Course Description & Objectives

Picture this –- an agency asks you to interpret for a Deaf patient at the local midwifery practice. You accept the job, anticipating you’ll be interpreting for a prenatal visit for a pregnant person, only to find out that the patient is 55 and complaining about menopause and weight gain – with a Midwife!

Gynecology and Obstetrics are complex and multifaceted specialties. They’re practiced by Medical Doctors and Certified Midwives, with the involvement of many other auxiliary providers including Nurses, Reproductive Endocrinologists, Genetics Counselors, Doulas, Lactation Specialists and more.

Topics can be as simple as preventing pregnancy or screening for breast cancer to the complexity of cervical cancer, infertility, or urinary incontinence. This workshop will introduce the “highlights” of OB and GYN care, as well as the players involved with this care. We will spend time discussing the pleasures and pitfalls of this type of work, and the sensitivity necessary to confidently and comfortably accept these kinds of assignments.

After this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Outline the basics of contraception, fertility, conception, and birth
• Describe some of the procedures which are key aspects of healthcare delivery to the biologic female
• Elaborate on the training and function of various care providers including Doulas, Midwives, Obstetricians, Gynecologists, and Reproductive Endocrinologists
• List potential challenges facing the interpreter in both inpatient and outpatient care of the biologic female body