The inaugural series of First Steps Birthing took place over six weeks in November/December 2022. Sixteen pregnant women and their partners and support people met together on Monday evenings, eating delicious home-baked treats while learning about all things related to birth and parenting. There were laughs and the occasional tear as we journeyed together, with presentations from a diverse team of professionals who made this an informative and entertaining experience.

October 2020 was the first time a small group of us met together to discuss how pregnant women facing challenging situations in our community could be better supported. Now two years on, we have established First Steps Pregnancy Support as a registered tax-deductible charity and are laying the groundwork that is needed to be effective and sustainable as an organisation, with plans underway to open a centre in Queanbeyan NSW in the not-too-distant future. 

First Steps Birthing is an educational arm of First Steps Pregnancy Support that seeks to see women and their partners informed and equipped for birth and parenting. There are currently very few hospitals in the Canberra and Queanbeyan Region that offer face-to-face birth classes, largely due to their cessation as a result of Covid. While there are a few privately run courses, the costs of these are quite prohibitive to many women. 

Unsurprisingly, the most common question I have been asked after the Everest Challenge has been 'So how was that ride you did?' I think the answer many were expecting was something along the lines of 'oh it was hell', 'I almost died', 'So glad it’s over', 'I'm never doing something like that again'.

June 15^th 2022 was our first public event as a new organisation. We held a Fundraising and Information Drinks evening at Bean Central Café in Queanbeyan, NSW to begin to raise awareness in the local community of First Steps Pregnancy Support.