Belgium Conference 2019

Midwifery Today Conference

Blankenberge, Belgium • 30 October – 3 November 2019

“Creating a Better Future for Birth”

Vanessa Mendez—vanessamendezphotography.com

Please join us in Blankenberge, Belgium, for an exciting and insightful conference. We have scheduled 15 excellent speakers from a variety of different countries. One exciting thing about our international conferences is diversity. Many people, from different parts of the world, are expected to attend. At the last conference in Bad Wildbad, Germany, 41 different countries were represented—including India and China.

These conferences have become places where we can work on “Creating a Better Future for Birth”—the theme of our conference in Belgium. This is what we hope to do with the input and insights of our speakers and registrants.

Besides the rich palette of classes we have lined up for you, there is the added advantage of spending our time together in one place for the duration of the conference. Because we take our meals together, we have a lot of time built in for networking and making new friends. The venue offers fantastic meals, making it an even more enjoyable time!

Blankenberge is on the coast of Belgium and was the site of our 2013 conference. We will spend five days together sharing, learning, laughing, loving, crying, and planning for a better future for motherbaby and the practitioners who serve them. All are welcome and we hope to see you there!

Jan Tritten


There are so many classes to choose from, such as:

  • Midwifery Skills
  • Eat, Promote, and Doula
  • Birth, Breastfeeding, and Bonding
  • Hemorrhage and Third Stage Difficulties
  • Posterior Arrest
  • Malpresentations
  • Breech Birth
  • Spinning Babies, and so much more
    Program

Continuing Education for Dutch Midwives

The Organization for Midwives in the Netherlands (KNOV) has given full accreditation for the Blankenberge, Belgium, conference. 6.5 points/day in category A: continuing education and further training with a maximum of 16 points.


Conference Location

The conference will be held at Duinse Polders, a beautiful retreat site with good food and a lovely ambiance.

PLEASE NOTE: You must book accommodation at the hotel through Midwifery Today. (The hotel will report that there are no openings because Midwifery Today is holding the rooms for our group.) You can book through Midwifery Today on the registration page, or, if you are already registered, e-mail orders@midwiferytoday.com with your accommodation request.

Duinse Polders
A. Ruzettelaan 195
8370 Blankenberge
Belgium

Overnight Accommodation at Duinse Polders

Booking accommodation at the conference venue is through Midwifery Today and is open through 10 October 2019. You may book and pay at the time you register for the conference or at a later time. After 10 October please check with the hotel directly for availability.

There is no requirement that you stay at Duinse Polders to attend the conference.

Price includes
Breakfast, hot lunch, cold dinner, and overnight stay. Each room has a private bathroom with shower, washbasin, and toilet. Cleaning service is not included; sheets and towels are changed weekly. Free Wi-Fi throughout the building. Rooms and studios are available from 3:30 pm and check-out time is 9:30 am.

Room prices
Shared room, per person per night (with 1–5 others*): €88; US $105; £80
*Most of the rooms are doubles. If no roommate is specified, a same-gender roommate will be randomly assigned.
Single occupancy room per night: €103; US $123; £95
Surcharge per room for one night stay: €6; US $8; £6

Food
Only drinks purchased at Duinse Polders are allowed in the rooms and restaurants. You may bring your own small snacks such as cookies or a piece of fruit.

Dietary requirements: If you have special dietary needs, allergies or intolerances, or wish to eat vegetarian, please let us know when you book your rooms.

Accommodation Cancellation
The deadline to cancel your room reservation is 16 October 2019. A penalty of 10% will be deducted from your refund. No refunds will be given for accommodations cancelled after 16 October 2019.

Early departure or late arrival can only be refunded with proof of illness or injury.

Please note: The deadline for registration cancellation is 6 September. There are no refunds of conference fees after that date.

How to get to Blankenberge

By air (https://www.brusselsairport.be/):
Belgium has one international airport (Brussels International Airport) and four regional airports (Antwerp-Deurne, Charleroi-Gosselies, Liège-Bierset and Ostend-Middelkerke). A train from Brussels International Airport to Blankenberge will be far less expensive than a taxi. The distance is approximately 120 km.

After arrival in Blankenberge, you can take the coast tram, following directions to Knokke. The tram is 1–2 km from the station.

By train (https://www.belgiantrain.be/en):
The ride from Brussels Airport (Zaventem) to Blankenberge lasts approximately 1 hour and 49 minutes, but you need to transfer in Brussels-Midi. A one-way ticket (from Zaventem to Blankenberge) costs €23.80.

To reach Brussels-Midi: From 6:00 am until nearly midnight, the Airport City Express links the airport with Brussels-Midi (less than 20 minutes) four times per hour. The train station is located in the basement (Level -1) of the terminal building itself. Timetable information for the Airport City Express is available on the Belgian Railways (SNCB/NMBS) website; enter Zaventem Airport as the departure or destination station.

International trains, including Thalys (Paris, Amsterdam, and Köln) and Eurostar (London, Lille) bring you to Brussels-Midi, where the same transfer is necessary.

The train ride from Brussels-Midi to Blankenberge takes approximately 1 hour and 16 minutes. This train leaves Brussels for Knokke-Blankenberge. In Bruges the train is separated into two parts: the front part goes to Knokke and the last carriages to Blankenberge. So, you need to sit in the last carriages. If any doubt, ask the ticket inspector.

By coast tram (https://www.delijn.be/en):
With the coast tram you can travel along the entire Belgian coast, from De Panne to Knokke. There is a tram every 20 minutes and the ride lasts 5 minutes from the station to the venue “Duinse Polders.” The price is €3 for one hour. https://www.delijn.be/en/vervoerbewijzen/ritkaarten-dagpassen/biljet-enkele-rit.html

By car:
Belgium has a highly developed motorway network, the densest in the world. High-capacity motorways are centered around Brussels or cut across the country. The motorways are supported by a network of expressways. Most of the motorways are part of European routes.

Duinse Polders has a free large private parking lot for the use of overnight guests.

Some tips:

  • Avoid Antwerpen, as the traffic may be jammed due to road maintenance.
  • Use the A10-E40, following directions to Gent, Oostende, but leave the motorway at the traffic interchange Brugge, exit 8, and follow the N31/E403 expressway, following directions to Blankenberge. Be careful as the speed limits are strictly enforced.
  • A city map can be found here: http://www.stratenplanblankenberge.be/
  • Please be aware that the closer you come to the sea, the more vehicles are banned from the streets. Moreover there are many one-way streets. Parking meters must be used on Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays from 9 am until 7 pm (€1/h). During the week parking is free.

More Information


This video was made by Eneyda Spradlin-Ramos


Photographer Eva Iguaran put together this lovely little video from Bad Wildbad, Germany, in 2018. It gives you a good idea of what happens during a Midwifery Today conference. We always have so much fun, along with inspirational learning, reconnecting with old friends, and making new friends. The video includes a sentence or two from several of our teachers, which will give you a small cross section of what you can expect to experience at a conference. Of course, each conference has its own personality, depending on who attends, and we hope someday that will be you! We thank Eva for all of her hard work in bringing this video to you.

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