Section One - All Students:
1. Compare and contrast the definitions of a micropreemie and a live miscarriage, in a small
paragraph (1-3 sentences).
Page 6
http://www.stillbirthday.com/2011/10/21/live-miscarriage/
2. Contact your local hospital(s), and learn about any unique or special labor and delivery
options they may have for mothers whose newborns will need intensive care (anticipated or
unexpected). Familiarize yourself with any standard protocols for transporting, visiting, care and
discharge. Can you help a local NICU set up a Parent’s Ribbons program? Is there a children’s
hospital that also has a small labor and delivery unit? Share what you’ve learned in this
assignment.
Pages 13-19 are a good jumping off point for questions to ask about NICU.
Ask to speak to a "Birth Advisor" (or varient of that term). Many hospital staff are "too
busy" to speak to students. Making an appointment, or actually going to the hospital may
help. It will benefit the student to develop a relationship with the staff to make things easier
moving forward.
Find out what level NICU your local hospital has (Page 15) Ask if there is a hospital in the
area where they transfer cases that need special care, and what level that is. Contact that
hospital to see if they have an L&D unit.
It might be a good idea to read Birth Plans at SBD to also give you an idea of options.
http://www.stillbirthday.com/birth-plans/
Additional resources for NICU
http://www.stillbirthday.com/2012/01/03/nicu-info-and-resources/
Parent's Ribbons Program - Page 32
http://www.parentsribbons.co.uk/
3. Some complications or conditions present themselves at birth. Within this section, I’ve
italicized a few examples. Choose one, and explain in a short paragraph (1-3 sentences) how an
SBD doula can help prevent this issue, including utilizing outside resources and support.
Page 38
breech delivery presentation
http://spinningbabies.com/baby-positions/breech-bottoms-up
forceps or cesarean delivery
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a546719/assisted-birth-forceps-and-ventouse
infection as herpes, group B streptococcus, chlamydia Tests done during pregnancy - http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq133.pdf
Treatments for STDs - http://www.cdc.gov/std/pregnancy/treatment.htm
4. Identify one complication of the NICU experience that is unique to families whose babies
have a fatal diagnosis and won’t be discharged to go home.
Page 27 Visitation, Confidentiality and Close Quarters
5. List three ways you can help support a family enduring the NICU experience.
Building Birth Plans, and Encourage Bonding
Pages 27-29
Page 30 (Photography)
Helpful suggestions to parents that a Doula might encourage - Pages 35-37 (also linked)
http://www.stillbirthday.com/diagnosis-extra-time-birth-plan/
Read this:
http://www.stillbirthday.com/2011/12/16/identifying-grief/
http://www.slideshare.net/dyerk/grief-in-the-nicu-identifying-understanding-and-helpinggrieving-parents-1235882
6. Choose from one of the diagnoses listed and shown in the chapter. Visit both, a medical site
and a family site addressing that diagnosis. Share one thing you felt, experienced, or learned.
Pages 42-55
Google is your friend
Section Two – Non-Nursing Students:
1. The NICU baby is having difficulty with eating. Who are two professionals who may provide
assistance?
Page 21
2. The experience of the NICU is traumatic and overwhelming for the mother. Who are two
professionals who can provide support for her?
Page 21
3. Take this free online CPR course and exam for healthcare providers. Their website will
prompt you to register for the exam. You can take the exam for free. At the end of the exam it
will prompt you to submit payment to obtain a certificate – this is not required. The course and
exam take less than an hour. Tell me what percentage you obtained on the exam. If you are
already CPR certified (which is recommended in your role as an SBD doula), you can choose to
scan in your CPR card instead, and send it to Heidi.faith@stillbirthday.com
http://www.onlinecprcertification.net/free-course.php?id=1&page=1&cid=100&type=ch
4. Two items are missing. Identify which they are:
Page 26
Section 3 - If you are seeking US Nursing Contact Hours:
View the information from B.E.S.T. regarding trauma in our Student Resources section and
identify four important facts in the materials, especially as they might apply to this weeks
training (worth four points).
http://www.stillbirthday.com/student-resources/
To download a Powerpoint Viewer http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=6
Extra Credit (All Students):
Worth five points, only for this exam.
Please watch this absolutely powerful video. You have been given permission by both the
photographer, Victoria, who is an SBD doula student, and Ezekiel’s mother, Brittni, who is also
an SBD doula student, to watch this video.
Please write at least a short paragraph, including what you felt, what you learned and what you
noticed. There are many, many key points in this video that show family love, courage, dignity,
personhood, and parenthood. Likewise, there are moments in just this glimpse of Zeke’s life that
speak to loved ones being touched by his life, by the photographer and by the medical team
coming alongside this family during such a complex and enormous time. You will be changed,
personally and professionally, by this glimpse of Zeke’s birth and life.
http://vimeo.com/62564408