A Free Workshop for Doulas
(and other professionals working with families and newborns)
with Amy Matthews, Wendy Hambidge, and Natasha Terranova

One of the many things that new parents are learning is how to hold their baby (and pick them up, set them down, and hand them to someone else). We believe that a baby’s experience of being held and handled in these transitions has a huge impact on their physical and emotional development.  

Baby-handling skills are teachable and, when shared with new caregivers, can help them feel more confident and comfortable about being with their baby. The more comfortable a caregiver is when handling a baby, the more safety and comfort the baby can experience. And this supports bonding between caregivers and babies.

Because doulas are in a special position to support parents bonding with their baby in their earliest days as a family, we’d like to support doulas by sharing an IDME (Infant Developmental Movement Education) approach to specific touch and handling skills.

This free 90-minute workshop will offer the basic principles of touch and handling from an IDME perspective, which focuses on supporting a baby’s experience of themselves and of the world from the perspective of their sensory and motor capacities at each stage of their development. We believe that caregivers are constantly making choices for their baby, and that those choices can support or accidentally inhibit a little one’s development.

Read more about our Preparing for Caring infant handling resources.

COST: FREE. Registration is required and limited to 10 participants.

LOCATION: North Portland, OR (address will be sent after registration)