 Our final antenatal information evening for 2017 is on the topic of Child Safety.
Do you have questions about safe sleeping. Maybe your little one is now on the move and you need to baby proof the house? Kidsafe will talk to us about safety in the home, car and out and about. They have pretty much seen it all so come and pick their brains and get their top tips for keeping kids safe. The Baby Wearing Practice will also be there to share the advantages of baby wearing as well as show us the safest way to carry our children in a carrier. They will also be able to answer questions on the best type of carrier for your family. All attendees receive a free Bao Bag with goodies and info. Bring a gold coin donation and enjoy some supper. Lucky door prizes and a raffle will also take place on the night. Thursday 30 November 6:30pm - 8:30pm Chermside Library Meeting Rooms  Dads-to-be (and their partners) are invited to join us for the next event in our FREE antenatal seminar series - Daddy Craft: Skills for new dads as expert guest speakers share their tips on how dads can support and care for their baby, their partner and themselves during this special time.
Our Guest Speakers will speak on a range of topics including being a part of pregnancy and birth, changes in the new mother and post natal help ideas, and how a new baby can bring new challenges into your life. How Dads Can Help Postpartum - Caitlin Dyer, Postpartum Doula Caitlin is a hypnobirthing practitioner, a postpartum doula, and a passionate and supportive life coach for mothers. She aims to help pregnant women start their mothering journey in a positive manner, to help mothers navigate those first crucial weeks, and to help mothers who are seeking to rediscover themselves. With degrees in Psychology, Nursing, a graduate certificate in Professional Education, a certificate in Childbirth Education, a certificate in Postpartum Professional Services, and with unwavering enthusiasm and heart, Caitlin guides parents who are looking first for a beautiful birth and then for balance. http://motherdownunder.com/ Mental Health Changes with Parenthood - Kirsty Hall, beyondblue Kirsty is a volunteer speaker for beyondblue, a national organisation that works to raise awarenessabout anxiety and depression, reduce the associated stigma and encourage people to get help. She became a beyondblue speaker because she hopes her experience of postnatal depression and OCD might encourage others to seek help and support if they are in a similar situation. Kirsty’s interests include keeping mentally and physically well, enjoying time with her family and friends, cooking, gardening and reading. Dad's and the Birth Experience Nate Allen is a male clinical midwife and will be sharing his perpective on what birth is like from a man's perspective and what dad's can do to support their partners. FBC Dads Discussion Panel We are excited that some FBC dads will be on our discussion panel ready to share their experiences as new dads and answer your questions and pregnancy, birth and bringing home baby. Supper provided for a Gold Coin Donation.  Our free information evenings continue with the popular topic of Preparing For Birth.
We have 3 expert guest speakers lined up that will provide practical information on:
Our mega mid-year raffle is now on! Funds raised will be used to purchase much needed resources for the Birth Centre such as books for the parent library and birthing aids. If you have had a wonderful experience at the Birth Centre or wish to support maternity choices for women, then please support us by purchasing some raffle tickets or becoming a Friend. Prizes include:
GRAB YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS NOW Please support those businesses that have supported this event: Go Mum! Group Fitness: www.gomumgroupfitness.com.au Ideal Birth: www.idealbirth.com.au Calmbirth Brisbane: http://www.calmbirthbrisbane.com.au/about-suzanne/ Our March Antenatal Info Night is almost booked out (10 spots left). You can still book here https://healingmumgrowingbub.eventbrite.com.au. At each info night we draw a raffle with prizes generously donated by our sponsors. Please support these small businesses that support FBC. Our March Info Night Raffle has some great prizes:
We are thrilled to announce that our popular antenatal information series is back for 2017.
