As a proud mother of a son and a daughter, I can truly appreciate how precious motherhood is. Even though it didn’t take long for me to get pregnant, I understand that the period from expressing the desire to have a child until pregnancy can feel lonely. During that time, any kind of support is greatly appreciated.
As a Colombian, I support (expecting) Spanish-speaking mothers in the Netherlands during pregnancy and motherhood. When I discovered Moeders voor Moeders 3.5 years ago, I immediately knew: I’m going to donate my urine. I hope to support all the women for whom getting pregnant isn’t a given by participating in this way!
In 2020, I married my husband in Colombia. He is Dutch, and I’m Colombian, so you could say I’m an expert at navigating cultural differences. Shortly after our wedding, we decided to try and fulfill our dream of having children. My partner is a bit older than me, so we didn’t want to wait too long to start a family. At that time, the COVID period had just begun, and it brought a lot of uncertainty with it. I had my IUD removed, started tracking my fertility cycle, and paid attention to changes in my hormones. I also visited my doctor to get a smear test to ensure everything was in order. I began taking folic acid and focused on exercising regularly. In short, I tried to live as healthily as possible to welcome a little one into our lives soon.
We were quite skeptical because it often takes time to conceive. That wasn’t the case for us—I became pregnant right away! It was a mix of emotions. We were surprised it happened so quickly, but above all, we were overjoyed that a baby was on the way.
I think it’s wonderful that initiatives like Moeders voor Moeders exist, giving hopeful parents a better chance of a future with a child. Among friends and women in my work community, I’ve seen that pregnancy is not always guaranteed. A pregnancy can end in a miscarriage, or getting pregnant may not happen at all, which can cause great disappointment. These are life events that can have a huge impact, especially on an emotional level. During my pregnancy, I participated in Moeders voor Moeders to support these hopeful parents. On the one hand, by donating my urine, and on the other, by letting these hopeful parents (hopefully) know that there are many mothers, including me, standing behind them!
Michelle is the founder of **Maminfo**, an organization that supports migrant mothers in motherhood. For more information, visit https://www.maminfo.nl/.