Bellingham – THE VILLAGE CIRCLE Daytime Group

Meeting Virtually TWICE a month, on the first and third Thursday of each month.

• 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month
  • 1st Thursday: 10am-1130am
  • 3rd Thursday: 130pm-3pm
  • ON BREAK/NO GROUPS IN SEPTEMBER 2022

No registration required- simply follow this link.

Mothering can be both a joyful and a challenging experience. In our drop-in groups, we explore it all and encourage women to speak their truths about motherhood. No advice, no judgement, just real mothers sharing their ups and downs. All mothers (biological and adoptive) are welcome regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and race. Babies up to 12-months welcome. Sorry, we do not have child care for other siblings/children. Hosted by the Center for Healthy Motherhood.

Becky Schayes is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (CNM, ARNP) in private practice in Bellingham, WA. She is co-founder of Bellingham Center for Healthy Motherhood where she provides a range of women’s health care services with a focus on supporting women through their childbearing years. She is passionate about creating a space in Whatcom County where mother’s can access not only quality health care, but also where mothers can access each other for support. She is a trained Group Peer Support (GPS) and Motherwoman group facilitator and helps run several weekly drop in events for mother’s, including a support group for mothers called The Village Circle. She has completed additional professional training on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders with Perinatal Support WA and is an active member of the Maternal Mental Health Task Force of Whatcom County. When not working, she spends her time playing with her two children, ages 8 and 4.

Samantha Konikoff is a mom of 2 children, a volunteer and advocate for mothers and new families. She experienced postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and OCD with her son over 8 years ago and then anxiety while pregnant with her daughter a few years later. Samantha realized the lack of support for new moms and found an organization that was all run by mothers who had experienced some type of perinatal mood disorder. This lit a fire in Samantha she had never known was there and her advocacy work began. Samantha is a co-facilitator of a support group that is based on a model created by GPS (Group Peer Support). In 2017, she went to Washington D.C. with the Maternal Mental Health Coalition as the representative for the state of Washington and advocated for money to assist in medical health providers mandatory screening of new mothers. Samantha also serves as the patient advocate on the Maternal Mental Health Task Force through the Whatcom County Department of Health.

Cost: Free, donations welcome