International midwifery experts will be coming together in Costa Rica for the “Birth Without Borders” conference scheduled for May 23-27 at the State University at a Distance (UNED) in Sabanilla, east of San José.

The five-day event organized by Midwifery Today offers workshops and classes on an expanse of topics pertaining to midwifery, including holistic birth, postpartum care, massage and water birth. Other topics will include natural and traditional remedies, the birth environment and dealing with difficult labors.

Ina May Gaskin, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Elizabeth Davis, Jan Tritten and Debra Pascali-Bonaro from the United States are among experts who will be leading classes and workshops. Mexican midwife Naoli Vinaver will share her country's traditional birth techniques, and Costa Rican experts will lead a roundtable discussion on how to improve hospital births here. Other midwives from Central America will also be in attendance.

Each of the five days is broken into sessions, some in Spanish, some in English and some translated from English to Spanish. Cost varies depending on how many days one attends; for residents of the Caribbean and Latin America, one day costs $75, and attending all five days is $333.

A complete schedule, price list and information on how to register are available online at www.midwiferytoday.com. Those interested may also contact the Asociación Mamasol at 359-1881 or mamasol@racsa.co.cr.