Food and Warmth Holiday Drive
Join us in collaboration with Common Pantry to bring some holiday cheer to our community! From November 1st - December 18th we will be collecting both non-perishable food and new mittens, hats and socks at the BCC for distribution in December. If you would like to make additional donations to the Common Pantry, please use the QR code below.
Thank you for providing nourishment and warm to those in need this holiday season!
Midwife Mixer
Midwife Mixer - October 25, 2024
Join us for a casual evening with the BCC midwives. Open to all local midwives! Come see the Birth Center of Chicago, meet other midwives and enjoy some light refreshments.
Fall Diaper Drive
1 in 3 families suffer from a lack of diapers! Help us support our local community by donating this week!
Professional Mixer
Have you been curious about the birth center, work with pregnant or postpartum families, and want to connect with our team? Please come to our Professional Mixer for a tour, light refreshments, and time to share about your own business.
Doula Mixer
Every year we open our doors to the doulas in the community, for a special night to celebrate all doulas do! Please RSVP and let us know if we can expect you at our mixer.
There will be time to connect with other doulas and make connections:
Referrals for client care
Back up support
Community and brainstorming
There is also time with a group Q & A with our Midwives to get your birth center questions answered!
Community Gear Swap
A NEW COMMUNITY EVENT IS COMING!
We are excited to try our next new Community Event: our first Community Baby Gear Swap! To make this work, we urge our community to bring their new (but not needed!) and gently used baby items to the birth center in July and August.
We will wash, clean, and sort through items. Then in September, we will offer all these items back for free to anyone looking for things to help ease their transition into parenthood!
We are focusing on baby items, but we will also accept pregnancy clothing or items used by pregnant people.
Send questions to [email protected].
Be Well Together: Mental Health Education Workshop
Working with families welcoming a little person into the world is such a divine opportunity, however, that may come with some setbacks. The mental health of both caregivers is exceptionally important in the development of the relationship with parenthood and their child. Sometimes it doesn’t click for parents and they need some additional support or affirmation. This workshop aims to provide education for birthing parents, families and friends on perinatal mental health and ways your community is helping you and you can help yourself.
$30
L+D Nurse Mixer Night
Nurses! We would love to see you and share our space for an evening.
Enjoy refreshments, and some community with other nurses in the area - and heck - if you have questions about what happens at a birth center, we’d love to talk about that too!
Doula Speed Meet
Doula Speed Meet!
We know it can be hard to meet that special someone - a special doula that is!
We are hosting our first Doula Speed Meet, where families looking to connect can come to our patio gathering, enjoy some light refreshments, and have time with 5 stellar doulas that we personally recommend.
The goal for these speed meets is to see if you find a connection, and continue the conversation on your own with a scheduled meeting if it’s a good fit.
We’ll be sharing some basic information for the doulas who are present - like when they are available, rate range, overall philosophy for care, and you can get to one or two big questions.
You’ll have a full hour to talk with doulas and we hope be one step closer to adding a talented memeber to your labor support team.
Two sessions are available:
First session is from 11:00 am-1:00 pm
Second session is from 1:30 pm- 3:30 pm
Schedule for each session:
Welcome and Instructions, select refreshments - 15 minutes
doula 1 - 10 min, 2 minutes to pass to next
doula 2 - 10 min, 2 minutes to pass to next
doula 3 - 10 min, 2 minutes to pass to next
doula 4 - 10 minutes, 2 minutes to pass to next
doula 5 - 10 minutes, final chat
Closing and Depart - 15 minutes
The Changing Body: Safe Return to Exercise and Body Mechanics
The Changing Body of the Postpartum Mom: Safe Return to Exercise and Body Mechanics when Caring for Our Baby
Have you recently had a baby? Congrats! You may have noticed your body has gone through many changes and you do not feel like yourself. Maybe you have back pain from carrying your new bundle of joy, your abdominals feel weak from being stretched, you have a diastasis recti, or you have urinary incontinence...just to name a few. These symptoms are all common postpartum, but it does not have to be this way forever! Come join this workshop on safe return to exercise, body mechanics when caring for your baby and information on pelvic health physical therapy.
This workshop will be taught by pelvic health and orthopedic physical therapist, Dr. Abbey McErlean. Abbey has a passion for working with postpartum people and received her certification as a pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist. Additionally, she is a yoga teacher which allows her to utilize various knowledge and passions to best educate and treat.
We look forward to an evening of conversation and education!
Doula Community Gathering - World Doula Week
Join us during Would Doula Week, to have some time to talk, some time to connect with other doulas, and to see the space and talk about how we offer care inside the birth center.
Midwife Mixer
Join us for
cocktails + mocktails, see the center if you haven't yet, and have some devoted time with the BCC midwives
(unless they're at a birth!)
