The "Volvo"

In my doula training 11 years ago, I had the rare opportunity of doing a cervical exam on the "volvo".  This was the term of endearment for the little blue box that contains a bunch of synthetic body parts that allows students like me to assess cervical dilitation, effacement, and fetal position, without having to practice on fellow students or poor pregnant mamas.  The term came from my facilitator's daughter who overheard her describing the teaching tool and mentioned the word vulva.  However, she thought her mom had said "volvo" and from that point on, this is how it was introduced.  It's an amazing tool and I have always wanted to practice on one again, but they are very expensive and I haven't know anyone else who has one - until the midwifery skills intensive in Redondo Beach.
It was a great session and I found that I was actually fairly accurate in my estimations, and even diagnosed a breech presentation.  So, once again, the "volvo" was the gateway to learning, and few crass midwifery jokes as well.  My favorite was when I offered a miner's cap to my classmate who was trying to "see" what was was happening in there. 

We also got to practice placing iv's on a fake arm, sutured "perineums" on a turkey leg, did blood draws, and finger pricks.  Unfortunately, for my classmate, the last 2 were on each other.

Overall, a fabulous learning opportunity, great practice, good laughs, and I met some amazing women from all over the states and Canada.