Part. 10. Stories from the Water – Real Women, Real Births

In 2011, I launched one of the first pioneering gentle birth initiatives in Romania, at a time when women’s dignity during birth was barely acknowledged and natural birth was often feared, dismissed or pathologized.

The Gentle Birth Project was born out of a deep, unwavering calling to bring light into one of the most vulnerable and often neglected thresholds of a woman’s life: the moment of giving birth. This was not merely a program; it became a movement of re-humanization, reconnection and reclaiming the sacredness of childbirth.

I initiated, designed, and implemented the first dedicated gentle birth room within a private maternity hospital in Romania (Eva MedLife Brașov). This space was intentionally created as a sacred and calming environment where women could birth with trust, safety and dignity.

I introduced Birth Plans as a revolutionary tool for restoring autonomy and informed choice, implemented in collaboration with the “Mothers for Mothers” Association, which I co-founded alongside four other determined women.

I offered prenatal consultations, 1:1 emotional guidance and accompanied births on request, providing continuous emotional and subconscious support before, during and after labor.

I taught HypnoBirthing® for 5 years, being the first practitioner in Romania, a method of natural birth through self-hypnosis and empowered over 800 couples to eliminate subconscious fears and to birth with confidence, calm and love.

I brought waterbirth to Romania for the very first time, making this sacred and intuitive method available in medical settings. I personally imported “Birthpool in a Box” from the UK and obtained official approval for hospital use across the country.

I offered consultations on babywearing, postpartum care and helped mothers raise their children in a more intuitive, embodied and natural way.

I launched the “BBmic” Boutique inside the maternity ward, providing eco-friendly, organic products designed to support mothers and newborns with care, consciousness and sustainability.

At its peak, 25% of all births at the maternity I was working: Eva MedLife – were either gentle births or waterbirths – a powerful testament to the cultural and systemic shift we were catalyzing.

I led a visionary team of 13 obstetricians who fully embraced this mission, conducted by the extraordinary Dr. Ionel Aurel, whose warmth and belief in this vision made the entire project possible.

Later, the Gentle Birth project was replicated in another city of Romania: Constanța by another visionary doctor: Dr. Zaher, where it still continues today, over 14 years later.

Throughout this journey, I was blessed to collaborate with many heart-centered doctors across Romania, who stood up for women’s rights in childbirth, including:
* Dr. Bogdan Cioată – Timișoara
* Dr. Adriana Radu – Sibiu
* Dr. Mohamed Zaher – Constanța
* Dr. Szidonia Latziko – Oradea
* Dr. Ionel Aurel – Brașov
* Dr. Marius Romila – Bucharest
* …and several compassionate midwives, neonatologists and doulas from across Romania and abroad.

Because of the awareness we helped generate, more and more women began to speak up, ask questions and make conscious choices about how their babies entered the world.

In 2018, I was honored to receive the “Woman of the Year” award in recognition of my work to transform birth conditions for women across Romania.

Even now, nearly 15 years later, I still witness the seeds we planted blooming in small maternity centers and gentle birth rooms all over the country.

I remain profoundly grateful for every woman, every family and every doctor who trusted this vision, walked beside me and chose to bring their children into the world with less trauma and more love.

My dream continues to expand this movement globally, so that more women can experience birth as it was always meant to be: empowered, sacred, honored. Where the mother’s body is trusted, the baby is welcomed in peace and their story begins in light.