Blossoming Bellies Workshops
for Birth Professionals
Sunday & Monday, September 28 & 29
9:00am- 5:00pm
Special Guest Teacher: Brittany Sharpe McCollum, CCE(BWI), CPLD, CLC
Super Early Bird
Sign up for all four workshops by June 30 for just $499
Link to register will be sent after purchasing SUPER EARLY BIRD package here
General registration opens July 1:
• Early Bird - Sign up for a package as listed below before July 31:
All four workshops: $649
Day One (Creating Space): $349
Day Two (Roots of Obstetrics, Supporting Clients Through Cesarean, and Labor’s Second Stage) $309
• A La Carte:
Creating Space $399
Roots of Obstetrics $49
Supporting Clients Through Cesarean $99
Labor’s Second Stage $199
In the case of illness or doulas who are called to a birth, we offer the following options if we are alerted in advance:
•Creating Space may be made up in a live online class.
•Roots of Obstetrics and Supporting Clients Through Cesarean may be made up in a self-paced video online class.
•Labor’s Second Stage is not offered online and therefore will be recorded with a one-month limit to view the recording.
Alerting us in advance that you will not be able to attend is REQUIRED in order to take advantage of these options.
In addition, please read our REFUND POLICY here in full before making your purchase. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to these policies under any circumstances.
Current TNS Providers receive 10% off registration fee: an email was sent with details and coupon codes. If you did not receive the email, please reach out!
Brittany Sharpe McCollum, CCE(BWI), CPLD, CLC returns to San Jose this September to present her in-depth, practical workshops on pelvic biomechanics and more for birth workers. Don’t miss your chance to study in-person with this innovative birth expert who has been featured on podcasts including Evidence Based Birth, The VBAC Link, Your Birth Partner and more!
Brittany will be leading the following four workshops at The Nesting Spot:
Creating Space: Pelvic Dynamics and Fetal Positioning for an Easier Birth, Sunday, September 28, 9:00am-5:00pm
The Roots of Obstetrics and Its Impact on Modern Birth Management, Monday, September 29, 9:00-10:00am
Supporting Clients through Cesarean Birth, Monday, September 29, 10:30am-12:30pm
Supporting Labor’s Second Stage: Biomechanics and Physiology for Long-Term Pelvic Floor Health, Monday, September 29, 1:00-5:00pm
Details on each workshop are below.
CE’s are available through the PA Board of Nursing or ICEA for most of these workshops, as noted below. Other organizations, such as DONA or the Yoga Alliance, will often accept these CEs- please check with your certifying organization for confirmation and details on how to receive credit for participating.
Brittany Sharpe McCollum, CCE(BWI), CPLD, CLC (she/her) is a childbirth educator, doula, lactation counselor, and founder of Blossoming Bellies Wholistic Birth Services, offering evidence-based education and support to expecting families and birth professionals. Her work centers on combining physiological knowledge with respect for the intuitive power of birth, helping families feel confident, informed, and connected.
Brittany is certified through Birth Works™ as a childbirth educator, is a Certified Lactation Counselor, and a Certified Professional Labor Doula. She has completed multiple doula trainings with DONA International, Birth Arts International, and Active Birth Institute. She also holds a Rebozo certification and continuously furthers her education through national conferences, teaching, and study.
Since 2007, Brittany has provided award-winning childbirth education classes, birth doula support, and contact hour-approved continuing education workshops for perinatal professionals. Brittany's continuing education sessions are research-based and multidisciplinary, with a focus on utilizing evidence based practice and improving physical and emotional outcomes with a movement-oriented approach.
In addition to her in-person sessions, she is the creator of pelvic biomechanics videos currently being used to train incoming labor and delivery staff on safe and effective movement as a low-intervention approach to improving birth outcomes. Brittany is honored to be a sought after guest speaker at international childbirth related conferences, including Evidence Based Birth, Midwifery Forward, ICEA, ICPA, the Utah Doula Association, ACNM, NNEPQIN, and more. Brittany is also a published author, contributing to the book “Baby Got VBAC: An Inspiring Collection of Wisdom for Better Births After Cesarean.”
Brittany also mentors new doulas, contributes to national publications, and is a featured author in the bestselling “Baby Got VBAC.” Blossoming Bellies has received numerous accolades, including several Love Awards and recognition from CBS Philly as a top childbirth education resource.
At the heart of Brittany’s work is a belief in the strength of birthing people and the importance of autonomy, awareness, and community in creating empowered birth and parenting experiences.
Brittany resides with her family in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in the greater Philadelphia area.
Find out more about Brittany and her work at Blossoming Bellies Birth or @blossomingbelliesbirth on social media.
The Creating Space: Pelvic Dynamics for an Efficient Labor and Birth workshops explore the relationship between bodily alignment, pelvic space, uterine contractions, and fetal position in pregnancy, labor, and birth. Pelvic dynamics are explored through participatory movement, positional changes, and counterpressure. This hands-on knowledge joins with discussion of fetal positioning variations to explore the challenges commonly faced throughout the labor process due to fetal positioning and pelvic space restrictions. Hands-on practice with alignment and movement offers participants a chance to experience pelvic mobility while gaining exercises, language, and knowledge that can be passed on to clients both prenatally and throughout labor. The workshops focus on developing tools for decreasing the need for interventions and reducing the risk of cesarean birth and leaving participants with concepts usable for clients birthing with and without pain medication. They are non-clinical sessions that will change the way both clinical and non-clinical providers offer labor and birth support.
Approved for 8 CEs through the PA Board of Nursing
The Roots of Obstetrics and Its Impact on Modern Birth Management is a historiographical look at how obstetrics began in the United States and how certain racist and pseudoscientific notions of the mid to late 1800s became embedded in obstetrical practice. In this workshop, we explore how American doctors gained footing in medicine within the emerging field of “women’s health.” Factors that contributed to a biased perspective and understanding of childbirth are analyzed, with further exploration of the long-term effects on management of childbirth to this day. The workshop wraps up with a discussion of research-based ways to move forward to improve birth safety and childbirth outcomes.
Approved for 1 CE through ICEA
Supporting Doula Clients Through Cesarean Birth is a two hour continuing education training session geared towards the professional doula. It provides an in-depth understanding of what doula support looks like through prenatal care, birthing support, and the postpartum journey for clients giving birth by planned or unplanned cesarean. With this course, doulas will explore in-depth how to support clients in preparing for a confident and empowered cesarean process while also developing ideas, skills, and techniques for providing high-quality individualized support that leaves clients feeling educated, nurtured, and supported.
Approved for 2 CE’s through ICEA
Supporting Labor’s Second Stage: Biomechanics and Physiology for Long-Term Pelvic Floor Health is an inspiring and invigorating workshop, taking a research based approach to supporting the physiology of labor’s second stage in both medicated and unmedicated births. With a multi-disciplinary approach that focuses on encouraging long-term pelvic floor health and protection of the perineum, this workshop will completely change the way you support labor’s second stage. Our objectives include understanding how bony space and soft tissue lengthening are created at the pelvic outlet, the benefits of a biomechanical approach to pushing positions in relation to perineal preservation and pelvic floor health, and the analysis of the role of the pelvic floor role in vaginal birth and the benefits of physiological pushing as a supportive measure.