Pre-convergence Friday Lovefest
Events CANCELLED - The Convergence of Rebellious Midwives conference is in FULL SWING and will always go ahead but the pre-conference sessions are CANCELLED
Morning with Mel
EVENT CANCELLED
Dr Melanie Jackson is a clinical and academic midwife and host of the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast. She is passionate about equipping women to get the best out of their pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey and partnering with birth workers, midwives and health professionals to provide meaningful care.
This is your opportunity to be with Mel in an unplugged, raw, honest and intimate 'fire side' session. This is for all the FANS. If you can't make it to the whole convergence, this is your chance to get a bite of the event for a fraction of the cost.
What's included:
- your chance to connect, hear and chat with Mel in Melbourne Friday 31st from 10am-1pm at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (South wharf, Victoria)
- 10:00 -10:45am Mel will be sharing honestly with personal stories, a vision for the future, business, inspiration and give practical tips for women and birth workers as they seek to make a difference for themselves and other women throughout matresence.
- 10:45- 11:45am A lush long morning tea and time to connect with Mel face-to-face. Plenty of time for conversations, photo's and big long hugs!
- 11:45 - 1:00pm Q&A session for you to directly interact with Mel, ask questions and hear honest answers. This will NOT be recorded and is for your ears only.
- You'll be treated to some Great Birth Rebellion goodies
- Baby friendly event
This is the first time an event like this has happened and the only opportunity outside of the conference to meet Mel live.
Afternoon with Athena
EVENT CANCELLED
Dr Athena Hammond cannot be described by just her titles, qualifications or work... she is the pace and breath that we need in this busy and overwhelming world. Athena is a convergence OG, being the only presenter attending all 3 of the convergence events! She is a constant crowd favourite.
Athena is a counsellor and psychotherapist and registered midwife. She trained as a relational therapist with special interests in trauma, nervous system functioning, and interpersonal neurobiology. She has a PhD in Midwifery and is known for her warm, collaborative and very human approach to her work and people.
Ask yourself - am I feeling stressed? or it is overwhelm?
In this session Athena draws from her wisdom, experience and knowledge to give practical tips for settling and regulating your nervous system in an overwhelming world. This is for you if you are pregnant, parenting, preparing for birth, or postpartum. Come if you are a birth worker or health professional or if you are just a person needing strategies to help you cope with the daily challenge of living!
What's included:
- 2:00-3:00pm - First practical session to learn strategies for settling and regulating your nervous system to help manage overwhelm
- 3:00-3:30 Afternoon tea
- 3:30-5:00pm - Second practical session to learn strategies for settling and regulating your nervous system to help manage overwhelm
- Baby friendly
Morning with Mel
You know me! Melanie Jackson aka Melanie the Midwife and host of The Great Birth Rebellion podcast! Everything you need to know is at www.melaniethemidwife.com but i'm way better in person than online
I'm the hostess of the convergence of rebellious Midwives and that is where I get to meet everyone face to face every year.... BUT... some of you can't make it and I still want to give you everything and hang out! if you want to spend an intimate morning with me, this is your chance.
Come meet me and get an unfiltered look into my work and life at this 'fireside' event... it's not recorded so you know it's going to be gooooooood!
The Details
Connect, hear and chat with Mel. Mel will be sharing personal stories, her vision for the future, some insights into her business, inspiration and give practical tips for women and birth workers as you seek to make a difference for yourself and other women throughout matresence.
This is your opportunity to meet Mel up close and personal. There is plenty of time for conversations, photo's and big long hugs! This is also your chance to ask your questions and get honest answers from one of the most trusted voices in the maternity world.
Please bring along a friend or two, your baby, and your partner to enjoy this personal event.
This is the first time an event like this has happened and the only opportunity outside of the conference to meet Mel live.
When:
Friday 31 July 2026, 10am-1pm
Where:
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Wharf.
Program:
10:00 -10:45am - Session 1 with Mel
10:45- 11:45am - Morning tea with a chance to meet Mel
11:45 - 1:00pm - Q&A Session
Afternoon with Athena
Athena is a trauma therapist who is also a registered midwife. She has worked in and around the maternity care sector for more than two decades; as a doula, midwife, researcher, university lecturer, group facilitator and educator. She's been in private psychotherapy practice for five years and trained as a person-centred therapist with extra training around trauma, polyvagal theory, Internal Family Systems theory and interpersonal neurobiology. She teaches counselling skills at university and consults on the topic of birth trauma, including briefing the Select Committee of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma. She is known for my warm, collaborative and very human approach to my work and my people.
Athena is also a super curious, optimistic and engaging human. She lives in the beautiful Northern Rivers village of South Golden Beach, and has a grown-up son who was born in hospital after a homebirth transfer. She's always been driven by a burning desire to understand the experiences of others, and to drill down into the values, beliefs and feelings that shape us. As a midwifery student she was often in trouble for sitting on the end of the bed, talking with women about their feelings instead of taking their blood pressure. Counselling is where Athena was always going to end up, there’s just been a lot of fascinating diversions along the way.
The Details
In this session Dr Athena Hammond draws from her wisdom, experience and knowledge to give practical tips for settling and regulating your nervous system in an overwhelming world.
This is for you if you are pregnant, parenting, preparing for birth, or postpartum. Come if you are a birth worker or health professional or if you are just a person needing strategies to help you cope with the daily challenge of living!
Learn strategies for settling and regulating your nervous system to help manage overwhelm.
Please bring along a friend or two, your baby, and your partner to enjoy this personal event.
When:
Friday 31st 2pm-5pm
Where:
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Wharf
Program
2:00-3:00pm - First practical session
3:00-3:30 - Afternoon tea
3:30-5:00pm - Second practical session
