Advanced Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss Training
Advanced Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss Training: Understanding and Responding to Pregnancy Related Trauma Within Communities of Color
with Institute Teacher Naima Beckles, MA
September 12, 19, & 26, 2023
$200
*Institute members receive 50% off of tuition
To register: naima@foryourbirth.com
Pregnancy related trauma and/or Infant Loss disproportionately impacts the lives of non-white people. In particular, Black, Indigenous and Latinx birth givers are the most vulnerable to the effects of systemic racism, implicit bias, and the entrenched legacy of white supremacy. The experiences of trauma and loss for birthing people of color are vast, yet these stories remain in the margins in our society.
This advanced 8-hour training supports participants in better understanding the intersection of pregnancy and/or infant loss and racism. This training is open to all and is designed to specifically support those working with bereaved parents of color and their families.
This training has been approved by Lamaze International for 8.0 Lamaze Contact Hours. These hours may be applied towards recertification as an LCCE educator under learning competencies 1, 6, and 7. Contact hours offered by Lamaze are recognized by DONA and other organizations.
What can birth workers, mental health practitioners, bereaved parents, and activists do to better understand and respond to the pain of pregnancy/infant loss compounded by the pain of racism?
Naima Beckles, is the founder of For Your Birth ~ an intentionally diverse birth and postpartum support center in New York City. She is graduate of the Institute’s Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss training and a Holding Space Consultant. This September 2023, Naima will teach an 8-hour Advanced Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss training which applies the foundational principles of the basic 15-hour Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss to an in-depth, personal, and heartfelt exploration of the intersection between pregnancy and/or infant loss and systemic racism within a US context.
This advanced training consists of 6-hours of live module time with Naima and 2-hours devoted to the reading. One need not join the Zoom webinars live as they will be recorded for all participants.
Participants are required to read What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss by and for Native Women and Women of Color.
Participants will apply the insights of 1. companioning 2. strengthening the support network and 3. the healing power of ritual to their reading of What God is Honored Here?
Naima will guide discussions, present information, and invite participants to join optional small group study sessions as part of this training.
“In its heartbreaking beauty, this book offers an integral perspective on how culture and religion, spirit and body, unite in the reproductive lives of women of color and Indigenous women as they bear witness to loss, search for what is not there, and claim for themselves and others their fundamental humanity. Powerfully and with brutal honesty, they write about what it means to reclaim life in the face of death.”
~ Goodreads review of What God is Honored Here?
Naima is a calm and genuine spirit who believes in transformative and radical reproductive care.
I felt supported, heard, and cared for while working with her.
~ Maureen N.
We’d recommend her unhesitatingly.
Naima Beckles ~ (she/her) holds an MA from Loyola Marymount University and taught middle and high school students in Los Angeles, DC, and New York City. Naima is an educator, doula and founding director of For Your Birth – an intentionally diverse doula agency. Soon after the birth of her first child, she chose the work of supporting expectant parents and earned certifications from Lamaze and DONA. While training with Amy Glenn Wright in a pregnancy loss course, the desire to hold space for life’s big losses, including death, was sparked. As a teacher, doula, and mother; Naima lovingly stands alongside individuals navigating difficulties and triumphs. Naima offers private consultations with individuals who are experiencing any kind of loss during this confusing and difficult time. Learn more.