10/11/2020
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce, the Luxmama Club & ParentPrep asbl will enter a deregistration process as from the end of the year.
A 7 year cycle has come to an end…
This means, our FB page, FB group, meetup group and Instagram page will close down on 31 Dec.
We will complete our currently scheduled activities until the end of the year but as from Jan 2021 no more Luxmama activities will be organised.
The Luxmama Blog https://luxmamalu.wordpress.com/ will continue to exist and gradually all “Human Rights in Childbirth” information in EN that has been put together through endless hours of work will gradually be transferred from the existing website to the blog site as well as important info from the Luxmama FB group.
Luxmama’s 1st activities started in Sep 2013 to provide social events and holistically minded educational workshops in EN to expecting and new parents. The asbl was registered with very ambitious awareness goals and was all self-funded by the activities:
1. Human Rights in Childbirth
2. Perinatal Mental Health
3. Green Parenting
As expat mother, founder of Luxmama and Luxmama’s main “keeper of all the parts together”, my life changing plus Covid forced me to look even deeper at my life and I realised it’s taken me a long time to see my limits NOT as a personal shortcoming, but as a neutral fact of being human.
Burnout is real and for many has become a product of our patriarchal ways of living...
I have also sacrificed a lot of family time to pursue the cause which I no longer can give to such extent.
And for years my conditioning urged me to push myself beyond my limits for the charitable cause:
--> since the more I studied and researched Birth, the more injustice I saw and coming from an developing country (South Africa) where one may expect it, it was disheartening to see the level of political injustice, negligence and disrespect for Human Rights in Childbirth, women, babies and basically life itself from such a prestigious and advanced country (lack of freedom in evidence based birth choices)
--> and I got fed up with people complaining about it but doing nothing about it OR pretending it’s ok to prevent families from accessing all the valid birth choices and in effect decreasing their chances to have a physiological birth due to the technocratic maternity care system built on patriarchal hierarchies not acknowledging what healthy pregnancies truly need
--> and the more I healed my inner world the more hope I had that “anything is possible” and that we can help bring it to light and fix it
--> and the more I healed my conditioning and strengthened my relationship with the Source of all, the more I realised how pivotal for humanity it is that we treat the beginning of life with respect, tenderness and compassionate care. This is a big part of the reason why humanity is divided and fighting, due to these unhealed core wounds in our entry to life.
--> The more I healed, the more I also realised I was hiding myself behind an organisation not realising that I have the right to be, to take up space as MYSELF in the field (Marise Hyman Preconception, Prenatal & Parenthood Doula), i don’t have to prove myself worthy by running an NGO. I am allowed to have a business and earn money for my work. There are other ways to give back to the community, I don’t have to burn myself out.
--> The more I healed, the more I realised my self-worth has become dependent on constant doing, doing, doing vs BEING. Longstanding patterns of over-performance to prove my worth fell away. I realised I don’t have to earn my self-worth. I am already worthy.
I am so proud of each and every euro we have raised over the last 7 years with hard work so we could pursue our awareness goals and try to make a difference.
I am very proud of the Birth Culture Brunch that we managed to host in May 2019 as part of the International Week of Respecting Childbirth to raise awareness of the inequality in the system that midwives in Luxembourg face. The goal was to plant some positive seeds of change. I just wish more doctors (or even just 1 dr! there are so many great ones) would also join the cause to fix the unfair system. This is hurting all of us. It is going to take doulas, midwives, concerned citizens, maternity care consumers AND drs and policymakers to come together and resolve the lack of choice in birth and inequality peacefully, respectfully.
Through healing a deep-rooted pattern of taking responsibility for stuff that’s not mine, I’ve realised it’s not just my responsibility to “save the world”, we’re ALL in this together.
--> The wonderful news is that there is a new group of motivated midwives, doulas, mothers and concerned citizens dedicated to human rights in childbirth in Lux, so even though Luxmama asbl will close down, I am still passionate about HRIC and will continue to educate, inform, speak out in my circles and support those that will take action: Gebuertsrecht Lëtzebuerg- Birthrights Luxembourg
I now know that we have to ‘be the change’ we want to see in the world and that our inner work is key in achieving outer harmony BUT I also believe this is not enough.