Bringing Home Baby - Chicago Healing Connection
Class meets 3 times from 6-8:30pm:
October 19
October 26
November 2
Perinatal Loss Companion Training
From Sokana: “
We believe everyone should have access to education, regardless of financial status. All our education services are offered on a sliding paying scale. To sustain our community work, we ask that you pay as much as you can afford for your class.
You, better than anybody, know how valuable our class means in your life, and how much you can afford. We trust you!”
Look What We Made: BCC Birthday Party
Look what we made! Join us in celebrating all the beautiful creations from the last year: our clients, your friendship, and more access to community birth options for Chicago!
Drop by the center anytime from 3-7pm, on Wednesday, June 29th (our birthday!) and enjoy some light treats and kid-friendly craft projects!
We’ll be outdoors and look forward to seeing the faces of all the folks who are past, present, and future clients and supporters of our center!
Classic Kids In-House Photo Mini Session Spots
We are so thrilled to have Classic Kids here at the Birth Center of Chicago to offer Mini Photo sessions to capture this special time in your life. Classic Kids specializes in hand-finished, fine art portraits of children and their families. This event has a wide variety of options of products to enjoy - everything from a digital file to an archival quality family heirloom.
Click on the photo below to register for your spot!
ATHLETA: PERINATAL WORKOUT WITH JILL STEIN AND BIRTH CENTER OF CHICAGO
Yoga event at Athleta Southport - April 10th, @ 9:30 am
Athleta Southport is hosting a perinatal workout class that will be led by Jill Stein and we will have a representative form the Birth Center of Chicago present for a Sunday morning workoutclass specifically focusing on Prenatal and Postpartum clients. After the class, every participant will be able to shop in a private setting in our store and receive 20% off their entire in store purchase!
Jill Stein is a Certified Personal Trainer and Perinatal Instructor who will be leading all participants through the workout.
Ariel Swift is the Outreach and Education Coordinator at the Birth Center of Chicago and she will be educating all participants on what they offer as well as talk about some volunteer opportunities. The Birth Center of Chicago is located in the North Center neighborhood and is a free standing birth center offering Midwifery care to low-risk populations looking for low-intervention birth support.
Registration required - link through.
Walk, Run, Lift: Returning to Exercise and Fitness in a Postpartum Body
Join us for an online discussion with Dr. Alison AJ Hayman where she will offer some interesting and practical information about returning to exercise after having a. baby and bring your questions for a short Q + A!
Please register for the event by clicking throught to the next page and entering your email information into the Zoom Registration page.
Milk & a Meal: Pop-up Lactation Clinic
Drop in for lactation support from IBCLC Lisa Zimmerman. $40 includes a soup and bread lunch provided by the Birth Center.
Your Baby's First Year
Join this small group workshop to help set expectations for your baby's first year in your family. This one day workshop is Oct. 23rd, from 2:30-3:30pm, in the BCC Classroom. Registration is for one person.
In this workshop:
Baby Milestones
General Baby Care
Feeding + Sleep Basics
Remembering YOU
Q + A
Payment can be made by Venmo or Zelle to instructor, after registration is complete. Masks are required.
Prenatal Partner Yoga
This prenatal yoga session is perfect for couples or friends looking to connect through movement. Registration is for two people. Class is in person in the BCC classroom at 3832 N. Lincoln Ave. For folks interested, a tour of the birth center is also included where you can see the birth suites, get questions answered, and learn about birth center care. Class limited to 4-pairs.
Class Starts at 11:00 am.
If you are new to Cocoon Care Classes, use code “Birth Center” to make your first class free!
Milk & a Meal: Pop-up Lactation Clinic
Drop in for lactation support from IBCLC Lisa Zimmerman. $40 includes a soup and bread lunch provided by the Birth Center.
Labor Blueprint: The Hormones of Undisturbed Birth
This 90-min workshop will detail the amazing cascade of hormones at play during the labor process and help parents understand what to expect during birth. This offering will detail the role that hormones play in normal physiologic birth, how we can best support (and avoid disturbing) those hormones in birth, and why some of the most common interventions can actually complicate the unfolding of the birth experience. Masks Required. Registration for one at this in-person event.
Student Midwife Day
Welcome recent midwife grads, and midwifery students from the area! We want to invite you to come and have a face-to-face with our Director of Midwifery, Jen Jaume CNM, to learn about Chicago’s First Freestanding birth center, hear what our plans are for bringing new midwife students onto staff, and to help mentor students in the future. Please RSVP below, and bring your questions!
Professionals Day
We are welcoming all professionals who are curious about the Birth Center of Chicago, or have parallel services to come and see our space, and talk with staff about our services.