How We Started

In the 1990s British mid-wives started the Vienna Childbirth Trust. It was a variation of the National Childbirth Trust, a membership charity in Great Britain dealing with pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. The idea was to provide a support network for mothers from other countries who were pregnant or with small children and living in Vienna.

In 2002 the group was 35-members strong when Kirsty Weston took the reins from Melanie Feitzinger. There was essentially only one group, all communication was done by quarterly newsletter, and members met in each other's homes. After Kirsty created the first VBC Web site membership exploded. Over the next four years upwards of 200 new members joined and mothers and children were divided into groups based on the ages of the kids. The group was getting so large that a Steering Committee was formed to better organize and oversee VBC activities and policies. In 2006 the VBC Notices started coming out every week to all formal members advertising and soliciting useful information from members for members. Kirsty was instrumental in the expansion of the VBC and guiding it to its current status.

Sarah Hallman and Melissa Barker took over as Co-Presidents of the group in January 2007 and formalized the Steering Committee and its meetings. New social activities designed by and for parents were introduced, as were District meetings. The new design of the VBC Web site was launched in February 2008. In January 2008 Melissa returned to South Africa leaving her posts as Co-President, Social Activities member, and Group Coordinator.