Birth Roots Maine

Birth Roots Maine Building a culture of support & non-clinical care throughout new & early parenthood
Welcome to Birth Roots!

Of all the things we need in expectant, new and early parenthood, *each other* makes the very top of the list. It is so valuable and informative to be part of a group of expectant parents with similar due dates to your own, to be able to hear other new parents' stories of daily life with a newborn, and to be able to ask questions of people who parent toddlers when you are too. Birth Roots classes cover a lot of ground, but building a vibrant community of local families experiencing the same stages and phases of new and early parenthood is something we prioritize! For today's parents, starting a family and raising children in a complex and rapidly changing world, creating true community requires a commitment to showing up for each other in ways that previous generations did not, otherwise, our time spent together will risk only being inclusive, informed, affirming, and sensitive to some community members and not others. There is much work to be done in every facet of our lives to end the institutional, structural and systemic harm and marginalization that persists without our shared effort to insist on something we do not yet have, equity and inclusion for all families. As an organization, Birth Roots does not have this all figured out yet, but we are doing this important work every single day. We invite you to make this part of your Big P Parenting effort, while simultaneously gaining skills in the little p parenting arena. In anticipation of participating in Birth Roots programs, consider what it takes to learn from parents with lived experience or identities that are not the same as your own. Some parents will be birthing in hospitals while others are birthing at home. Some have just moved to Maine, some are 4th generation Mainers, while others have roots to this place that go back thousands of years. Some families only speak English while others participate using English as their 7th language. Some families have two moms, or perhaps a parent who does not identify as either a mom or a dad. Some pregnancies arrived ahead of schedule, while others were the effort of multiple rounds of IVF/ART. Some members of our community experience the Portland area as too densely populated for their comfort - while others find the Portland area not nearly urban enough! What does it take to make all of these lived experiences feel represented and welcomed in the same class? We hope you will join us in actively seeking the answer to this question. Birth Roots Center for Community Supported Parenting is a nonprofit organization serving new parents in Southern Maine and beyond. Birth Roots fosters the deepening of community roots helps families become effective advocates for themselves and their children, and enhances interdependence among networks of families. We are committed to facilitating more meaningful conversations about expectant, new, and early parenthood. Rather than turning to Google for parenting advice, you have a local resource that can address your practical needs as well as offer a gathering space for you to "Find Your Flock"! You’ve just stumbled upon a treasure in Cumberland County's landscape. Amidst Greater Portland’s thriving Farmer’s Markets, extensive trail system, public spaces, and “Buy Local” movement, Birth Roots is an integral part of why Portland is consistently listed as one of the best places to live and raise a family in America.

NEXT Thursday!
03/20/2026

NEXT Thursday!

Please join us for an evening dedicated to reimagining how we welcome life into the world.

Baby Roots Nature Camp 🌱 May & June registration opens today at noon!
03/19/2026

Baby Roots Nature Camp 🌱 May & June registration opens today at noon!

Facilitator in the Spotlight!Abby Pitts joined Birth Roots in 2021 and in addition to being a facilitator in the Prepari...
03/17/2026

Facilitator in the Spotlight!

Abby Pitts joined Birth Roots in 2021 and in addition to being a facilitator in the Preparing Series, Buds, and Eat, Sleep, Feed is also on staff as the Program Director. Outside of Birth Roots Abby is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant at her private practice, Peacefulsong Doula and Lactation. Participants often share that Abby creates a calm, warm classroom where questions of all kinds are welcome.
ibclc
Abby's website: https://peacefulsongdoula.com/

Our April Buds class has a few more spots available! We hope you and your newborn can join us. For more info and to regi...
03/17/2026

Our April Buds class has a few more spots available! We hope you and your newborn can join us.

For more info and to register, check out our website: birthroots.org/classes-events/

Baby Roots Nature Camp is returning for the season! Registration for the Spring session (May/June) goes live on Mar 19th...
03/16/2026

Baby Roots Nature Camp is returning for the season! Registration for the Spring session (May/June) goes live on Mar 19th at noon. We hope to see you and your kiddo (6-36 months old) can join us 🦋🌱

Wahoo, Baby Roots Nature Camp is returning for the season! Registration for the Spring session (May/June) goes live on M...
03/12/2026

