There’s a virtual summit coming up that all new and expecting parents will want to attend. Happening February 3, 4 and 5, the P2P Virtual Summit: Path to Parenthood – A Pregnancy, Infant and Postpartum Conference, will see more than 25 industry leader speakers host panel discussions, breakout sessions and more. We chatted with co-founder Diane Rizzardo to learn more. —Noa Nichol
Hi Di! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.
I’m a pelvic floor, sports and pilates physio and I practice in Burnaby, North Vancouver and Vancouver, B.C. I honestly never thought I would be a pelvic floor physio. I come from a family of Physio’s and grew up playing competitive soccer for UBC and the Whitecaps. Over time working as an orthopedic physio I realized I was only seeing half the picture when treating patients with lower back, hip or pregnancy related pain/ dysfunction. So that’s when I decided to pursue extra training to become a pelvic floor physio and be able to have a more comprehensive view of my patients concerns. I now teach for Pelvic Health Solutions training other physios to be pelvic floor physios! When I’m not working, I have two modes. Either I’m in the North Shore trails running with my two dogs Quinn and Kaia and my fiance Elliott probably training for a race or I’m curled up under many blankets eating popcorn.
What is the P2P Virtual Summit: Path to Parenthood – A Pregnancy, Infant and Postpartum Conference? When is it and who can/should attend?
We invite anyone who is pregnant or a parent to a child under age two to attend! We have a number of ticket options including free general admission tickets, upgraded tickets that come with recordings of all sessions, or VIP tickets! Proceeds of the P2P Summit are supporting Mamas for Mamas across Canada. P2P was born when myself and my business partner Taylor Aller, who is an RMT and mom herself, realized that there was a gap between the people who hold a wealth of knowledge on pregnancy, infancy and early parenthood and the people who need that expertise! New parents report that location, accessibility, time, cost, and time were all barriers to getting access to the professional help they needed. So we decided to launch a yearly summit to bridge that gap. Last year’s event was a sell out and a huge success and we can’t wait for this year’s event!
What topics will be covered at the conference? Any special guests/speakers or activations of note?
We have breakout sessions on topics like prenatal/postpartum exercise, sex and intimacy after baby, parental mental health, how to take at home infant photos like a pro, family financial planning, fertility planning, baby wearing and more! We also have panel discussions where several experts come together to provide comprehensive opinions on a topic. This year this includes a birth options panel featuring a midwife, doula, GP, OGBYN, NICU nurse, labour and delivery nurse, as well as panels on infant feeding, sleep, parental nutrition, and a fan-favourite panel of real moms sharing real talk. We’re so excited to have Dr. Beth Taylor from Olive Fertility giving a session about fertility options and planning for the future. As well as Dr. Sarah Lea from She Found Motherhood Podcast, and Andrea Barr a career coach for women navigating parenthood and host of the All Figured Out podcast. We have over 32 amazing speakers whose profiles can be found on the registration page.
Why is this type of conference needed now?
Post covid with illnesses still very rampant, studies have shown parents of young children feel isolated, have a harder time getting to appointments, and have more negative mental health outcomes. We think part of this is because of the decrease of in-person pregnancy/ new parents groups, less social events where information new parents rely on is traditionally passed along, and less friends checking in and friends making sure they are ok. Many people are turning to the internet to find answers to their parenting questions and we want to make sure when they look online they are getting evidence based information from industry experts.
What are you most looking forward to?
I love meeting Path to Parenthood attendees from both around the corner in my neighbourhood and around the world. Last year we had attendees from across Canada, the U.S., England, Australia, Ireland and Dubai! I also get to learn so much from all of our experts it’s such a fun and interactive event. We’ve added a new session this year that is in person! We are hosting an infant CPR and massage class live and in person February 12, in Burnaby, and these upgraded tickets can be purchased on the main event website.
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