Mama to 3 gorgeous children, River 7, India 5 1/2 and Ocean 3 ½. Doria is an American-Israeli, Writer with a background in Philosophy. She is married to a Swedish husband and moved to Portugal a few years ago to start a new life in neutral territory. Doria tells her story with complete transparency and honesty. In our sit down together she considers how her life choices (the bold, brave and crazy)have helped her to evolve and learn how to really tune into who she is as not only a mother, but as a woman in society.
I was on a plane at 36 weeks and 5 days, huge, with a 1 ½ year old. When we look back at that flight I still can’t believe it. What were we thinking?!
After meeting her husband Toby in India, they moved to Sweden to support his dream to become an Osteopath. Even though she was isolated and alone, she shares her excitement and how overjoyed she felt about being pregnant with her son River and all the things that would unfold from there. For better or for worse. It is interesting to hear how Sweden generally takes more of a holistic approach to pregnancy and birth as they don’t treat it as a medical condition. She talks about how lucky she was to have the full support of her mother, who is also a Doula, and her commitment to supporting her during the births of all of her children. Even if that meant a trip to Costa Rica. During her second pregnancy with India, she started selling Toby on the idea of an amazing beach lifestyle and a dreamy future together in Costa Rica. She found out that if you give birth there, they have a generous and unique immigration law, that not only grants the baby residency but the entire family. Doria knew she couldn’t do it without her mother’s support, she knew she had to have her by her side and the final decision on moving would be down to whether or not her mother was committed to being there. At 28 weeks pregnant, with her mother’s support as doula secure, she started planning for a new adventure. Our friendship grew throughout the duration of lockdown as we discovered we lived only a street away from each other. It was often on our afternoon walks through the local parks and small forest that we would lock eyes and ask if we were both ok. After getting to know her more and hearing the stories she had inside of her, I knew they had to be shared in the hopes that her experiences might help other women to relate, heal and even dream about life outside of the “norm.”
Doria’s Pearl of Wisdom
Find the balance that’s right for you and reach out when you feel like you need someone else, someone else’s input, someone else’s support. Surround yourself with positive women who will lift you up. Judgement is completely unnecessary and always remember that at the end of the day you have your own intuition to guide you. Even when you’ve received advice, you’re the one who has to quietly take that in and decide what’s right for you.