Wahoo, Baby Roots Nature Camp is returning for the season! Registration for the Spring session (May/June) goes live on Mar 19th at noon. We hope to see you and your kiddo (6-36 months old) can join us 🦋🌱

part one of twoUnsung Maine Women, “Architects of Society”Maine’s voice, Maine’s legacy, Maine’s women, “punch above the...
03/12/2026

part one of two
Unsung Maine Women, “Architects of Society”
Maine’s voice, Maine’s legacy, Maine’s women, “punch above their weight class”.
In the 200 years since Maine became the 23rd state in what is known as the Missouri Compromise, a steady stream of remarkable women has continued to emerge from this profound place, eight generations of brilliant minds, voices, legacies… women who are not revered or even referenced nearly enough. Architects of society such Frances Perkins, and Rachel Carson, Samantha Smith, and Margaret Chase Smith, but one particular woman comes to mind when I think of my own story arc, and that is late 19th century midwife Martha Ballard.
Before obstetrics was even a field, Martha Ballard recorded some 10,000 entries between 1785 and 1812, serving the Hallowell area, crossing the frozen Kennebec River in winter, to midwife a total of 816 babies spanning her 27 years of caring for pregnant mothers in and around what has been anglicized, Augusta.
Girls of Martha's time period would not have been educated to read or write …and any written records that might have been kept by women two centuries ago, were belittled as mere “diaries” and not preserved as a thing of value or significance. Despite this, Maine midwife Martha Ballard, penned meticulous daily details keeping unparalleled data on the pregnancies, the labors and the health of mothers and babies - though no one asked her to or told her to. She.just.knew. And she trusted her knowing.
What Martha Ballard of Hallowell did not know in 1791 was that those details she scribed and preserved would be turned into a Pulitzer Prize winning publication in 1991, or that a free-standing birth center would be named after and invoke her legacy in the years following the publication of her words, her perspective, her knowledge. Martha would never know that this birthing center, The Ballard House, would serve as the launch pad for a non-profit organization, Birth Roots, that would redefine the perinatal care of new parents by building out missing infrastructure of non-clinical care in collaboration with more than 7,000 families - spanning the first two decades of the 21st century - in Cumberland County, Maine.

Lifting up the women who shape Maine is at the heart of the Maine Women’s Project. Today we’re honored to feature Leah Deragon of Birth Roots and her beautif...

Facilitator in the Spotlight!Maeve Shea joined Birth Roots earlier this year and has become an integral part of the Prep...
03/11/2026

Facilitator in the Spotlight!

Maeve Shea joined Birth Roots earlier this year and has become an integral part of the Preparing Series prenatal education department. In addition to being a skilled facilitator Maeve is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and postpartum doula in her private practice Maeve Shea, IBCLC. Participants appreciate Maeve's attention to detail and her warm, welcoming classroom environment.

Maeve's website: https://maevesheaibclc.com/

🙌 We had a spot open up in this weekend's intensive!When: Friday 3/13 6-9pm & Saturday 3/14, 9-12pmCheck comments or sto...
03/09/2026

🙌 We had a spot open up in this weekend's intensive!
When: Friday 3/13 6-9pm & Saturday 3/14, 9-12pm
Check comments or stories for a link to register.
This class is otherwise sold out through May 2026.

🌱WHO: The BIRTH CLASS INTENSIVE is for expectant parents in their 3rd trimester who may live far from Birth Roots or have unusually complicated schedules making it difficult or impossible to participate over the span of 4 weeks. It is also taken by [not-first-time] parents as a review in preparation for subsequent births, or those who have missed the window to begin a 4 week class that lines up with their due date. One registration enrolls two participants.

🌱WHEN TO TAKE: The BIRTH CLASS INTENSIVE is a 6-hour course offered over two-days. Taken in your third trimester (30 to 38 weeks). To prioritize adequate time and space for active learning, our core classes are limited to just 7 or 8 families.

🌱WHY: Birth Roots classes are designed to bring together a “flock” of families in this same phase of life, with similar due dates, sharing third trimester questions, concerns, and considerations. The condensed version moves quickly and is less detailed than the 12-hour version. Complications & Interventions are not covered during the 6 hour Intensive.

03/06/2026

It's true - new parents that have access to paid leave experience better outcomes across the board, from improved ability to breastfeed, to greatly reduced postpartum depression, to much greater access to infant checkups.

When Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits go live on May 1, we'll all start to reap the rewards.

Visit maine.gov/paidleave to learn more about the program and how to access it when it goes live, and visit mainefamilyleave.org for the latest updates!

Address

16 Vannah Avenue
Portland, ME
04101

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 1pm
Tuesday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Thursday 10am - 1pm

Telephone

+12077724784

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Birth Roots Maine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Facilitated Group Sourcing

You’ve just stumbled upon a hidden treasure in Southern Maine. Amidst Greater Portland’s thriving Farmer’s Markets, extensive trail system, public spaces, and “Buy Local” movement, Birth Roots is an integral part of why Portland is consistently listed as one of the best places to live and raise a family in America.

Since 2004 Birth Roots has been developing and delivering a unique model of community-based education and support that begins in pregnancy and continues throughout early parenting . The work of Birth Roots addresses social, emotional and non-clinical needs, emphasizes parental instincts and intuition, establishes robust networks of peer support, and sets the tone for Community Supported Parenting. We are committed to facilitating more meaningful conversations around birthing and parenting. Rather than relying on the internet for parenting advice, you have a local resource that can fill your practical needs as well as offer a space for you to connect, process, grow and thrive.