“I woke up the day after the course ended feeling healed in a way I did not know I needed to be healed. Something in me shifted…and I feel profoundly grateful for that unexpected gift.”
J.G., Spring 2026
Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives
Elizabeth Davis, Director/Instructor
Purpose | Who May Attend | Format | Course Content | Skills & Demonstrations
Schedule, Fees & Registration | Upon Completion | The Instructor
Our new virtual format allows students from all locations to attend, creating more diversity in the classroom. Limited to 12 students, everyone has ample opportunity to ask questions and participate in group discussions, with a fully live format that offers the benefits of onsite classes–group contact and support in a demonstration-rich format.
“I really appreciate how you bring out the best in people, you cut off any nonsense in a wise and loving manner, your compassion, your care, your love, and your empathy. This course is worth way much more than the price you ask, and I will forever be grateful for the kickoff to midwifery it has given me.”
L. J. C., Spring 2025
Our history: Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives were founded by Elizabeth Davis in 1982. The course was developed at the request of a group of birth assistants seeking to acquire practical midwifery skills. Over the years and by demand, the course has evolved to include basic introductory information and an emphasis on the intuitive, interpersonal skills essential to effective midwifery care.
Additionally, this course covers the core curriculum and essential skills of Midwife Assistant Training.
WHAT WILL YOU GAIN FROM THIS COURSE?
The purpose of Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives is to provide a strong and integrated foundation in the art and science of midwifery, as well as:
READINESS TO APPRENTICE OR SERVE AS AN ASSIST: Hands-on skills demonstrations combined with the context of when and how they should be used will help you confidently step into these roles.
PREPARATION FOR THE NARM EXAM: “Heart & Hands” is the top text used to prepare for the exam, and this course will take you deep enough to master the information.
PROFESSIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS/ REFERENCES: These are routinely provided for former students, regardless of reason or the educational route they have chosen.
CONTINUED FOLLOW UP: Whatever your next steps in training, I am available to hear your concerns and provide feedback.
SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE: Such a challenge–but I will do my best to assure you have staying power in your work.
“I came into this program fearful, to be honest. Doubting my ability to be able to handle complications in labor, but I have far less fear than I did before. I became more emotionally healthy through Heart & Hands. It’s so much more than book work; it’s a lot of heart, mind, and soul work, and that’s just what I needed.”
B.Y., Summer 2023
WHO MAY PARTICIPATE?
Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives are ideal for anyone seeking to discover their unique relationship to the art and practice of midwifery. If you want to support mothers/ gestational parents in the transformative experience of physiologic, undisturbed birth, this course is for you!
We accommodate students at various levels of experience in the field. No prerequisites–beginners are always welcome!
FORMAT
Heart& Hands Midwifery Intensives encourage students to incorporate personal experience in their learning through activities of journal work and self-reflection. That said, students should also be prepared to spend time every day on reading and other homework.
But with the group limited to 12 participants, there is plenty of time to ask questions, share and debrief birth stories, and explore the realities of practice. We work in an open, egalitarian fashion. At all times, Heart & Hands students are expected to interact with respect for diversity of culture, belief, and sexual orientation/gender identification.
COURSE CONTENT
- History and Politics of Midwifery
- Prenatal Care and Complications
- Communication Skills and Trauma-informed Care
- Intuition, Boundaries in Care-giving, Healing the Healer
- Nutritional Counseling
- Sexuality in the Childbearing Cycle, Sexual Abuse Issues
- Facilitating Labor and Supporting Physiologic Birth
- Labor Complications and Transport
- Perineal Assessment and Repair
- Newborn Complications and Neonatal Testing
- Postpartum Care, Breastfeeding, and Emotional Adjustments
- Homeopathy and Herbs in Pregnancy and Birth
- State Licensure and National Certification (CPM)
SKILLS AND DEMONSTRATIONS
Skills that are demonstrated include: + taking blood pressure + assessing fundal height + fetal palpation and heart auscultation + pelvic and cervical examination + intramuscular injection + techniques for assessing fetal position by internal exam + how to read a fetal monitor (in case of transport) + hand maneuvers for assisting birth (if necessary) + basic skills for assisting breech birth + techniques for addressing shoulder dystocia, posterior arrest, and retained placenta (including manual removal). And a special bonus–we practice suturing as a group at the final meeting!
“The science-y side of me was tickled by all the information provided in this course. Lab work, and how to interpret it! What you can learn in vaginal exams, like the position of the head from the suture lines, and how this can be used to turn a baby! Getting down and using my body to mimic the cardinal movements helped me feel them. Closing my eyes to listen to fetal heartbeat patterns and get what each means was invaluable.”
S.K., Summer 2022
SCHEDULE, FEES AND REGISTRATION
Heart & Hands Beginning Intensives meets eight weekend days. Tuition is $2195, non-refundable/non-transferable and payable in advance. Please contact me re: payment plans, BIPOC or financial hardship discounts.
