BABI Circle Meetings

These meetings are for for birth related professionals and those interested in educating and supporting women and families through pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting. These meetings are both educational and supportive. The first hour is generally about catching up and meeting new people. The last two hours of the meeting are used for keeping current on BABI and general birth related events and then a presentation/discussion session. The presentation/discussion session has a designated topic for that meeting and is open to anyone with expertise in that area to bring things to discuss such as research, experience and related education/support.

Please RSVP to SouthBayBirthCircle@yahoogroups.com and DrKateFox@gmail.com and bring a dish to share.

The locations rotate throughout the Campbell/San Jose area and are TBA unless listed in the calendar.


Upcoming Meetings

There are no BABI Circle meetings currently scheduled. 


Past Meetings

Sat June 7, 2008

The topic was the CIMS Transparency in Maternity Care Project: The Birth Survey. This exciting project is launching nationwide in August. We are fortunate to have 2 members who are actively involved with this project who presented to the group. Allana Moore discussed the survey itself (takes 20 minutes to complete, can be completed in multiple sessions, feedback/stats compiled and not released until there is a valid sample, etc). Jeannie Batacan talked about getting the word out to as many people as possible. She has lots of great materials to put out in classes, resource areas, etc.

There was also a lively discussion about a doula's impact on the maternity care system and women's perception of that care. 

Saturday November 3, 2007
There was no formal topic for this meeting. It was an opportunity for members to give feedback to BABI and discuss many of the upcoming projects BABI has planned for 2008.

Sat Aug 18, 2007
BABI members met and discussed Pre-term Labor.

Sat June 23, 2007
Pregnancy Loss/Postpartum Depression with Sharon Storton

April 18, 2007
Henci Goer and other local birth professionals got together to discuss induction. Attendees shared birth stories, client/patient induction questions and answers, and discussed the latest research on induction.

March 10, 2007
Gestational Diabetes

January 28, 2007
Breastfeeding with Jeanne and Bridget - they presented a lot of great info and tips as well as bringing great visual aids and resources.

December 9, 2006
Nutrition presented by Julie Matthews - she talked about nutrition in pregnancy included great info on fermented foods, raw foods and quality of food.  She also brought in raw sauerkraut for us to sample and showed us how to make our own whey!

September 9, 2006
VBAC's presented by Yelena Kolodji - she talked about the safety and efficacy of VBAC, causes of the increase in cesareans and ways to reduce the rise of cesareans, and finally what is the true cost of this rise in cesareans to mothers, babies and society. 

July 16, 2006 
Working with Teens presented by Kari Seligman, Sandy Caldwell and Michelle Germain.  They helped everyone become more comfortable and competent at working with teens during pregnancy.

April 2, 2006
This meeting included presenters Henci Goer (author of  The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and more), Sharon Storton, MFT, and Allana Moore.

Henci Goer and Sharon Storton shared the latest from the CIMS (Coalition for Improving Maternity Services) conference in D.C. from the prior month and gave us an update on the status of maternity care in the United States. Henci also gave us an overview of the NIH (National Institute of Health) conference which was on c-section, specifically maternal requested.  Allana Moore also talked about social change and how BABI fits into the long term goal of improving maternity care.

February 18, 2006
Our speaker was called to a birth last minute so we had an open discussion on what was happening in the birth community.

January 8, 2006 
Acupuncture presented by Claudia Wolfe (we were sad that Tatyana Teeuwisse was unable to make it as a presenter but excited because it was due to her going into labor with Casper, her son).  This was an opportunity to learn what Oriental medicine can do from getting pregnant to post natal care. 

December 3, 2005
Jennifer Pennick of Inner Reflection presented on the benefits of pre and post-natal yoga.  She also gave all in attendance a short yoga workout so we could all experience it for ourselves!

October 23, 2005
Andrea Slosarik presented Rebozo techniques.

September 17, 2005
Prodromal and Long Labor presented by Rosanna Davis, CPM, LM and Sharon Storton, LMFT. Prodromal and even a productive but longer-than-average labor may be normal for a given mother and her baby. More than likely, this point is uncontested within the doula community. We learned from the experts how to decipher signs a mothers body and birth situation may be giving us during labor.

If labor heads into an "stall", psychological components can be addressed, even during the labor itself. Several rather simple but effective techniques can be used to address the emotional road blocks to birth.  They also covered techniques to be used by a doula to center and ground herself that can assist in introducing an oasis of calm and peace to a stressful situation. These are applicable to any birth and even everyday life!

May 14, 2005 
Marina Rose, DC presented on preventing or managing some common pregnancy related symptoms and disorders/diseases through natural, nutritional and herbal means.

April 2, 2005
Allana Moore and Jeanna Lurie presented on their experience at the  CIMS and Birthing the Future conferences. They talked about what they learned and we became inspired!

February 20, 2005
Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy presented by Kate Fox, DC including webster technique and nutrition.

January 8, 2005
Sharon Storton, LMFT presenting on differentiating perinatal depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Click for her handout.

November 14, 2004
Rosanna Davis, LM, CPM led a discussion on growing a successful birth-related business and one that particularly matches our individual strengths and desires. It's not just about getting clients or filling classes, but also about which clients and which students are best suited to benefit from your style of class or service, so everyone benefits.

She will include information and tips she has gathered from many sources including: growing her own quite successful doula career, going into business (that is already taking off!) as a new midwife, working with and learning from other birth professionals, personal reading, trainings, and classes from the Small Business Association, and invites us all to bring our wisdom and experience to share in the discussion.

October 2, 2004
Neri Choma will present recent findings on 2nd stage, how to help support women through the pushing stage, and the Epi-No, a device for helping women prepare in advance for opening preventing the need for tearing or episiotomy.

August 22, 2004
Shelley Ewing, CMT, CAT will do a session with us on Acupressure and Massage for pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Even if you've done a training on these topics before, this will give you a chance to check your technique and hone your skills!

May 23, 2004
Donna Driscoll one of our fabulous local midwives, will talk with us about: Pre-natal care & testing, what she, as a midwife, would like for a doula to know/do, and what we should know in case a baby is born when no other care-provider is present.

April 17th, 2004
Discussion with Suzanne Arms - $15 per person
"I started a non-profit organization called Birthing The Future (in August last year) whose mission is: to gather and communicate the finest world wisdom - from ancient tribal beliefs and practices to modern scientific evidence and models from around the world - about how best to care for mothers and babies during the primal period (from pre-conception to age one). We do this in order to further their optimal development - physically, psychologically & spiritually - individually and as a biological whole system. In this way individuals and organizations can make wise choices that will further health, happiness and peace on earth.

I am a founding member of CIMS, the Coalition to Improve Maternity Services www.motherfriendly.org and aTLC, the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children www.atlc.org.