The Bringing Baby Home Certification Training program
is taught by Master Trainers, Carolyn Pirak, MSW and Joni Parthemer, MEd, and offered under the direction of John Gottman, PhD, and the Relationship Research Institute of Seattle. This 3-day training authorizes professionals from a variety of disciplines (including educators, nurses, social workers, and clergy) to teach pregnant and parenting couples the research-based relationship skills essential for a successful transition to parenthood.

Purpose of Training
The research shows that while this period holds potential for great joy in a parent’s life, approximately two-thirds of couples will experience a significant drop in relationship quality within 3 years after the birth of a child. This decrease in satisfaction is known to result in a dramatic increase in postpartum depression, relationship conflict, and hostility. These changes in the relationship result in compromised parenting and a decrease in the quality of parent-child interactions. It is our goal that instructors will learn the Bringing Baby Home program and teach it in their community in a format that best meets the needs of their population.

Program Content
The Certified Gottman Bringing Baby Home Educator training program gives an instructor the knowledge and skills necessary to teach the 12 hour psycho-educational intervention in a variety of diverse settings. The training focuses on providing new instructors with the resources needed to teach new parents how to cope constructively with the birth of a child. Through lecture, group discussion, quizzes, teachbacks (student teaches a group of 4 content from the training),and planned exercises, the BBH Certification Training will help new instructors to teach couples to strengthen friendship, increase intimacy, regulate conflict and how to build their “relationship house”. Through both lecture and interactive video presentations, new educators will learn to teach couples about child development, explore how to teach couples to co-parent with their partner and how to keep dad involved. Educators will learn skills for sensitive and responsive parenting in an effort to promote healthier children on emotional, social, cognitive and physical levels. Facilitators will learn how to encourage early parent-infant dialogue and increases positive communication, ritual development, and shared meaning for the whole family.

Training Materials Provided
Participants attending the training will receive the materials necessary to teach the workshop including: The Certification Training Manual, one copy of the Couple’s Manual, and 6 sets of Bringing Baby Home Exercise Cards. Participants will receive additional materials necessary for facilitating this program such as a Frequently Asked Questions List, Pathways for Program Development and a How-To Guide for Starting a Program in the Community. Participants will have the opportunity to purchase a complete video packages including a DVD or VHS package of John and Julie Gottman teaching the BBH workshop and two newly produced videos entitled: “What’s Baby Saying”, and “Let’s Play With Baby”. New Educators will also have the opportunity to purchase marketing and promotional materials that can help with the success of starting this program.

Preparation for Training
In order to make this program successful, participants will be asked to read 2 books by John Gottman prior to the training program. The first book titled, The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work will lay the foundation for the theory upon which this training is based. The second book titled The Relationship Cure, is an introduction to the skills and types of exercises that will be taught in the training. A third book is optional, titled, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, and teaches parents to be aware of a child’s emotional state and gives guidelines for how to foster emotional development in parenting.

Certification
In order to be certified by the Relationship Research Institute and given permission to teach this program in the community, a Certification Exam is offered on the third day of the training program. This exam consists of approximately 70 questions and includes a combination of multiple choice and true/false questions and one brief personal essay. A 70% or better score is considered passing. By completing the exam and scoring satisfactory or higher on required teachbacks, educators will be certified and have the ability to present the Bringing Baby Home material to pregnant and parenting couples. Educators will be required to purchase materials from the Relationship Research Institute to use in their workshops and will be required to report the number of hours and number of couples that they teach.

Conclusion
By attending the Certified Gottman Bringing Baby Home Educator Training Program and by completing the necessary tasks for certification, an instructor will be qualified to teach this workshop in his/her own community. Participants will be ready to facilitate this workshop and will have the required knowledge and skills for teaching parents and couples. Participants will have discussed how to work with providers in their own communities to insure program success. Educators will have an understanding of the theories and skills for making this program successful and will have the information needed to make the program available to expectant parents and parents of infants and toddlers.

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