Holistic Midwifery Immersion January 2025
I am so excited to be offering a
Holistic Midwifery Immersion January 2025.
This Immersion is for birthworkers, midwives, doulas, and new and experienced students.
It will be held at the Hawai’i Holistic Midwifery Community Healing Space in Kealakekua, Hawaii.
We will begin at 10 am and end at 4 pm, with a break for your own lunch from 12:30-1:30
The cost is $555 for the 5 day Immersion.
We will dive deep into the holistic and spiritual side of midwifery, practice valuable clinical and healing skills, and enjoy a taste of ceremony. The loving intention of this Immersion is to share with you my 3 decades of experience and wisdom
gathered as a holistic midwife, birthworker, herbalist and mother.
I offer you an abundant variety of holistic skills and knowledge to add to your tool basket. In our intimate group setting of like-minded women we will learn and apply hands-on holistic and healing practices.
You will increase your ability to serve mothers in the realms of pregnancy, the birthing portal
and in the sacred space of postpartum.
There is space for 8 open-hearted beings in this special event.
The cost does not include housing or transportation. If you are joining from out of town/off island you will need to acquire your own accommodations. There are Airbnbs and a hostel nearby.
To apply please email Darby at [email protected]
There is some partial scholarships available, please inquire.
Schedule: (subject to change)
Day 1 Wednesday, July 17, 2024:
Opening Ceremony, group circle, introductions and intention setting
What it means to be a Holistic Midwife or Birthworker
Hands, Heart and Intuition
The Importance of Self-Care as a Birthworker
Holistic Prenatal Care
Remedies for common pregnancy complaints that really work using herbs, supplements and essential oils
Visit from a pregnant mama: palpation of the pregnant belly and belly mapping (hands-on)
Using the fetoscope to hear the fetal heart beat
Vitals practice
Fire Cupping Therapy (hands-on)
Q and A
Closing circle
Day 2 Thursday, July 18, 2024
Opening circle
The Yoni Steam:
A must-have for every womb and its amazing value in all things women’s health,
including preparing the body for labor and easing the postpartum process
Experience a Group Yoni Steam Ceremony with fresh herbs from the ‘Aina (land) with meditation and crystal bowl sound healing
Nature Assisted Birth including Dolphin Assisted Birth
The Importance of preventative care, movement, mindset, meditation and nutrition in pregnancy
Herbal Medicine for the childbearing year and beyond
Preparing the uterus and cervix for birth with herbal medicine
Specifics on recommendations for your pregnant clients for optimal health, wellness and nutrition
A secret midwife’s protocol for natural labor induction protocol and when it is indicated
Q and A
Closing circle
Day Off: Friday, July 19, 2024 Beach Day!
Day 3 Saturday, July 20, 2024
Opening Circle
How to create an optimal environment for gentle, physiological and unhindered birth
energetically, physically and spiritually
The art of how to protect safety in birth while simultaneously protecting sovereign birth
Care for the birthing woman in her journey
Setting up the birthing space
Holistic Tools in the birthing portal:
Comfort measures, holistic ways and herbals for preventing and guiding complications
How to support a laboring mother physically, emotionally and spiritually
Preventing vaginal tearing at birth with holistic ways
Flower Essences in labor and birth
Make your own flower essence to take home
Homeopathic Medicine in labor & birth
Hands On with the amazing Placenta!
…A placenta tour, using real placentas!
Anatomy and physiology of the placenta, how to examine, assess and read the placenta
Optimal cord clamping, cord burning, how to honor the placenta, lotus birth, placenta prints, encapsulation and tincture
Q and A
Closing circle
Day 4 Sunday, July 21, 2024
Opening Circle
The Magical Postpartum:
How to keep mama vibrant in this sleep-deprived time
Healing in the postpartum phase:
The importance warmth, rest and nutrition
Hormonal changes
The importance of skin-to-skin
The loving newborn examination
Visit from a mama/baby dyad where mama shares her postpartum journey
Learn how to provide our all time favorite postpartum herbal heat treatment: Postpartum Moxabustion (hands-on),
herbal baths, herbal poultices
and the epic Yoni Tea!
Q and A
Closing Circle
Day 5 Monday, July 22, 2024
Opening Circle
Supporting the Mama/Baby Dyad in the optimal Breastfeeding relationship
Herbs, supplements and other helpful items for Breastfeeding
Heart~Shares:
Visit from a local experienced lactation consultant
Birth Stories: the importance of sharing our stories while also protecting privacy
Darby shares birth stories from her perspective as a primary midwife in both a difficult, traumatic complicated homebirth,
and a smooth, dreamy homebirth
Visiting mamas share their birth stories
Gentle Well-Woman Care and gentle PAPs
Examining our beautiful cervixes: (hands-on) optional: you must be willing to share your cervix to be able to see cervixes
Breast~Love: practicing and teaching self breast massage for optimal breast health
Birth Songs: learn, sing and share
Q and A
Final Closing Ceremony and Awards
Holistic Midwifery Immersion January 2025.