To register, send check or money order made out to Elizabeth Davis to 3201 Burnside Rd, Sebastopol CA 95472. Also email me a brief, birth-related bio so I can get to know you better, and please include your address and phone number: elizabeth@elizabethdavis.com
Upon receipt, I will email a confirmation letter with all the details, including required texts and their cost. As the start date draws closer, I will email a PDF of course materials.
If you must miss a class, you can make it up in any subsequent series (space permitting) at a charge of $175, payable in advance.
Upon completion of the Beginning Intensives, students wishing to utilize this as their prerequisite to enrollment in National Midwifery Institute sign up for the virtual Advanced Intensives, which cost $975, also payable in advance .
Questions? For quick response, text me at (707) 695-6520, or email me at elizabeth@elizabethdavis.com (and please include your phone number).
“I had been a doula for 3 years and had a fair amount of basic medical knowledge from a previous license as a surgical tech, but this class was so in depth and covered so much more than I could have imagined! I especially liked sessions where we were able to get into smaller groups for discussion.”
L.A., Fall 2021
FURTHERING YOUR MIDWIFERY STUDIES
Students seeking further instruction are encouraged to enroll in the National Midwifery Institute, Inc., a preferred option to pursue MEAC accredited midwifery training. Heart & Hands Beginning and Advanced Intensives comprise the preferred prerequisite for NMI enrollment as they provide a strong foundation for completing NMI’s Midwifery Certificate Program.
If you are interested in enrolling in NMI, please check the website regarding your state of residence to see if this is an option: https://www.nationalmidwiferyinstitute.com/states-permission-to-operate
Academic credit for Heart & Hands courses has also been granted by National College of Midwifery and Midwives College of Utah (by portfolio process). For students applying to these or other midwifery programs, letters of recommendation/class syllabus are available on request.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Elizabeth Davis, BA, CPM, has been a midwife, holistic health care specialist, educator, and political consultant for over 40 years. She is internationally active in promoting physiologic birth and is widely sought after for her expertise in midwifery education and organizational development. She holds a degree in Holistic Maternity Care, is a certified professional midwife (CPM) in good standing, and is co-founder of the MEAC accredited National Midwifery Institute, Inc.
Her journey began in the late 1970’s, when direct-entry midwifery was illegal in most the United States. Having personally experienced the stunning contrast between a violent, abusive hospital birth and an ecstatic, glorious homebirth, she felt called to do something to help create the organizational and political infrastructure to make homebirth widely available in the US.
To this end, she was a founding member of:
- The Midwives Alliance of North America (open to midwives of all educational backgrounds), whom she served as Pacific Regional Representative and Education Committee Chair for five years.
- The North American Registry of Midwives/NARM (that administers the direct-entry credential of Certified Professional Midwife), for whom she called the initial meeting to develop the certification process, gathering midwife representatives from 40 states.
- The Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (accrediting body for direct-entry midwifery programs), whom she served as President for one term and for four years on the Board of Directors.
She was also active in legalizing midwifery in California as one of the key negotiators in the process, and has supported many other States in their legislative efforts.
A homebirth midwife for many years, and with much exposure to international midwifery constraints in practice, her primary mission at this time is to support the autonomy of the profession. She firmly believes that the holistic model of care is best for both client and care-provider as per its integrity and sustainability.
She continues to lecture and offer workshops on the appropriate use of emergency skills, intuition, trauma-informed practice, sexuality, and holistic care throughout the female lifecycle.
Her books include:
Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience
Heart & Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, now in its 2019 5th edition!
The Rhythms of Women’s Desire: How Female Sexuality Unfolds at Every Stage of Life
The Women’s Wheel of Life
Contact her at https://elizabethdavis.com
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HEART & HANDS STAFF
Alissa Herbert, LM, CPM
Teaching Assistant
After earning a Masters in Education and teaching elementary school for 6 years, Alissa’s transformative experience of giving birth brought her to birth work. She became a doula in 2008, and in 2009, a birth assistant at Santa Barbara Midwifery, where she discovered true physiological birth, and the importance of individualized care and informed consent.
Alissa graduated from NMI in 2018 and became a full time midwife at Santa Barbara Midwifery, attending births in their freestanding birth center and also at home. Client education is one of her favorite parts of being a midwife, and she is thrilled to assist Elizabeth in educating future midwives as well.
Maria Perez, LM, CPM
BIPOC Student SUPPORT
Laura Perez is a Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife in San Francisco, one of only two midwives of color offering home birth services. She has attended primarily BIPOC families for the last 17 years, 8 years in her own practice. She has worked as a doula, a childbirth educator, a lactation educator, a placenta processor, and a Gynecological Teaching Associate. She served as clinic staff for a county hospital’s abortion clinic and co-founded Exhale, a post- abortion support organization.
She is proud of her working-class, immigrant heritage as a Native South American raised in New England. She is an NMI graduate, and is excited to offer support to BIPOC midwifery students!