GTA Breech POWER Course Conference

November 21–22, 2026

Venue: Harrison Hall (Room EG-21)
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Avenue, North York, Ontario

Saturday, November 21

8:00–8:20 a.m. | Opening Blessing
Opening blessing from an ancestor of the traditional territory of the GTA.

8:20–8:40 a.m. | Introduction to the Conference

  • Introduction to the conference

  • Presentation on the establishment of the National Breech Society of Canada — Betty-Anne Daviss

  • Brief history of BABE and the evolution of the Breech POWER Course

  • Meriah Fahey: The impact of the Calgary conference on collaboration around breech birth in Alberta

8:40–9:40 a.m. | Client / Patient Panel

  • Breech birth experiences

9:40–10:15 a.m. | Dr. Ken Johnson

  • The trouble with RCTs and the benefits of observational data for the study of complex obstetric phenomena: A call to collect data

10:15–10:30 a.m. | BREAK

10:30–11:15 a.m. | Dr. Meriah Fahey

  • Breech birth outcomes and research from South Health Campus, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

11:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Betty-Anne Daviss

  • Breech birth outcomes and breech practice at l’Hôpital Montfort in Ottawa, with a midwife-led team, neonatal nurses, and respiratory therapists (RTs) present as the baby begins to rump. Obstetricians and pediatricians are no longer involved in these midwife-led births.

  • “We are doing 90% of the vaginal breeches at the hospital.”

12:00–1:00 p.m. | LUNCH

1:00–2:00 p.m. | International Team Zoom Call

  • International teams from Brazil (to be confirmed), Belgium, Oxford, and Amsterdam

2:00–2:30 p.m. | Betty-Anne Daviss

  • The Mechanics of Normal Breech Birth

2:30–3:15 p.m. | Essential Manoeuvres for Vaginal Breech Birth

  • Essential manoeuvres used in other upright breech courses, developed and researched by our team in Frankfurt and Ottawa

3:15–5:00 p.m. | Vaginal Breech Birth Simulations

  • Coffee and transition to small-group vaginal breech birth simulations

Sunday, November 22

8:00–8:40 a.m. | Dr. Andrew Bisits

  • Outcomes and research from Newcastle and Sydney

  • Interviewing candidates for breech birth

8:45–9:20 a.m. | Panel of Obstetric, Midwifery, and Neonatal Practitioners

  • Clinical practice changes for cord clamping with vaginal breech birth

9:20–10:00 a.m. | Dr. Ken Johnson

  • Understanding Breech and Cesarean Risks: The Role of Meta-Analysis

  • Exploring the interpretation of forest plots and their role in understanding meta-analyses

  • Applying this understanding to poorly conducted meta-analyses of breech studies and examining the role of meta-analyses in developing the evidence behind multiple cesarean risks

10:00–10:15 a.m. | BREAK

10:15–11:00 a.m. | Panel Discussion

  • Controversies in Management:

    • Early cord clamping

    • Induction of the breech: A controversy, or simply difficult when a unit does not attend breech births frequently?

11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Vaginal Breech Births with Midwives as MRP

12:00–12:15 p.m. | Lisa Cowdery

  • National Breech Society of Canada (NBSC) Breech Friendly Hospital (BFH) Initiative

12:15–1:15 p.m. | LUNCH

1:15–3:00 p.m. | Video Analysis

  • Difficult breech births shared by practitioners across Canada

3:00–3:15 p.m. | BREAK

3:15–4:45 p.m. | Vaginal Breech Birth Simulations

  • Small-group simulations

4:45–5:00 p.m. | Closing

Program subject to change, although changes are expected to be minimal. All parties are keen to seize this opportunity for learning, collaboration, and action.