This Immersion is for birthworkers, midwives, doulas, and new and experienced students.
It will be held at the Hawai’i Holistic Midwifery Community Healing Space in Kealakekua, Hawaii.
We will begin at 10 am and end at 4 pm, with a break for your own lunch from 12:30-1:30
The cost is $555 for the 5 day Immersion.
We will dive deep into the holistic and spiritual side of midwifery, practice valuable clinical and healing skills, and enjoy a taste of ceremony. The loving intention of this Immersion is to share with you my 3 decades of experience and wisdom
gathered as a holistic midwife, birthworker, herbalist and mother.
I offer you an abundant variety of holistic skills and knowledge to add to your tool basket. In our intimate group setting of like-minded women we will learn and apply hands-on holistic and healing practices.
You will increase your ability to serve mothers in the realms of pregnancy, the birthing portal
and in the sacred space of postpartum.
There is space for 8 open-hearted beings in this special event.
The cost does not include housing or transportation. If you are joining from out of town/off island you will need to acquire your own accommodations. There are Airbnbs and a hostel nearby.
To apply please email Darby at [email protected]
There is some partial scholarships available, please inquire.
Schedule: (subject to change)
Day 1 Wednesday, July 17, 2024:
Opening Ceremony, group circle, introductions and intention setting
What it means to be a Holistic Midwife or Birthworker
Hands, Heart and Intuition
The Importance of Self-Care as a Birthworker
Holistic Prenatal Care
Remedies for common pregnancy complaints that really work using herbs, supplements and essential oils
Visit from a pregnant mama: palpation of the pregnant belly and belly mapping (hands-on)
Using the fetoscope to hear the fetal heart beat
Vitals practice
Fire Cupping Therapy (hands-on)
Q and A
Closing circle
Day 2 Thursday, July 18, 2024
Opening circle
The Yoni Steam:
A must-have for every womb and its amazing value in all things women’s health,
including preparing the body for labor and easing the postpartum process
Experience a Group Yoni Steam Ceremony with fresh herbs from the ‘Aina (land) with meditation and crystal bowl sound healing
Nature Assisted Birth including Dolphin Assisted Birth
The Importance of preventative care, movement, mindset, meditation and nutrition in pregnancy
Herbal Medicine for the childbearing year and beyond
Preparing the uterus and cervix for birth with herbal medicine
Specifics on recommendations for your pregnant clients for optimal health, wellness and nutrition
A secret midwife’s protocol for natural labor induction protocol and when it is indicated
Q and A
Closing circle
Day Off: Friday, July 19, 2024 Beach Day!
Day 3 Saturday, July 20, 2024
Opening Circle
How to create an optimal environment for gentle, physiological and unhindered birth
energetically, physically and spiritually
The art of how to protect safety in birth while simultaneously protecting sovereign birth
Care for the birthing woman in her journey
Setting up the birthing space
Holistic Tools in the birthing portal:
Comfort measures, holistic ways and herbals for preventing and guiding complications
How to support a laboring mother physically, emotionally and spiritually
Preventing vaginal tearing at birth with holistic ways
Flower Essences in labor and birth
Make your own flower essence to take home
Homeopathic Medicine in labor & birth
Hands On with the amazing Placenta!
…A placenta tour, using real placentas!
Anatomy and physiology of the placenta, how to examine, assess and read the placenta
Optimal cord clamping, cord burning, how to honor the placenta, lotus birth, placenta prints, encapsulation and tincture
Q and A
Closing circle
Day 4 Sunday, July 21, 2024
Opening Circle
The Magical Postpartum:
How to keep mama vibrant in this sleep-deprived time
Healing in the postpartum phase:
The importance warmth, rest and nutrition
Hormonal changes
The importance of skin-to-skin
The loving newborn examination
Visit from a mama/baby dyad where mama shares her postpartum journey
Learn how to provide our all time favorite postpartum herbal heat treatment: Postpartum Moxabustion (hands-on),
herbal baths, herbal poultices
and the epic Yoni Tea!
