The Prenatal and Perinatal Educator Certificate Program (PPNE) offers information in 11 competencies that make up our paradigm regarding early optimal development for babies starting in utero. These competencies are represented in our modules:

• Prenatal and Perinatal Education Foundations (Module 1)
• Ethics (Module 2)
• Epigenetics (Module 3)
• Neuroscience (Module 4)
• Prenatal and Perinatal Theories (Module 5)
• Cultural Impacts of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (Module 6)
• Bonding and Learning -- Attachment (Module 7)
• Labor and Birth (Module 8)
• Breastfeeding and Supported Attachment (Module 9)
• Parenting Styles (Module 10)
• Implications and Inspiration (Module 11)

Module 1 Objectives

• Define prenatal and perinatal psychology and its importance to human development
• Identify prenatal and perinatal psychology pioneers
• Describe current trends and influences in birth psychology

Module 2 Objectives

• Identify ethical issues in birth psychology
• Differentiate between education and treatment
• Discover resources for PPNE students and graduates

Module 3 Objectives

• Describe embryological development including the twelve senses babies develop in utero according to David Chamberlain
• Explain early influences on cellular development and how they subsequently affect life
• Explain epigenetics and its significance in human development

Module 4 Objectives

• Define interpersonal neurobiology
• Identify parts of the brain that develop in utero and during the first year of life, and neuro-anatomical phenomena such as implicit memory, nervous system imprinting, neuroplasticity, mirror neurons, the infant nervous system, self- and co-regulation, social engagement, polyvagal theory, and neuroception
• Explain the functions of the autonomic nervous system and its relation to health

Module 5 Objectives

• Describe the experience of the prenate and effects of prenatal imprints
• Differentiate shock from trauma and explain the impact of both on the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
• Define COEX systems and consciousness studies as they enhance the reach of birth psychology

Module 6 Objectives

• Describe in detail the impact of maternal thoughts, feelings, and birth experiences as preconditions related to the health of the prenate
• Explain research that supports the influence of prenatal bonding
• Articulate contemporary evidence that prenates and newborns are able to be sensitive, to learn, to dream, to retain memories, and to demonstrate measurable prenatal intelligence

Module 7 Objectives

• Explain the process of prenatal parenting with examples from research and anecdotal evidence
• Demonstrate how prenatal parenting and bonding increases health indicators, including intelligence scores, language skills, physical development, mental acuity, emotional dimensions, and fine motor skills
• Learn to facilitate prenatal bonding and learning through storytelling and teaching examples

Module 8 Objectives

• Identify conditions for optimal birth experiences in birthing practices for both the mother and prenate
• Identify and list the impact of hormones, internal chemicals, and potential obstetrical interventions related to the birthing process, related to the maternity system, and how they influence birth outcomes
• Explain birth trauma and cite circumstances that contribute to birth trauma, identify optimal birth conditions for mother and prenate, and explain birth models that facilitate easier birthing experiences from actual life examples
• Describe different pre- and perinatal psychology theories, with particular focus on recapitulation, as well as medical, institutional and social practices and attitudes that affect the experiences of pregnant mothers and their unborn or newborn babies

Module 9 Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Identify the impact of Skin-to-Skin, breastfeeding, and mother-baby bonding on health outcomes and nervous system functioning in newborns, within the PPN psychology context and from the baby’s perspective
• Explain the key elements of the nine stages that babies experience during the first hour after birth, including the Breast Crawl, keys to interpreting infant cries and emotional expression, the imprinting process, the role of memory, “healing betrayal”, and trust building after trauma
• Articulate the observed impact of prenatal and birth shock and trauma on the body and the psyche, detail healing regimens, name the characteristics of non-traumatized newborns, and list the skills that practitioners use to renegotiate prenatal or birth difficulties
• Describe therapeutic approaches for families, mothers, fathers, and babies who have experienced prenatal and birth trauma, and provide resources for referrals

Module 10 Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Support parents by explaining "conscious conception", consciousness in birth and bonding, the ABC’s of attachment, how to explore consciousness, how adult attachment styles correspond to parenting patterns, the “rupture” and “repair” process, coherent story analysis, and the importance of fathers
• Affirm how babies implicitly remember their experience
• Explain Robin Grille’s five rites of passage of children
• List and explain the neuro-anatomy connected to parenting and communication, specifically relating the importance of Dan Siegel's brain anatomy theory to interpersonal neuro-anatomy
• Explain repatterning and the outcome of "earned secure" attachment for adults

Module 11 Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Explain the Adverse Childhood Experiences study and its implications regarding the impact of early traumatic experiences on the adult body
• Describe how early experiences correlate with adult physiology with research on the impact of the HPA axis, stress versus trauma, maternal depression, disorganized attachment, ADD, ADHD, addiction and interpersonal violence
• Describe the main discoveries in the study of genetics, epigenetics, and attachment that led to therapies which augment repair approaches or recovery from trauma strategies
• Explain the ways in which cultural ‘norms’ undermine health and wellbeing through various forms of identification and denial