These free information evenings provide advice from expert speakers on topics not covered by hospital antenatal classes. You don't have to be a Birth Centre mum to attend as we want to support as many women and their families as possible during this special time in their lives. Here is the schedule for sessions this year. Please note that these dates and topics may change and we will keep you updated via our Facebook Page , Closed Group and newsletter so make sure you connect with us! Monday 6 March - 6:30pm - 8:30pm Healing Mum, Growing Baby:
Preparing for Birth:
Monday 4 September - 6:30pm - 8:30pm Daddycraft:
Monday 13 November - 6:30pm - 8:30pm Safety:
We are all excitedly getting the FBC stall ready for this year's PBS Expo - 17-19 June 2016. Have a look at our raffle in the FBC website shop and make sure you stop by to see us on the weekend.  So here we are for Day 2 of the Pregnancy, Babies & Children's Expo for 2015! We had an amazing day yesterday, and so much fun meeting all of the new and expectant mums who were there to soak up as much information as possible! We are having a blast, and we would love you to join us! If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, the expo is on all day today and tomorrow at the Convention and Exhibition Centre at Southbank...come on in and say hi!!  We have some amazing, generous sponsors who have donated some wonderful prizes for you to win in our Raffle. We certainly are blessed to have such support from local businesses, and we appreciate it so much. Their generosity, and all of you who purchase tickets in our Raffles, enable us to continue the work that we do, so we would like to say a very heartfelt thank you to you all. Now, I know you are excited to find out what you can win! 1st Prize: Spectra Breast Pump & $80 Small Print Jewellery Voucher 2nd Prize: Doterra Diffuser & Oils from Susan the Oil Goddess, PLUS a Pedicure Voucher with Bridget Emily Beauty 3rd Prize: $100 Go Mum! Fitness Voucher For more details on prizes, simply click here. So, I know you want to get your hands on some of these great prizes, but how? Easy, just click here to purchase your Raffle Tickets - simple as that! And we hope to see you at our booth at the Pregnancy, Babies & Children's Expo from June 19-21 at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre!  The following is written by Annie Hampson. Annie has been a Caseload Midwife at RBWH Birth Centre for the last 6 years. She has 2 young children aged 4 and 18 months, the first having been born in water at the Birth Centre. She has had the pleasure of working in a variety of teams with midwives such as Karen Marshall, Elaine Barrett, Corinne Mawn and currently with Carolanne Benson and Martha De Lacey. She loves working alongside Friends of the Birth Centre to continue to support the Birth Centre and to promote increased access to continuity of care for as many families as possible. Holly Madeline Ditfort Williams was the first baby born in the Royal Women’s Birth Centre on 12th June 1995 at 11am. Her mother, Robyn, had a natural vaginal birth and used the bath in her labour. Holly was her second child and she was attended at the birth by founding midwives Marg Fein and Karen Marshall. Marg was a Labour Ward Charge Midwife who had been approached to look into the feasibility of setting up a Birth Centre at the then Royal Women’s Hospital. With a small budget the end of ward M17 was converted into a small Birth Centre and Karen and Marg began recruiting clients. The Birth Centre had originated out of community lobbying for a family centred birthing unit after the closure of Boothville Hospital which was a small private hospital offering a homely environment in which to birth. We know Marg and Karen were ecstatic to be able to provide this continuity of care at Birth Centre but we were also interested in what it was like to be the first Mum to birth there. Luckily, Robyn Williams agreed to share some insight with us all. Birth Centre was such a brand new space when you were accepted to birth your baby there - why did you choose BC care? After the birth of my first baby in 1992 (private system, male obstetrician) - and all manner of interventions - I felt really strongly that I wanted to be cared for by women in this pregnancy. I was living away from my family and the choice to be cared for during my pregnancy by a female midwife seemed the perfect solution. I needed to be nurtured in body and mind, and to heal from my previous birth experience and when I heard the philosophy behind the BC I knew I had found what I was looking for. Did your friends find your choices strange? A lot of people had no idea what a BC was. Some said things like "you're braver than me" or "I couldn't do that" (natural childbirth). Some thought I was taking a risk not having an obstetrician, and going into the public system. In some ways it was a leap of faith to try this 'new' concept, but it just felt right. I never waivered in feeling that's where I wanted to be. What do you remember about your pregnancy care and birth experience? Does anything particularly stick out in your memory? I think I breezed through my pregnancy. I always felt well and healthy while pregnant. I was able to cast off the negativity of my previous birth by talking to my lovely midwife, Marg (Fien) about that experience and I found a new confidence in myself and my body ... and its ability to birth as nature had always intended. We celebrated my pregnancy as it progressed by being in this unique partnership. What was the environment and the midwifery care like? In terms of the physical environment, to be honest, it’s probably much different from the BC today. It was a hospital ward, which felt quite isolated from the rest of the hospital. There was still "political tension" then as the BC was forging its identity and more and more women/families were seeking its services. I spent the first night on my own, with Holly. My partner was at home with our other child. When you think of your experience and see that FBC are celebrating 20 years - how does it make you feel? I am so grateful and happy that other women/families can continue to birth at the BC, and for all the advocacy work women/families have been doing over this time to ensure that this model of care