Q and A
Closing Circle
Day 5 Monday, July 22, 2024
Opening Circle
Supporting the Mama/Baby Dyad in the optimal Breastfeeding relationship
Herbs, supplements and other helpful items for Breastfeeding
Heart~Shares:
Visit from a local experienced lactation consultant
Birth Stories: the importance of sharing our stories while also protecting privacy
Darby shares birth stories from her perspective as a primary midwife in both a difficult, traumatic complicated homebirth,
and a smooth, dreamy homebirth
Visiting mamas share their birth stories
Gentle Well-Woman Care and gentle PAPs
Examining our beautiful cervixes: (hands-on) optional: you must be willing to share your cervix to be able to see cervixes
Breast~Love: practicing and teaching self breast massage for optimal breast health
Birth Songs: learn, sing and share
Q and A
Final Closing Ceremony and Awards
After receiving many emails from women all over the world asking for an apprenticeship program, I have decided to create a program for student midwives interested in learning holistic midwifery care while also experiencing the magnificent beauty of the Big Island of Hawaii's 'aina (land), ohana (family, community) and kai (ocean). Please email me at [email protected] for more information, and we will set up a video interview.
Mermaid Midwife Apprenticeship Program: One on One or in Small groups
A Midwifery Learning Retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii with Darby Partner, Certified Professional Midwife
You will observe, learn, assist and experience:
Holistic Prenatal Care
Palpation of the Belly
Taking Mama’s Vitals
Using the Fetoscope
Gentle WaterBirth
Holistic Postpartum Care
Gentle Birth Practices including Delayed Cord Separation
Placenta Encapsulation
Lotus Birth
Cord Burning
Placenta Examination
Newborn Examination
Cupping Therapy
Moxabustion Therapy (Postpartum Heat Treatment)
AromaTouch Technique (Essential Oil Healing Treatments)
Herbal Medicine for the Childbearing Year
Flower Essences for Labor and Birth
Homeopathy for Labor and Birth
How to Support a Laboring Mother physically, emotionally and spiritually
Swim with Wild Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Snorkel healthy coral reefs
Swim with and observing Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles
During whale season, watch Humpback whales and their babies jump and play
and other amazing ocean experiences
A Visit to Pele (the volcano goddess)
Visit beautiful waterfalls and a fresh-water "Queen's Bath"
See Hula performances and listen to live Hawaiian music
Enjoy fresh local fruits: white pineapples, dragonfruit, mangoes, papaya, lilikoi, lychee, rambutan etc
Taste fresh delicious local Kona coffee and macademia nuts
and so much more!
Please contact me about rates and details.
Small groups welcome.
Your dates will be held upon receipt of a non-refundable deposit of half of total fee
Please fly into Kona airport, in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai'i
Testimonals:
What to expect when doing an apprenticeship with Darby Partner
"First of all, forget about all your ideas of a boring, non-emotional apprenticeship setting. When you arrive at Darby's place, she receives you with a warm-hearted welcome and a beautiful flower necklace.
You will soon be invited to share outstanding experiences and to gain useful, hands-on knowledge.
Darby is a great teacher. In my first five days with her, I learned more than during a complete month of former trainings. Darby's range of knowledge covers current medical innovations, herbal medicine, work with essential oils and flower essences (and many more). And the best is, that she is not at all stingy, when it comes to sharing this knowledge with others. All the opposite: she invites you to learn more!
I was blessed with meeting wonderful mothers, babies and families and it touched me deeply, how open they were, when it came to integrating me, the stranger. I am still feeling very grateful for this beautiful gift.
Apart from all midwifery-related aspects of an apprenticeship with Darby, the apprentice is given further outstanding experiences: such as swimming with wild Hawaiian spinner dolphins, visiting the Volcano Goddess Pele and snorkeling in extraordinarily beautiful coral reefs.
I can highly recommend doing an apprenticeship with Darby Partner, since when you do it, you will definitely find more than "just" your love for the profession of midwifery...at least I can say that I have also found myself.
Thank you Darby and everyone else who was involved :)"
~Ferjana "Faye" Cano, Spain
"Prenatal visits on the beach, swimming with dolphins, turtles, and sharks, and babies born at dawn as the sun breaks through the rain clouds-- I thought such an experience could only exist in a dream, until I spent a month with Darby. I was elated when it all came together and I arrived on island. After being welcomed into her home and getting some rest, we jumped right in with prenatal visits. The families Darby attracts are wonderfully sweet and I was amazed by their openness and willingness to help me learn. With Darby you will truly get hands-on training! So much information is at your fingertips; Darby is happy to talk birth with her students while she brings them on adventures all over the island. I had the opportunity to attend my first birth during this apprenticeship, and it is a memory I will hold dear for the rest of my life and career. Darby’s patience is reflected in all that she does, but it is especially apparent at a birth. She is a kind, gentle, and generous soul who offers much in the way of wisdom and love. If you have the chance to work with Darby, take it!"
~ Sophie Tuchel, Washington, USA
"The opportunity to learn from Darby on the Big Island was a truly unique way to see a different side of midwifery. It was amazing to meet some of the women in Hawaii choosing to birth their babies in their way and to see how Darby delivers real holistic care to each one. I hope my experience will enhance my own practice in the future and know the memories will stay with me forever. Darby, the women we saw and everyone we met on Big Island (including the dolphins) made the whole experience unforgettable and something I hope has changed me for the better. Aloha!"
