February 2010 Peninsula Birth Support held their first group meeting where local mothers gathered to share their birth stories. One Friday a month for the rest of the year, between five and ten mothers (and their children) came together to discuss a range of topics.
These meetings were initially made possible thanks to a $200 start up grant from Maternity Coalition, which covered the cost of venue hire, until PBS group members decided a $5 entry fee to meetings for regular attendees was reasonable.
In February a circle of women came together to share their birth stories. We welcomed guest speaker Rhea Dempsey to our March meeting for a discussion about the current maternity system in Australia and how to get the birth you want. Eastside midwives Andrea Bilcliff and Helen Barrington joined us in April and May to speak about antenatal testing, routine obstetric interventions and what to expect from different models of maternity care. In June Michelle Newton introduced attendees to Calmbirth, and in July Rhea Dempsey returned to talk about building a birth support team. Steven Booth from Seven Stars Shiatsu was our guest speaker in August, introducing group members to the theory and practice of acupressure, acupuncture and shiatsu massage. Attachment parenting was the discussion topic in September. Yvonne from PANDA spoke to the group about ante and postnatal depression in October. And in November the group shared experiences of parenting and grief with the support of Life/Birth Coach, Sue McLeod.
Unfortunately volunteers did not find time to organise fundraising events, though discussions about having movie nights on the Mornington Peninsula began. This is an area we would like to work on in the new year.
Finally, we very excited to welcome three tiny members to the group: Charlotte, River & Eleanor who were born in 2010. Congrats to Vicky, Loz and Sarah on bringing these three adorable babes earthside xoxo
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| Sarah & Eleanor immediately after birth |
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