About The Triangle Homebirth Meetup Group

Learn, Do, Share, Change and Unite
The Triangle Homebirth Meetup Group as well as all Homebirth Meetup groups has a great potential to make a world of difference. It has been a long time known fact that small groups of individuals that learn together, share together and are united by and committed to their interest tend to make huge differences in the world. Parents, consumers and constituents everywhere have the right to choose where and with whom they give birth to their child/children but those rights have been and are being taken away. This group is not specifically a political agenda group it is a homebirth resource formed by a supportive community of people, parents, children and professionals who promote homebirth in and around the triangle while increasing awareness of homebirth safety and options in NC, specifically in the Triangle area.

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A Little History
The Triangle Homebirth Meetup gained it's first member in February of 2003. The first official Triangle Homebirth Meetup was held on March 22nd of 2003 at Mr. Toad's Coffeehouse, in Cary, NC with a total of 6 participants. We have continued to grow and meet over the years.
As of the time that I am writing this (November 2005) there are 550 Homebirth Supporters in 18 Groups from 17 Cities
?and 2,344 more people waiting to join a meetup.

New update: 03/07
2,041 Homebirth Supporters in 48 Groups from 42 Cities
?and 2,764 more waiting to hear when a new Meetup starts!

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Some interesting facts:
*We (The Triangle Homebirth Meetup Group) are the 4th largest group with 58 families.
*Three of those 18 groups are located right here in NC
*The largest group is The Chicago Homebirth Meetup Group with 80 members
*The Triangle Homebirth Meetup has met at Crowleys, Bushiban Coffee, Jillians, Mr. Toads Coffee house, Barns and Noble, Panera, Garner Library, Pullen Park and Kilpatrick Spinal care and many great host homes around the Triangle.
*50% of husbands attend The Triangle Homebirth Meetup.
* A Lot of Friendships have been formed through The Triangle Homebirth Meetup
*Each woman/family that attends has their own unique experience or resource to share
* Some topics we have covered at The Triangle Homebirth Meetup include The safety of Homebirth, Waterbirths, Preparing for a Homebirth, Vaccines, Parenting preferences, Cloth diapering, VBAC, Breastfeeding, NCFOM, Politics, What babies want, local resources and support, Midwifery care, siblings at birth, Postpartum Depression - etc.
*Some of our meetups have a specific topic, some are more casual and everything is up for discussion.
*There is no better way in the Triangle to have fun, make friends and gain support, information and resources for a Homebirth.
*The Triangle Homebirth Meetup Group is an important step in preserving the rights of parents to choose Homebirth!
*The purpose of The Triangle Homebirth Meetup is to provide a supportive, encouraging, informative, resourceful community of families that have the same interest of educating the community on the benefits, safety, and options of homebirth and preserving the rights of all families to have a Homebirth with their provider of choice in attendance.

New update: 03/07
* We (The Triangle Homebirth Meetup Group) are the 2nd largest HB group with 112 Members/families.
* Eight of those 48 groups are located right here in NC

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Links
NCHOMEBIRTH -To gain specific information about homebirth in NC and in general, great resources, articles, links, birth stories and more.

NCFOM - North Carolina Friends of Midwives

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Our focus is to provide opportunities for Homebirthing families to come together for support, resources and friendships with one another.
Our mission is to bring awareness to the option of homebirth and midwives while providing educational materials and gatherings surrounding birth and parenting issues.