with breastfeeding and always wanted to work for an organization such as La Leche League, not knowing that a career in breastfeeding was actually attainable. Therefore, in addition to her work as a doula, she received certified lactation education specialist training through Breastfeed LA’s 95-hour program and is now currently on the pathway to becoming an IBCLC (international board-certified lactation consultant). This is critical because there are no statistics on how many Black IBCLCs there are in the United States. Carla believes that increasing the amount of Black IBCLC support will increase the rates of Black women’s breastfeeding outcomes, which is so crucial to their bundle of joy’s overall health in life. She enjoys instructing breastfeeding classes to pregnant mamas to prepare them before even before their little babies enters the world, and currently teaches Happy Mama Healthy Baby’s breastfeeding education classes for clients, and our Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Training, Postpartum Doula Training, Perinatal Support Specialist Training and Birth Doula Training.
She is also currently a student midwife working in a birth center. Carla believes in women-led births and that, with the proper support, education, and by listening to her intuition, a mama can have the birthing experience she’s always dreamed of. Carla is always honored to support a mama in this memorable, life-changing journey and looks forward to sharing her wisdom and experience with you in this training.
A Spanish trainer can be provided upon request
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, CONTACT:
Carla Michael, MSW, Community and Professional Education Coordinator
Telephone: (626) 388-2191 ext. 1 or Email: Carla.Michael@motherbabysupport.net
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation must be made in writing by deadline (30 days prior to start of course). Tuition will be reimbursed less $50.00 administrative fee if notification received by this date. After this date, there will be no refunds. However in extenuating circumstances such as documented illness or emergency, the tuition is fully transferable to another person or training (this course or another topic); credit is good for the amount of training. If course registering into is higher price, the additional balance will be required. If it is a lesser price, there will not be any refund of balance. Credit will be honored for one year from the training. If not used by that time, the credit will expire.
Special Cancellation Policy for Doulas and Midwives:
If you are “on call” and have a birth during the training, please notify instructor as soon as possible that you will not be attending. The full tuition will be transferred to another person, or different training (this course or another topic) to be used within one year of the training date. If the course you are registering into is higher price, the additional balance will be required. If it is a lesser price, there will not be any refund of balance.