Back to Birth

-2025-

Event Time

November 8
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Event Location

OHSU Campus
2730 S Moody Ave
Portland, OR 97201

2025

Back to Birth

The Martha Lecture Series is having its 32nd Annual Event and we are excited to have you join us. The day will be filled with in-depth discussions around birth and then postpartum. We envision a day in which the audience is engaged with the material by each speaker. We will be hearing from speakers from around Oregon on topics such as Induction of labor, fetal positioning, chorioamnionitis and care during the postpartum period.

In-Person Event

Registration/check-in opens at 7:30

Lunch included in all ticket registrations

Attend Virtually

Lectures will be showed via WebEx

A link will be sent to all virtual attendees the week preceding the event

 

Post-Event

Access to the recorded lectures will be available for 30 days following the event

Early Bird (before 9/22): $200
standard Admission: $275
Student Admission: $50
Virtual Admission: $175

click here to register Now
BIPOC Community 
Members Free Registration 
  1. Add a ticket via the form below
  2. Input discount code: BIPOC2025
  3. Proceed with checkout for $0

This Discount is 
Supported by WHA 

PRESENTATIONS

We will be covering topics that directly impact our laboring patients and how we can have a positive impact on their success. Our speakers will dive deep into 2 hour sessions each with their own audience engagement for hands on learning throughout the day.

Keep Calm & Ripen On: Updates in Induction of Labor Guidelines

Stacey Wilson, MSN, CNM
Stacy's Bio
Michele Megregian, PhD, CNM, FACNM
Michelle's Bio
Christine Morales, DNP, CNM, FACNM
Christine's Bio

This presentation will review medications & interventions for induction of labor. It will review available options, risks and benefits. It will compare induction of labor statistics for Portland-area hospital systems. It will give specific protocols and strategies for induction of labor and review pros and cons of these options. 

Pregnancy, Pain, and Positioning:  
Using myofascial release to ease pregnancy and birth

This session explores a dynamic, physiologically-informed approach to addressing pregnancy-related pain and optimizing fetal positioning using gentle myofascial release techniques. Grounded in the work  of Dr. Carol Phillips, this presentation will introduce foundational concepts of fascial mobility,  and discuss their application in clinical scenarios involving pregnancy pain, fetal malposition and labor dystocia. Attendees will learn how to integrate these methods into prenatal and intrapartum care to support maternal comfort, balance pelvic structures, and promote optimal fetal engagement and rotation. Emphasis will be placed on individualized assessment and hands-on strategies for midwives and perinatal providers.

Michelle Turney, CNM
Michelle's Bio

Labor: How long is too long or is that even the question

Ellen Tilden, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN
Ellen's Bio
Michelle Turney, CNM
Michelle's Bio

Causal factors driving poor neonatal outcomes are complex and intertwined. Longer durations of labor have long been presumed to increase neonatal risk, but research testing this hypothesis demonstrates mixed results. Our presentation will trace the research that led up to our hypothesis that chorioamnionitis has been overlooked as a key neonatal risk driver. We will review the results of our recently published latent class analysis examining the mediating role of chorioamnionitis in poor neonatal outcomes and discuss its implications for future research and potential clinical application.

Integrating Postpartum Care into Prenatal Care

This presentation will explore postpartum planning as an essential strategy for improving perinatal health outcomes, highlighting a doctoral quality improvement project that successfully integrated postpartum planning into a hospital-based midwifery practice. Participants will leave with a clear, actionable framework for incorporating postpartum planning into their work with families. The session will include interactive activities that anchor the overarching concepts, as well as clinical skills, so that participants come away ready to implement these strategies in their care. We will close out our time together with an opportunity to explore how these same principles can be applied to our personal and professional well being.

Joanna Wilder, DNP, CNM, CMP
Joanna's Bio
Kestrel Gates
Kestrel's Bio

Union Panel:
Midwives in Labor 

We will have several Midwife Union Leaders from multiple institutions throughout Oregon to discuss the Union they represent, where they are in the unionizing process and the benefits of unions.  This will be an open ended question and answer time for attendees. 

Continuing Education Credits
provided Through 

The American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) & Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians

REGISTER now WITH A 
STUDENT DISCOUNT

LOCATION

Our event is being held at the OHSU Robertson Collaborative Life Sciences Building (RLSB), located on the OHSU Campus at 2730 S Moody Ave Portland, OR 97201. Events and seminars will happen throughout the day (November 8th, 2025) from 8am to 5pm with Check-In starting at 7:30am in the first floor lobby of the building. 

You can learn more about visiting the RLSB via the OHSU website or gather more general information about travelling to the OHSU South Waterfront via it’s dedicated website. Both websites have detailed .pdf maps (in multiple translations), information about parking and local guidance. 

PARKING

The RLSB provides ADA parking and pay-to-park options via the Robertson Life Sciences Building Parking Garage located between RLSB and Knight Cancer Research Building (S Meade St at S Moody Ave).

There is limited free parking in the “Schnitzer Lot” just north of the building. The lot also includes ADA spaces, options for oversized vehicles and motorcycles. The address for the parking lot near the lecture event is 2600 S Moody Ave Portland, OR 97201.

If you are able, we encourage you to take public transportation as parking availability is not guaranteed, more information can be found in the righthand sidebar of the building’s Oregon Health & Sciences University webpage.

special Thank you to our event sponsors!

REGISTRATION

It’s OK to change your Ticket Type!

If you feel unwell on the day of the event, please contact us asap. Your registration can be switched to virtual in order to enjoy from the comfort of your home.