helping parents relax and follow their own path
from pregnancy on
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Home Birth Conference
Saturday 6th June
International Home Birth Day
Venue 360, Luton, LU1 3JH
A day of positivity about home birth, physiological birth, and personalised care - for everyone.
For parents, parents-to-be, midwives, doulas and anyone supporting families in the perinatal period.
Sharing wisdom and stories, like we have done for millenia.
What is a Home Birth Conference?
Home Birth is a safe, sensible, positive option. Planning a home birth increases your chance of everything going well.
Home birth is cradle of midwifery.
I've had four home births, and been at many others, and there is nothing like it.
But planning a home birth, supporting home births, can feel like being a tall poppy:
lonely, standing out, and confusing for others.
Being at a home birth conference means being with others who get it. No debate about the safety, or the sense.
A shared understanding of what is possible, even if it doesn't always work out.
Acknowledgement that psychological safey, cultural safety, is as important as physical safety.
And that both can and do happen.
Birth unfolds differently at home.
It is not just a Home Birth Conference.
It is also a Physicological Birth Conference, a How-to-have-an-easier-birth-wherever-you-are Conference.
We start off talking about Home Birth but the conversation is really about all births, about how birth works, and how to help and not hinder the process.
All births that start spontaneously, are home births. It's just that most have planned transfers.
It is not just a Home Birth Conference.
It is also a Midwifery Conference, a Student Midwives Conference, a Doula and Antenatal Teacher Conference.
It is also an ancience practice: a gathering, of women, midwives, birth workers, families, telling stories, passing on wisdom, like we have for millennia.
It is not just a Home Birth Conference.
It is also a Pregnancy and Birth Conference, a Birth Partner Conference, and an Empowerment Conference.
It centres personalised care, supporting physiology, how to work with your body, how to advocate, how to keep what is important to you, even if you don't end up with a home birth.
What is a Home Birth Conference?
The Oxytocin flows, the sisterhood shows,
as we celebrate birthing people, and those who care for them, redesigning maternity care, and smashing the patriarchy,
because home birth rocks, so do women and birthing people
and so do midwives doulas and other birth workers.
Come for the Home Birth Conference.
Stay for the oxytocin, empowerment, stories, confidence, and wisdom.
Leave with the joy.
Speakers
Becky Reed, retired midwife of the Albany Midwifery Practice and author of a couple of books, including Birth in Focus, my favourite home birth book. Becky will start the day off, talking to the overall theme.
Mars Lord, founder of Abuela Doulas, life coach and goddess, talking about Black maternal health, and home birth.
Anna Madeley, research midwife and lecturer, author of 'Home Birth' (2023), talking about home birth 'outside of guidelines', for parents and midwives.
Michelle Quashie, parent and independent consultant on maternity transformation, talking about personalised maternity care and how informed decision making plays out in practice.
Jael Kamagate, doula, talking about the 'gentrification of home birth', colonialism, medicalisation.
Chantice Gervias, parent, birth healing and babywearing educator at Zen with Chan, talking about home birth after birth trauma.
Megan Rossiter, antenatal teacher, doula, podcaster Birth Ed, talking about benefits and power of planning a home birth.
Ria Clarke, obstetrician, @DoctorMummy, talking about her two home births, and the obstetric PoV.
Alex Quinn, Maternity Autism Research Group & author of Autistic and Expecting, talking about supporting autistic and neurdiverse parents.
Anna Byrom, midwife and co-owner of The Practising Midwife journal. Anna will cover how homebirth creates a space for midwifery knowledge and skills to flourish, & how to do so in a way that is meaningful and manageable.
Birth stories: parents sharing their home birth stories, with a variety of experiences, not the standard.
"If you’re interested in safe maternity care, protecting long term physical and mental health, choice, and improving experiences and outcomes, come and join us." Michelle Quashie
"I'm looking forward to speaking here. Homebirth should be accessible for all." Mars Lord
"This will be wonderful." Sheena Byrom
TICKETS
Standard: £94.30
(£92 + £2.30 booking fee).
Reduced rate: £64.58
(£63 + £1.58 booking fee).
for students and low income
No evidence required.
Couples ticket: £130.18
(£127 + £3.18 booking fee).
for pregnant peeps and their support person (partner, mum, bestie, doula)
Extras:
Q&A. Birth stories. Birh pool demo.
Stalls:
The Practising Midwife Journal, University of Bedfordshire Midwifery Department, Independent Midwives UK, birth pool hire, doulas, training for doulas and midwives, first aid training, and others.
If you are interested in sponsoring the event or having a stall, please get in touch. cathy@chilledmama.co.uk
Venue:
Riverside Suite, Venue 360, 20 Gipsy Ln, Luton LU1 3JH
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Four minute walk from Luton Parkway Station, on the Brighton-Bedford ThamesLink line.
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5 min drive from M1 Junction 10.
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Lots of free parking.
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5 min shuttle from Luton Airport
Accessibility:
The venue is flat and accessible. There are disabled parking bays, and a Loop system. I can provide a video walk through of the venue. There is an outside area and we can show you where there are quieter spaces. Seats can be reserved where you need them. If you need to arrive early, that can be arranged. There is space on the booking form to let us know what you need to access this event.
More information:
The conference is being organsied by me, Cathy, Chilled Mama, and Nicola Ward Your Independent Midwife, Debra Russell Roar Birthing, Jess Slender, Sophie Hiscock The Village Midwife, Nicki Ford Bold Birthing, and Zoe Roberts, ZLR Fitness.
Please contact me with any questions or ideas. I love to hear from you.
FAQs
Can I bring my baby?
Babes in arms are welcome of course. Toddlers at your discretion.
What's the nearest train station?
Luton Parkway train station is less than 5 min walk. Luton Parkway is on the Bedford-Brighton Thameslink line that goes through London Bridge and St Pancras.
What is parking like?
There is lots of free parking at the venue. The venue is 5 mins from M1 junction 10. And really easy to find.
I'd like to come but it is too far.
London Luton Airport is a short tram link away.
I have access needs.
Let us know what you need. Venue 360 is flat access. We can reserve a disabled parking bay. Tell us where you would like to sit and we can reserve a chair for you. We can also tell you about quiet spaces, provide interpreters, etc.
If you would like to volunteer on the day, please get in touch.
Inclusion is the key theme of the conference, and Chilled Mama is a signatory to The Diversity Charter, “committing to seeking ways to create better events by increasing the diversity of the people on stage as well as in the audience.”
"Cathy is such a warm genuine person, full of knowledge and a passion for supporting women and their families."
"Cathy has been a huge help on my journey into motherhood, with her calming manner and reassuring words. Words underpinned by knowledge of the research and science of pregnancy, labour and birth, feeding, sleep, weaning, and other important areas of new babies' lives.
She also knows that we can't just look after the new babies, parents are also important.
I have gone to several of Cathy's courses and retreat days now and can only recommend her warmly, like a buoy in the rough sea that is parenthood."
"Cathy is a fantastic doula, she has a lovely chilled vibe and really knows her stuff. I felt very comforted and safe with her during my laobur. I would also really recommend any of the courses she runs; she's been doing this a long time and has a lot of experience."