2026 Annual Conference Review

The following is from Joyce Vogel, CPM, current President of the Perinatal Rescue Network Board of Directors.

Perinatal Rescue Network began about 17 years ago with a group of people who were passionate about helping mothers and babies survive, while also providing a place to network, learn, and help educate others working in low-resource countries.

Every year, PRN has held an annual board meeting, and part of that meeting has always included someone teaching the rest of us a new class or skill so that we could be better prepared to go wherever the need might call us.

This year was a little different!

For the first time, we opened our training up and advertised it more widely to see who else might be interested in coming and taking these classes with us. We had a fantastic turnout,  so much so that for a while we wondered if we might actually have to turn people away!  This wasn’t a big  conference. It had the kind of atmosphere where we could all sit and eat dinner together at one table, get to know each other, and develop friendships.

Over the four days we covered a lot! We started with a full-day Pre-Eclampsia & Eclampsia World Health Organization (WHO) certification course and continued throughout the week with hands-on training in abdominal palpation, optimal positioning for labor, Neonatal Resuscitation and updated research on breastfeeding, newborn care during emergencies, and herbal medicine and formula making.

We also had skill stations set up throughout the conference where participants could get hands-on practice  with shoulder dystocia, uterine tamponade, IV placement, catheter placement, and suturing. It was a wonderful mix of practical skills, certification courses, discussion, and lots of hands-on learning.

One of our goals was to keep the cost as low as possible so that the conference would be affordable. With our instructors generously donating their time, and food and housing provided onsite, we were able to keep the cost low while also raising funds for PRN.

And the best news is that PRN has decided to make this an annual conference! SAVE THE DATE!

Our next conference will be June 7-11, 2027 again in Libby, MT, USA. We already have some fantastic speakers lined up! Since this is still a new endeavor, we would really love to hear your ideas as well.

So please feel free to drop us a note and tell us what you would like to see next year!

We are very fortunate to collaborate with International Messengers and be able to use a satellite center they operate in Libby. It offers ample space for both our classes and lodging. Libby is tucked away in the northwest corner of Montana, just west of the Rockies, surrounded by beautiful forests, rivers, waterfalls, and mountains. We are also only a couple of hours from Glacier National Park.

So maybe next year you can turn the conference into a family vacation, come spend four days learning with us,  meet others who share the same passion, and stay a little longer to enjoy this beautiful part of Montana.

We hope to see you next year!

Partner with us today in helping reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates around the globe. Your gift helps empower local professionals in low resource settings and equips them with skills to be able to handle basic birth emergencies.

Author Bio: Joyce has been a midwife for over 16 years in a small town in North West Montana. She loves traveling and teaching “Helping Babies Breathe” and other midwifery subjects whenever she has a chance. She's a mother to 11 children and Grandma to 20. Joyce loves to garden, cook, and is involved in her church with several ministries.