I had the privilege of speaking at the CAM conference this past weekend, held in Davis, CA on the campus of UC Davis. The California Association of Midwives has been working hard for mothers and midwives for years, and this conference has been their latest effort.

I presented Placenta for Postpartum Wellness, a presentation on the benefits of using placenta for postpartum recovery. Several of the attendees were aware of the potential of placenta in helping women recover more quickly from birth and pregnancy, but the hormonal component, and how it relates to a host of postnatal mood disorders seemed to be the topic of most interest.

While there, it was a real honor to meet Suzanne Arms. Suzanne has been an icon to the birth world, and an activist for change since 1975. Her contribution to the field of normal birth can not be overstated. She even signed a copy of her integral work, Immaculate Deception II!

I also got to talk chat a bit with Colleen Donovan-Batson, who was wo-manning the MANA booth at the conference. MANA’s next conference is this October in Nashville, TN!

I had to fly out the next morning, the day that Gail Hart was giving her presentation entitled 2010 CDC GBS Guidelines and Vaginal Health, so I was resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t see her. However, we had a chance encounter at the hotel! She had just arrived from a wonderful time at the Oregon Country Fair (I was totally jealous! I have always wanted to go to that). We talked placenta for a bit, and the hurdles that are still to be faced as placenta encapsulation becomes more popular. It was a sober reminder that we still have a long way to go, folks…

All in all, it was a great experience. I feel very blessed that I was able to be a part of it!