The Birth Village
Periodic pregnancy circles in Luxembourg to prepare for the arrival of your baby while you connect with other moms. Be present on your pregnancy & project your birth.
Pregnancy and birth are crucial events in the lives of women, and they change us forever. Unfortunately, in current times we are always busy, running around, having tasks to fulfil and deadlines to meet, and we have no time to trully connect with our current pregnancy or our upcoming birth.
The pregnancy circles
The Birth Village is a space for you to take a pause and connect: with your pregnancy, your upcoming birth, and other women. We will meet twice a month, and at each encounter we will talk, share and discuss. Each encounter will last 2h and they will all have the same general structure:
- A first moment to share and ask questions. Around a cup of tea, women can bring to the circle anything that their own worries, fears or questions, and share with the rest her own thoughts and experiences
- Then, we will discuss specific topics around pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum
- Then, we will do together some concrete activities to help you connect with your pregnancy and your baby
- We will finish with a closing exercise (relaxation, cooling down, affirmation cards, etc), and meet again in our circle to have a last cup of tea and a moment to share final thoughts and reflections
At each of the Birth Village sessions we will focus in one of the four possible themes: Feel, Flow, Breathe and Dive (keep reading to find out more about each topic). They do not have a particular order and you can join to only one encounter or to as many as you want.
At every session we will do some movement exercises (in some sessions more than others, but this aspect will always be present!), so please try and bring comfortable clothes ๐
As an important remark, please be aware that The Birth Village is not a birth preparation course. These are dynamical sessions with a very active participation of the attendants. They will absolutely help you prepare for birth, but the sessions do not have a lecture format. If you are looking for more structured classes (both theoretical and practical), have a look at my Birth is Movement course! You can absolutely also do both, since the topics do not really overlap.
The four themes
As mentioned above, all the sessions have the same structure, but at each encounter we will focus on a specific topic. Here you can find out more about what to expect from each type of session.
Breathe
During this encounter we will review the important role of the diaphragm both during pregnancy and for pushing, as well as other considerations for the pushing phase of labor. We will learn how to open up space, and do vocalization and breathing exercises with the pregnancy balls and suspensions.
Flow
In this session we will talk about how to create your birth plan and why it is so important. We will also talk about the importance of knowing your options, of advocating for yourself, and being aware of the “cascade of interventions”. We will discuss how to flow with determination while we create our own visual birth plans together, and we will find our own flow moving with the help of props and music.
Feel
In this encounter we will explore our own relationship with pain, get familiar with its role during labor, and talk about the different coping techniques to be used during labor, as well as the importance of finding your own ritual during contractions. We will learn to recognize and register our pelvis and our pelvic floor, and do mobility exercises using pregnancy balls and suspensions.
Dive
During this session we will review in detail the basic needs of a woman in labor (inspired by the works of M. Odent and R. Ehrhardt). We will learn about the importance of trully diving into labor, and how to facilitate this. Then we will also discuss about the importane of trully diving into postpartum as well, while we discuss the basic needs of newborns. We will together create a labor charm for each participant that will be a connecting line between the baby in the womb, during labor, and after they are born, when it will be used as a babywearing/breastfeeding/bonding necklace. We will finish with some relaxing postures using the balls and suspensions.
After the Village
Once you have already taken the four main sessions (Breathe, Flow, Feel and Dive), you are welcome to keep coming to the circles if you wish– free of charge! Every encounter is completely unique, since they evolve around the interests and concerns of the participants. You are welcome to join anytime, to repeat the activities and share a moment with the other women.
Then, after your baby is born, you will be invited to join our Newborn Village: mom&baby circles to share the story of your birth, meet again with the other moms, and do some gentle baby yoga or relaxing exercises. I will host one Newborn Village circle per season, and send the invite through the whatsapp group.
Registration
You can register to as many encounters as you’d like, as they don’t have a particular order. On the document below you can see the upcoming dates and the topic of each session.
The price is 50โฌ per session, 90โฌ for two sessions, 120โฌ for three sessions, or 150โฌ for four sessions. A 50% deposit is necessary to book your spot, and the full amount must be payed before the first session you registered to.
Fill out the form below to register! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line.
DATE Two Mondays a month 11h-13h (see next dates below)
LANGUAGE ENG (FR & ES upon request)
LOCATION Centre Lunata
97 rue du Luxembourg L-8077 Bertrange
Places Limited
And in case you were wondering what our Birth Village sessions look like, you can watch this short reel!