~Rebecca Piercy, United Kingdom
Mermaid Midwife Apprenticeship Program: One on One or in Small groups
A Midwifery Learning Retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii with Darby Partner, Certified Professional Midwife
You will observe, learn, assist and experience:
Holistic Prenatal Care
Palpation of the Belly
Taking Mama’s Vitals
Using the Fetoscope
Gentle WaterBirth
Holistic Postpartum Care
Gentle Birth Practices including Delayed Cord Separation
Placenta Encapsulation
Lotus Birth
Cord Burning
Placenta Examination
Newborn Examination
Cupping Therapy
Moxabustion Therapy (Postpartum Heat Treatment)
AromaTouch Technique (Essential Oil Healing Treatments)
Herbal Medicine for the Childbearing Year
Flower Essences for Labor and Birth
Homeopathy for Labor and Birth
How to Support a Laboring Mother physically, emotionally and spiritually
Swim with Wild Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Snorkel healthy coral reefs
Swim with and observing Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles
During whale season, watch Humpback whales and their babies jump and play
and other amazing ocean experiences
A Visit to Pele (the volcano goddess)
Visit beautiful waterfalls and a fresh-water "Queen's Bath"
See Hula performances and listen to live Hawaiian music
Enjoy fresh local fruits: white pineapples, dragonfruit, mangoes, papaya, lilikoi, lychee, rambutan etc
Taste fresh delicious local Kona coffee and macademia nuts
and so much more!
Please contact me about rates and details.
Small groups welcome.
Your dates will be held upon receipt of a non-refundable deposit of half of total fee
Please fly into Kona airport, in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai'i
Testimonals:
What to expect when doing an apprenticeship with Darby Partner
"First of all, forget about all your ideas of a boring, non-emotional apprenticeship setting. When you arrive at Darby's place, she receives you with a warm-hearted welcome and a beautiful flower necklace.
You will soon be invited to share outstanding experiences and to gain useful, hands-on knowledge.
Darby is a great teacher. In my first five days with her, I learned more than during a complete month of former trainings. Darby's range of knowledge covers current medical innovations, herbal medicine, work with essential oils and flower essences (and many more). And the best is, that she is not at all stingy, when it comes to sharing this knowledge with others. All the opposite: she invites you to learn more!
I was blessed with meeting wonderful mothers, babies and families and it touched me deeply, how open they were, when it came to integrating me, the stranger. I am still feeling very grateful for this beautiful gift.
Apart from all midwifery-related aspects of an apprenticeship with Darby, the apprentice is given further outstanding experiences: such as swimming with wild Hawaiian spinner dolphins, visiting the Volcano Goddess Pele and snorkeling in extraordinarily beautiful coral reefs.
I can highly recommend doing an apprenticeship with Darby Partner, since when you do it, you will definitely find more than "just" your love for the profession of midwifery...at least I can say that I have also found myself.
Thank you Darby and everyone else who was involved :)"
~Ferjana "Faye" Cano, Spain
"Prenatal visits on the beach, swimming with dolphins, turtles, and sharks, and babies born at dawn as the sun breaks through the rain clouds-- I thought such an experience could only exist in a dream, until I spent a month with Darby. I was elated when it all came together and I arrived on island. After being welcomed into her home and getting some rest, we jumped right in with prenatal visits. The families Darby attracts are wonderfully sweet and I was amazed by their openness and willingness to help me learn. With Darby you will truly get hands-on training! So much information is at your fingertips; Darby is happy to talk birth with her students while she brings them on adventures all over the island. I had the opportunity to attend my first birth during this apprenticeship, and it is a memory I will hold dear for the rest of my life and career. Darby’s patience is reflected in all that she does, but it is especially apparent at a birth. She is a kind, gentle, and generous soul who offers much in the way of wisdom and love. If you have the chance to work with Darby, take it!"
~ Sophie Tuchel, Washington, USA
"The opportunity to learn from Darby on the Big Island was a truly unique way to see a different side of midwifery. It was amazing to meet some of the women in Hawaii choosing to birth their babies in their way and to see how Darby delivers real holistic care to each one. I hope my experience will enhance my own practice in the future and know the memories will stay with me forever. Darby, the women we saw and everyone we met on Big Island (including the dolphins) made the whole experience unforgettable and something I hope has changed me for the better. Aloha!"
~Rebecca Piercy, United Kingdom
Darby Partner CPM LM Hawaii Holistic Midwifery 808.313.2428 [email protected] Kona, Big Island, Hawaii