Back to the Basics: 3 Reasons to Tune In to “Foundations in Perinatal Care”

Throughout her career in perinatal care, one question has guided Dr. Heather Walker: Why? 

Why is one intervention recommended over another? Why does one fetal heart rate pattern warrant concern while another does not? Why are certain practices considered standard, and what evidence supports them? 

One of Dr. Walker’s earliest mentors challenged her to not just ask the questions but to seek out the evidence behind the answers. Rather than discouraging her curiosity, this advice reinforced the importance of understanding the rationale behind every clinical decision — not just for herself, but for the patients she cared for. 

“How could I expect my patients to trust me if I couldn’t explain why I was recommending something?” Dr. Walker says. “I needed to understand the evidence myself before I could ask someone else to trust my judgment.” 

That mindset has shaped both her clinical practice and her approach to education: understanding why is just as important as knowing what to do. 

Today, it serves as the guiding principle behind every session of Foundations in Perinatal Care: From Basics to Best Practice, a free CE webinar series led by Dr. Walker designed to help labor and delivery nurses reinforce essential skills, deepen confidence, and revisit the core concepts behind modern perinatal practice.  

Here are three reasons why nurses at every stage of their careers should tune in. 

Reason #1: Strengthen Core Perinatal Knowledge 

Whether nurses are just beginning their careers or have spent decades in labor and delivery, there’s value in returning to the fundamentals. New clinicians are building the foundation they’ll rely on throughout their careers, while experienced clinicians have the opportunity to revisit familiar principles through the lens of current evidence and evolving best practices. 

Dr. Walker understands that from experience. Throughout her 30 years in perinatal nursing, she has returned time and again to the knowledge and skills that first shaped her practice. While evidence, technology, and standards of care have continued to evolve, the importance of a strong clinical foundation has remained constant. Those fundamentals do more than support day-to-day practice — they help clinicians evaluate new evidence, adapt to change, and make sound clinical decisions with confidence. 

That belief is woven throughout this webinar series. Each session revisits a foundational perinatal topic and connects core knowledge with current evidence, practical examples, and real-world application. Together, the webinars are meant to help clinicians strengthen their understanding of essential concepts and apply them confidently in practice. 

Reason #2: Translate Evidence Into Everyday Practice 

Understanding the evidence is one thing. Applying it during a busy shift is another. 

Between patient care, documentation, staffing shortages, regulatory requirements, and continuing education, clinicians need learning that fits into their workflow and delivers immediate value. 

That’s the approach Dr. Walker brings to every session. Rather than overwhelming participants with information, the series focuses on distilling complex topics into clear, actionable takeaways clinicians can use in everyday practice. 

“I want to create something that is going to be simple, useful, and impactful,” Dr. Walker says. “If I can take a complex concept or situation and make it really simple for someone, then they’re much more likely to apply it in the real world.”  

That practical approach extends beyond the live webinar. Each session is accompanied by learner worksheets and concise one-page job aids that reinforce key concepts and give attendees practical resources they can reference long after the presentation ends. 

Whether the topic is fetal heart rate interpretation, escalation pathways, or communication strategies, the goal is the same: equip clinicians with practical tools, structured approaches, and resources they can confidently carry into their next shift. 

Reason #3: Be Part of the Conversation 

One of the most rewarding parts of the series, Dr. Walker says, has been the conversations it has sparked.  

Participants haven’t simply attended the sessions. They’ve brought challenging cases, shared lessons from the bedside, and learned from one another. Experienced nurses contribute clinical instincts developed over years of practice, while newer clinicians often bring fresh perspectives, familiarity with emerging technologies, and different approaches to problem-solving.  

“Everybody is going to benefit,” Dr. Walker says. “The more tenured nurse, the newer nurse, that medium-experienced nurse, plus the patient and her family. Everybody benefits when we learn from each other.”  

For Dr. Walker, the value of different perspectives extends well beyond the classroom. Over the last several years, she has watched her daughters and daughter-in-law navigate pregnancy, labor, and delivery. As a mother and grandmother, she saw the same principles she teaches — communication, teamwork, escalation, and evidence-based care — play out in real clinical situations.  

“I was able to see these actions, these interventions, protocols, processes, patient communication, provider communication, lived out,” she says.  

Watching those moments from the patient’s perspective reinforced what she has always believed: every conversation, every shared experience, and every lesson learned has the potential to improve the care patients and families receive. 

More Than a Webinar Series  

The true value of the series isn’t what happens during the webinar; it’s what clinicians take with them afterward. Dr. Walker hopes every attendee leaves with practical tools they can apply immediately, but even more importantly, with the confidence to think critically, communicate clearly, and advocate for their patients. 

“If we can provide them with tools and pearls of wisdom and different ways to help them remember what to do and to feel empowered and knowledgeable and confident, then we’re paying it forward,” she says. 

As perinatal care continues to evolve, Dr. Walker hopes clinicians never lose sight of the question that first shaped her own career: Why? 

It’s a question that guides every session of Foundations in Perinatal Care, and one she hopes clinicians carry with them long after the webinar ends.

Series Episode Guide

Episode One: Understanding Fetal and Placental Circulation

Episode Two: Understanding Utero-Fetal Monitoring

Episode Three: What Would You Do Next? Managing Category II in Real Time

Episode Four: Coming soon!

 

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