Our Story

Ariana Birnbaum first conceived the Becoming Maternity and Parenting concept when she was pregnant with her first child and found that most of the existing prenatal education options varied widely in quality, offering only limited information and little opportunity to interact socially with other expectant mothers. Following the birth of her son, Ariana encountered similar disappointment as she attempted to educate herself about the many classes, programs and products on offer to new parents and their children. Conversations with friends and colleagues revealed that her experience was far from unique. In addition, many of these women also described a real feeling of isolation during their maternity leave. As a result of these experiences, Ariana began to develop an idea for a centre that would not only offer a comprehensive range of information and services for pregnant women, new parents and their families, but would allow people to build friendships and share experiences.

In 2004, a mutual acquaintance introduced Ariana to Susan Georgoussis. A registered nurse with certifications in perinatal care, lactation consulting and Lamaze, Susan has more than 25 years of experience working with expectant and new families at one of Toronto’s pre-eminent perinatal hospitals. Susan and Ariana quickly realized that their skills and backgrounds were uniquely complementary, but, more importantly, as they continued to meet and talk it became clear that they shared a vision and philosophy based upon the need for a community of support and caring for expectant and new families of all kinds.