Childbirth Empowerment, a new class from the Department of Nursing at Fort Hays State University, will be offered beginning in the fall 2003 semester.

This is a one-hour elective in the Women's Studies program that can be taken by anyone interested.

The professor for the course, Kim Riffel, assistant professor of nursing and a certified breastfeeding educator, said the course is an informal examination of childbirth as it exists today, with a particular focus on the influence of money, power and technological interventions.

The class, she said, will also explore the possibilities for women in viewing childbirth as a natural and normal process and in taking back the power involved in giving birth. A primary focus will be encouraging consumer awareness of research-based evidence on childbirth interventions and making informed choices.

Enrollment for fall 2003 will be: NURS 444 section F, Selected Studies in Nursing: Childbirth Empowerment, 1:30-2:20 p.m. on Wednesdays.