Key Learning Objectives

  • Provide comprehensive community based perinatal education which addresses inequality and barriers to care.

  • Provide support for pregnant people and families during early and late pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.

  • Provide culturally competent breastfeeding education and support, as well as early recognition and intervention of breastfeeding problems and barriers, and ways to increase retention.

Course Description

The purpose of the Community Outreach Perinatal Education (COPE) program is to improve and promote healthier outcomes for women and babies, and to reduce disparities in maternal child health by implementing the The JJ Way® model of perinatal care. 


The COPE program uses a culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed curriculum that includes comprehensive training for community-based Doula, Childbirth Education and Breastfeeding Education for peer-supporters, community health workers, para- professionals and home visitors. Participants that complete the program become Certified Perinatal Educators (CPE).

 

The JJ Way® has proven successful. In studies, The JJ Way® clients were 42% less likely to have a preterm baby, 46% less likely to have a low birth weight baby, and 32% less likely to have a cesarean section in comparison to the averages for Orange County, Florida. Most importantly, racial disparities were eradicated between African American and white women for prematurity, low-birth weight and breastfeeding rates.

Course Highlights & Focus Areas

  • Participants have a better understanding of The JJ Way® Method and are able to utilize this methodology when caring for their clients. 
  • This empowering and engaging program increases the confidence and wisdom to build capacity for community based organizations and individuals to actively reduce barriers to breastfeeding initiation and retention.
  • A culturally sensitive curriculum that includes comprehensive training on community-based Doula, Childbirth Education and Breastfeeding Education for peer supporters, community health workers, para- professionals and home visitors.
  • The curriculum includes teaching tools and resources. At the end of this educational program, participants will have become proficient and competent, with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide:

    • Comprehensive community based perinatal education.

    • Support for pregnant women and families during early and late pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.

    • Breastfeeding education and support, as well as early recognition and intervention of breastfeeding problems and barriers, and ways to increase retention.

Course Instructors

Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra CPE

Instructor | Curriculum Development

Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra has been a Childbirth Attendant for over thirty years and is the Chief Family Development Officer/Health Systems Navigator with the Cultural Wellness Center where she supports individuals who are interacting with the health care system.

In 2013, Akhmiri received her certification as a Community Outreach Perinatal Educator, and in September 2014, received another certification to be a Perinatal Education Trainer for the Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery School, in Winter Garden, FL.

Giving back to the community, she is a board member for "Everyday Miracles," a doula service in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Akhmiri is a board member for the Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition, and a a co-chair for Integrated Care for High Risk Pregnancies (ICHRP).

Kira Kim IBCLC, RLC CLE

Instructor | Boston Area Lactation Connection

Kira Kim is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in private practice serving families on the North Shore of MA. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and Public health and has studied out-of-hospital based midwifery care through Mercy in Action and the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance.

Marrying her love of birth with lactation, her clinical interest is in the influence of fetal positioning during labor and birth on early breastfeeding success. In addition to providing in-home lactation care, she teaches prenatal breastfeeding for parents, breastfeeding basics classes to doulas and midwives, and runs a small group for female identifying individuals on the topic of emotional blocks to sexual satisfaction.

When she is not immersed in all things lactation, she volunteers her time to causes related to reproductive justice as well as those that serve to increase diversity in the lactation field. Whether she is helping new families navigate the early days or teaching birthworkers and parents, she is passionate about connecting with other people and encouraging them to spread their knowledge to others.

She lives by the beach with her husband, their four rambunctious kids, and an old, lazy cat.

Certified Perinatal Educator (CPE) credential

We are proud to offer the Certified Perinatal Educator (CPE) certification pathway for graduates of the COPE program. In addition, public health agencies who employ CPEs are able to bill for educational units according to their individual state or federal guidelines. 

CPE’s are eligible to move to higher levels of education in the perinatal arena based on this foundational training. CPEs may become independent providers and register for a National Provider Identification (NPI) number under the taxonomy codes for Health Educator or Doula with the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), and depending on individual state statutes, may be eligible to bill for Medicaid and insurance for their services.