continues to be a birth choice for women in Queensland and beyond. Do you think your birth experience has impacted your life as a mother, a women and/or in your career? What my birth at the BC did for me was restore my faith in my body's ability to birth. It was very empowering. Even I wasn't sure I could birth naturally and at one point during my pregnancy I convinced myself I didn't have what it takes. A lovely English midwife called Jane who worked at the BC and also with me at the Young Parents Program visited and reassured me that I was completely capable. She lent me a book called "A Wise Birth" written by a midwife that had supported Amish women to birth for many, many years. And I realised I didn't need to fight these anxious feelings, or be afraid ... because women were designed to birth and it was only man-made interventions and processes that had taken away ownership of our bodies, and the birthing process, from women over the years. As a mother and a woman I can't speak highly enough about the BC and the opportunity for women to choose how they birth. There are so many avenues in this life where women do not have a say, or are undervalued and the BC is completely the opposite. It is women-centred, your wishes are respected and supported and you feel that you are very important. If wider society could reflect the value, care and attention placed on empowering women to have a choice, we would have a very different dynamic in this world. We still have a long way to go before equity and equality are the norm for women. My BC experience has contributed to shaping me as a person. Do you think your daughter is open to the birthing choices you’ve chosen for yourself? Yes, she's quite proud of the fact that she was the first baby to be born at the BC and understands why it was important to me that she was born in that environment and with midwife care. I would support her in any birthing choice she made, but I think she might be a long way off having babies at the moment. Did you have further children/births in the BC or other similar models anywhere? I had my 3rd baby at the Mercy Birth Centre here in Melbourne What is Holly doing now? Holly has had a gap year since finishing high school and has enrolled at Deakin University for mid-year entry. For me, success is not about what Holly is doing right now, but who she is as a person. She has become a beautiful young woman, and has been a blessing to us in many ways. She is loyal, intuitive, compassionate, creative and kind, and puts others before herself. She is the calm one, when others around her are in chaos. She loves being creative, long walks, our cats and being with her family ... and loves a coffee and chocolate (a woman after my own heart!). ············· I think you’ll agree that Robyn gives us a great insight, not only into her own experience, but also fundamentally why we do what we do at the Birth Centre. One of the most amazing things we can offer is the opportunity to birth with a known midwife. The ability and strength of a woman is endless, particularly when she believes in herself, trusts her midwife and feels in control. In this way even a birth that doesn’t go quite to plan can be a very empowering experience. The Birth Centre now has more midwives than ever and unending passion to deliver the ‘gold standard’ of maternity care for many years to come. Karen Marshall continues to care for families and share her wisdom and experience to this day which is testament to the model of care. We owe much to the support of Friends of the Birth Centre and wholeheartedly support all their efforts to increase the availability of continuity of midwifery care to as many families as possible. A big thank you to Robyn Williams for sharing your story, I know many expectant mothers out there will find inspiration and strength in your words. We hope your family enjoy a wonderful birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Holly!  What is an Eligible Private Practice Midwife or EPPM as they are are known? And what does that have to do with Friends of the Birth Centre?!
In May 2014, after many years of work done before us by other consumer groups and midwives the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital started getting serious about the call from women wanting a private midwife to be with them from the beginning of their pregnancy all the way through the birth and for post natal support up to 6 weeks. Friends of the Birth Centre were invited by the RBWH Executives to start attending the working party to provide valuable input from the point of view of a consumer, a mother. After months and months of meetings which the lovely Anna, from the FBC Consumer Representation group happily attended, the negotiations, legalities, concerns and a whole lot more were addressed and completed. A whole year later in May 2015 the new model of care – care from an EPPM at the RBWH - was launched by the Queensland State Health Minister, Honorable Cameron Dick. http://www.health.qld.gov.au/rbwh/docs/eppm-contacts.pdf Who was the first mum to birth through this new model of care at RBWH? A woman had been excluded from attending the Birth Centre for her second birth (due to complexity) wanted to have continuity of care similar to her first birth in the Birth Centre was the first woman to have a baby through this model. Having the EPPM model will allow women, who loved their first Birth Centre experience, or want the Birth Centre for the first time for continuity of care even if that are not eligible to have care in the birth centre to have Continuity of Care. We are admitted as private patients, but do not need to have Private Health Insurance. For most people around half the cost of care is covered by Medicare and of course those who have Private Health Insurance will obtain a full rebate for care to the scheduled fee. Psst. and did you know if meet the low risk requirements of Birth Centre Continuity of Care you may just get to use that very special, homelike space which Friends of the Birth Centre keep looking so beautiful. |
AuthorOur FBC Committee Members will keep you updated on the various fundraising, consumer representative and information events they participate in during the year. Archives
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