The Holistic Birth Bag conference is especially designed for homebirth midwives and student/apprentice midwives who want more skilled, naturopathic options to draw on during labor and birth. It also welcomes doulas, childbirth educators, and anyone else working or studying in perinatal care who want to better understand these tools, educate interested clients, and support physiologic birth within their own scope of care. Whatever your role at births, if you’re eager to deepen your skills through a naturopathic midwifery lens, you’ll find rich, practical takeaways here.

This conference is designed to welcome both newer and seasoned birth workers into a coherent naturopathic midwifery lens. If you’re just beginning with herbs, homeopathy, and other natural tools, you’ll get clear foundations and practical guidance you can trust. If you’re more experienced, you’ll expand your naturopathic “birth bag” with additional remedies and strategies, and deepen how you integrate them into everyday care for the families you serve.

The BRAG Ann Arbor Event Center is a warm and welcoming venue in a low-key, partially residential neighborhood away from retail strips. It’s a lovely, light-filled 1500 square space with restrooms located near-by on the same floor and an outdoor patio area for breaks if weather permits. Beth’s events are information‑rich, fun, lively, and well‑hydrated—and usually filled to capacity. We will start promptly, have two 30-minute breaks and 1.5 hours for lunch. A delicious and healthy buffet lunch will be provided both days, with ample options for vegetarian/carnivore/GF variations. Hot tea and light break snacks are included.

Beth S. Barbeau, CPM, LM, has been immersed in birth work for more than forty years. She entered the birth world in the late 1970s as “the big‑kid babysitter” at homebirths, began her formal apprenticeship in 1981 with Anne Frye (author of the Holistic Midwifery textbooks many homebirth midwives rely on), and has maintained a comprehensive homebirth practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 1998. Beth now serves as chief editor for the upcoming fifth edition of Frye’s Holistic Midwifery prenatal text, reflecting both her deep clinical experience and her commitment to keeping midwifery knowledge sharp and current.

Beth is widely known as a midwife who helps mothers become healthier and more deeply empowered through pregnancy and birth. A central focus of her work is how exquisitely sensitive babies are—before birth, during labor, and in their first hours—and on inviting parents and birth workers alike to “talk to the babies,” reducing trauma and supporting lifelong well‑being. Families and colleagues turn to her for care and guidance that consistently honors the mother–baby dyad as a conscious, connected partnership.

As an educator, Beth co-founded and wrote the state‑certified Holistic Doula Program at The Naturopathic Institute and served as its lead instructor for over a decade, alongside thousands of hours teaching childbirth education and professional continuing education. She is known for translating complex physiology and naturopathic strategies into clear, immediately usable tools that midwives and doulas can bring straight to their clients. At the Holistic Birth Bag conference, her goal is to expand each participant’s naturopathic “birth bag” while also strengthening their capacity to support profound maternal growth, protect sensitive babies, and sustain themselves in this demanding work. A detailed CV is available here for those who wish to review her full professional history.

• To highlight the effective, potent power of natural strategies for labor and birth.
• To increase practitioners’ comfort with holistic remedies, along with a solid understanding of appropriate use and safe ranges.
• To embolden birth workers to think beyond the usual boxes and confidently reference natural approaches for clients who are interested in them.
• To foster practical, common‑sense problem-solving in labor and birth, instead of waiting until problems are big enough to treat.
• To use gentle, low‑risk measures early, helping ease challenges while preserving a healthy physiologic course for mother and baby.
• To expand the skill range and “birth bag” for attendants across scopes of care—from primary OOH midwives to doulas, students, apprentices, and educators.
• To improve mother–baby outcomes by widening safe, empowering care options during a window that is often medically managed as “waiting.”
• To smooth the journey of birth and recovery for families while enriching their own natural health toolbox and confidence.
• To deepen the quality of maternity care and strengthen how women are supported as they step into motherhood.
• To support the stability, stamina, and longevity of birth workers by giving them more ways to keep clients and births calmer, healthier, and better supported.

Yes, ‘babes in arms’ up to 6 months old (young nursing babies who will mostly sleep) are welcome. Note: We will be taping the conference, so participants are asked to step out if there is significant noise or disruption. Note: There are no changing tables in the bathrooms.

If your children are along on this trip, also bring along an adult who can help them have their own great adventures. While we of course adore kids, this conference will be briskly covering a great deal of material, and you and everyone needs their full ability to focus. So, no children at the conference site.

SE Michigan is a delightful place for families in the Fall – beautiful foliage and outdoor events combine with a wide range of family-friendly museums, such as:

https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village

https://discoverscienceandnature.org/

https://dia.org/

https://www.mi-sci.org/

https://littleguidedetroit.com/15-must-visit-museums-in-michigan/

The Oct. 1-2 conference is live, in-person only.

Future events are publicized in Beth’s weekly ‘Nourishing News’, make sure you are subscribed! https://www.indigoforest.com/subscribe

We have applied for approval of 12 hours of continuing education credit for this two‑day conference. Final confirmation and details about hours will be shared with registered participants and on this website as soon as approval is complete. Even if you do not need formal CEUs, the content is designed to translate directly into safer, more confident, and more responsive care in your day‑to‑day birth work.

As a ‘top 10’ college town, Ann Arbor is host to numerous lodging options. Its University of Michigan home football team has an away game that weekend, which should make finding accommodations quite reasonable. Our recommended hotel, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ann Arbor West, is one of the newest and nearest in the area and will be holding our discounted block of rooms until August 31, 2026. When you register, our follow-up email will provide all the details. 

When you register, our follow-up email details state & local directions, as well as airport information. The conference is being held at 179 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, which is located ~ 2 miles from I-94 and ~30 miles from Detroit Metro Airport.