I believe it has to go hand in hand with addressing the injustice in the structures/systems of oppression with RIGHT ACTION. The 2 goes hand in hand.
Through the experience of nurturing Luxmama over the years I have met so many amazing people collaborators, volunteers, families and babies and I have grown so much as a human. 😊
My big thanks to all Luxmama’s volunteers over the years:
Jessica Sicre
Ildiko Lauwers Juhaszova
Veronika Meindl
Erin Plum
Alyson Solohub
Joanna Wolynska
Elfi Koufogeorgou
Christina Anyfanti
Liza Ras
Emma Blatch
Fadima Konate
Anne Louise Littlejohn
Clare Marie Trono
Lidia Sapuppo
Emmy Mcniece
Jackie Mapenzi
Rashmi Kathuria Arora
Daniela Rosamond
Honorata
And all the teachers:
Erin Plum (birth prep, positive birth movement)
Jessica Sicre (baby massage, baby yoga)
Celine Aubert (French with baby)
Ruth Meikle (1st aid)
Myself (prenatal, birth prep, postnatal, positive birth movement, sisterhood circle)
And a special thanks to miyo family concept store and Crèche Cannelle et Caramel, F&G Photography, Unicorner Concept Store and Laura Photography for their ongoing collaboration and support 🙂
And big big thank you to each and every one of you that joined our events & workshops over the years, I will always remember Luxmama times with fond memories!
GOING FORWARD AS FROM 2021:
The great thing is over the years more and more resources for families in EN emerged so you are not alone!
There are plenty great support groups and services out there:
* Luxembourg Parents
* Ladies of Luxembourg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1002932669771646
* Expat ladies in lux, https://www.facebook.com/groups/luxembourgladies,
* International Ladies in Luxembourg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2390131614446633,
* British Ladies Club Luxembourg & American women's club Luxembourg (once joined as member you can access their FB group): http://www.blc.lu/, http://www.awcluxembourg.com/
* Babywearing in Luxembourg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/543941872306641,
* https://www.facebook.com/Breastfeeding-mums-Luxembourg-2281955062016070,
* Luxembourg Daddy Group asbl https://www.facebook.com/groups/1281202801974012,
* For 2nd hand items kids corner: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Kcluxembourg
* The wonderful midwifes at Association Luxembourgeoise des Sages-Femmes
* Initiativ Liewensufank's Baby Hotline:
https://www.liewensufank.lu/fr/consultation/de-baby-hotline/
* Naissance.lu: https://www.facebook.com/groups/501467950784736
* There is also many whatsapp groups (just ask in Lux parents)
The Luxmama blog will endeavour to continue providing information in EN: https://luxmamalu.wordpress.com/
Furthermore, the Doula Love Luxembourg FB group (in EN) will continue to exist and I will be active there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/doulalovelux
The Birth culture lux fb page will close down in 1 month. Please refer to the new group Gebuertsrecht Lëtzebuerg Birth Rights! https://www.facebook.com/groups/776526986493359
Funds: We decided together that our funds raised after overheads (couple of thousand) will be donated 50/50 to Gebuertsrecht Lëtzebuerg Birth Rights and Treesisters.org.
Workshops
- Jessica will continue to do baby massage and baby yoga classes and workshops. You can contact her at Serenity Cocoon Baby Massage & Baby Yoga: www.serenitycocoon.lu
- Myself will continue to provide various pre & postnatal workshops, classes, in particular weekly Dancing for Birth and Calm Birth courses and more via Marise Hyman Preconception, Prenatal & Parenthood Doula and I will continue providing 1on1 services (preconception prenatal & parenthood): www.marisehyman.com
Events
- Sisterhood Circles will continue in a similar format but with a new name and I will host them via my Self-Empowerment & Healing line of service Empowered Me by Marise, www.marisehyman.com
Thank you all for reading!
Stay healthy!
Heal your wounds 😉 And then take inspired action where needed
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With love
Marise Hyman
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