Online Via Zoom
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The Microbiome Through Life
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Free Webinar Series
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Online Via Zoom ☆ The Microbiome Through Life ☆ Free Webinar Series ☆
Free | Tuesday 26 May 2026 | 12:30-1:30pm AEST | Replay Available
How Your Baby’s Microbiome Begins
and Why It Shapes Everything
Evidence-based education for parents, parents-to-be, and the practitioners who support them
A note from Chantel
I know what it feels like to be pregnant and unwell; exhausted, scared, and told by every doctor that nothing was wrong.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was in the middle of studying naturopathy and my gut had started to fall apart.
I was diagnosed with Blastocystis and Dientamoeba fragilis during pregnancy, two organisms that most GPs didn't know what to do with.
The cramping, bloating, nausea, and bone-deep fatigue were relentless. But what frightened me most wasn't how I felt. It was what I was reading.
We were just beginning to understand how powerfully a mother's microbiome influences her baby's developing ecosystem. And I was sitting there with a disrupted one, terrified I might be passing something on that my children would carry for years.
I got through both pregnancies. Breastfed both babies. And then, once I felt ready, I tried to do something about the dysbiosis. I followed an eradication protocol that was popular at the time; berberine, oregano oil, the works. My gut got dramatically worse. Within months I had slid into chronic fatigue that lasted over five years.
Two young children at home. Unable to work. Socially withdrawn. Running on empty.
At my worst I was eating gluten-free, dairy-free, low-FODMAP, and low-histamine simultaneously. My world had shrunk to a very short list of foods I felt safe eating. I didn't realise how afraid I'd become until years later, when I finally started lifting those restrictions and found my way back to real food freedom.
What turned it around wasn't another protocol. It was a shift in philosophy, a conversation with Dr Jason Hawrelak, one of the world's leading gut microbiome researchers, that changed everything.
We stopped trying to eradicate. We started trying to restore. Diet, food as medicine, supporting gut permeability, lifting the beneficial microbes rather than attempting to kill the opportunistic ones. Six to twelve months later, I was coming back to life.
That experience, the fear during pregnancy, making things worse before making them better, and eventually finding the approach that actually works, is the foundation of everything I now teach.
We know so much more now about the infant and childhood microbiome than we did then.
We know what disrupts it. We know what healthy development looks like. Most importantly, we know how to support and restore it when dysbiotic events have occurred.
I want to share that with you.
What you’ll learn:
In this 60-minute, evidence-based webinar:
The first 1000 days - why this developmental window has a lifelong influence on immune function, metabolism, and mental health
How the microbiome is seeded - birth, breastfeeding, skin contact, the household ecosystem - and what happens when that process is disrupted
Common disruptors and their impact - antibiotics in pregnancy, C-section births, early formula use, recurrent childhood antibiotics - what the research actually shows
What healthy infant and childhood microbiome development looks like, and how to recognise when something needs support
The family microbiome - how gut health is shared between parents, siblings, and babies, and why mum's microbiome matters before, during, and after pregnancy
Evidence-based, restorative approaches to support the developing microbiome when dysbiotic events have occurred
Who this is for:
This webinar is for you if:
You're pregnant, planning to conceive, or a new mum wanting to give your baby the best microbiome start possible
You've had a C-section, antibiotics during pregnancy or birth, or your baby or child has had early antibiotic exposure and you want to understand what that means and what you can do
You're a naturopath, nutritionist, midwife, GP, or other practitioner working with families and wanting clinically grounded, evidence-based education on infant and childhood microbiome development
You've been dismissed or given conflicting advice, and want someone who genuinely understands this space to explain it clearly
No prior microbiome knowledge needed.
Evidence-based, practical, and free.
Meet Your Host, Chantel Yates
Chantel Yates is a naturopath and herbalist with 18+ years of clinical experience specialising in gut health and microbiome restoration.
She completed a five-year GIT Fellowship with Dr Jason Hawrelak, one of the world's foremost gut microbiome researchers, working across some of the most complex gut cases in Australia and internationally. She holds postgraduate qualifications in herbal medicine, naturopathy, and evidence-based complementary medicine, and completed Dr Moira Bradfield's Vagiversity programme in Genito-urinary and vaginal microbiome health.
Chantel runs a private clinical practice, a practitioner mentoring series, and annual microbiome retreats in Tasmania. She is a guest educator for CoBiome and a member of the NHAA's Environment and Sustainability SIG.
This work is also deeply personal. Chantel's own experience of gut dysbiosis, pregnancy, chronic fatigue, and eventual recovery through the restorative approach she now teaches forms the heart of everything she does.
Click here to see more on my Qualifications and Career Highlights.
Are you a practitioner?
Chantel's next intake of her Microbiome Mentorship Series is now open!
Evidence-based, case-led clinical mentoring in gut health and microbiome restoration for naturopaths, nutritionists, and integrative clinicians.
If gut health is part of your clinical work, you're welcome here.
More in this series: The Microbiome Through Life
Evidence-based microbiome education across every life stage - free online, every month. All sessions run 12:30–1:30pm AEST.
Webinar 2 is on Tuesday 30 June
Webinar 3 on Tuesday 28 July
Webinar 4 on Tuesday 25 August
Topics and registration for each webinar will open after the previous session - come back to this page to reserve your spot.
FAQS
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Not at all. Each webinar is designed to be accessible whether you're completely new to this topic or already have some background. Everything is explained in clear, evidence-based language that's equally useful for patients, parents, and practitioners.
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Each session runs for 60 minutes - approximately 40-45 minutes of presentation followed by 15-20 minutes of Q&A.
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Yes. A replay will be sent to all registered attendees within 24 hours of each session. We encourage you to join live if you can, as the Q&A is a great opportunity to ask your own questions.
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No. These are genuine educational sessions built around evidence-based content you can use straight away. Chantel will mention ways to work with her further, but the focus is entirely on giving you useful knowledge.
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Yes. Each webinar is designed to bridge both audiences. The content is clinically grounded and evidence-rich, and practitioners are very welcome - both to attend for their own learning and to share with patients in their care.