top of page

Doula Services Testimonials

Preconception to parenthood

2015-high-res-dfblogo_300x300.png

I took my first "Dancing for Birth" class with Marise and was so impressed with how talented and hard working she is, it was not a normal ‘dance class’, but an educational, informative workshop created in a fun way where you are able to bond more with your baby, activate muscles used in birth and more  Very much worth the price. I was lucky that it turned out to be a private session. There I learned that she has such an easy going and approachable attitude, that I will surely follow up to work with her/utilize her support services again. Glad to have met her on my pregnancy journey

Newborn

Marise was of tremendous help in preparing for the birth of my second child. She devised our individual sessions according to my needs and shared a lot of invaluable knowledge about birthing with me, along with using the Headtrash Clearance and Birth into Being methods. In general, that feeling of helplessness especially in relation to the pain which I‘d dreaded because of my first birth experience was gone - totally. I felt much better prepared and therefore empowered before and especially during the birth of my daughter and cannot recommend Marise and her coaching services enough!

Pregnancy

“It was very obvious right after my Limbic Imprint Recoding and Conscious Empowerment session I felt a new sense of empowerment. I am feeling much more empowered to take a leading role both at work and in life and it gave me the confidence to speak with a lot of strength and clarity  in the knowingness of who I am and what I am worth. I truly sense a new program has been rewritten.”

Love

Mom-to-be:

"I feel better about our future "adventure" as the Becoming Us course gave me reassurance that we can make mistakes and still remain loving and caring partners and family. The course also provides tools how to deal with stressful situations, conflict and understanding my partner's needs."

 

Dad-to-be:

"This training is ideal for 1st time parents. We have learned about ourselves as a couple + this gives us a good basis for welcoming our 1st child.

jana.jpg

After 4 online sessions of the “headtrash clearance” with Marise I can definitely say that this method is really something different, working a lot with the sub-conscious and some deeply buried blocks. Due to working on stuff that I was not aware of with my conscious mind and because the sessions were taking place during my pregnancy it is difficult to say clearly how much of the positive outcome was thanks to the sessions themselves, how much was thanks to the emotional and physical rollercoaster this pregnancy brought me and how much was thanks to just talking to Marise who is a fantastic human being and a passionate professional in the field of pregnancy and parenting.

 

I can honestly say that after each session I felt better than before it. All of the sessions (thanks to the “I love it/I hate it” method specific for this therapy) helped me to see and feel things from a different point of view. And conclude for myself which feeling is right for me and why. When for example working on my fear of the unknown regarding childbirth I suddenly saw that knowing exactly what would be coming each second during the birth would rob me of the magic of spontaneity and would feel somewhat sterile and empty. Some of our work pushed me to connect the dots I was already subconsciously aware of and helped me to see and clearly name my fears and work on them. Some of the tools may seem a bit strange/new but if you keep your mind open you will learn a lot about yourself and get rid of things that no longer serve you.

Sleeping Newborn

"I had the pleasure to be coached by Marise a couple of months before our baby girl was born and couldn’t be happier. She helped us prepare for what was coming by explaining how sleeps works, what sleepy signs to look out for, how to approach them and how to set a good foundation for sleep for baby and our family. She was kind and easy to relate to, she answered all our questions on sleeping and how to function as a new family. I am very happy to say that sleeping has not been a problem in our home.  We implemented what we learned from day one and our little girl has been growing & sleeping well. She enjoys her naps and does not cry herself to sleep as she had the chance to learn peacefully and gently to fall asleep once we put her down for sleep. Thank you so much Marise for your lessons and support in this matter. I am so glad we prepared ourselves before birth since it has made everything flow very naturally. I highly recommend this course for every expecting parent, it will save you a lot of sleepless nights!

Couple's Shadow

Preparing for the arrival of the first baby is a big, even overwhelming adventure. Adding to that, going through this experience in a new country and getting all the right information on how to care for our future baby can be stressing. 

 

With energy, professionalism, tons of preparation, and a great deal of humor, Marise has made our journey of becoming parents stress-free!

 

She has given us helpful resources that we often come back to, month after month, even after our newborn has arrived. We now feel more equipped to navigate this journey and make the most of this adventure.

Mother and Baby

I had the opportunity to be coached by Marise before my baby girl was born!

 

She helped me a lot in being self-confident with regards to putting my baby to sleep and help her to enjoy sleep and having several naps per day.

 

From 2 months old on my lil' one sleeps so well at night and sleeping is not a problem at all for us!

 

All in all she is a very good sleeper because I could help her from the beginning to find the tranquility to sleep peacefully. Thank you so much Marise for helping me because this was on of my biggest fears and its so easy for us now!

2015-high-res-dfblogo_300x300_edited.png

“Mamas to be - be sure to try the Dancing for Birth™ sessions. During this pregnancy I am super tired and lazy but since I started with this program I would not miss a session.

If you want to feel prepared for childbirth - both physically and mentaly - it is the way to go. You do not need to have any dancing experience but you will learn some simple and effective dancing moves making you feeling very feminine, energetic and capable. In short (as Marise often says) you will feel like a (birth) Goddess :)

Plus you will get some very useful tips and tricks for possible issues in pregnancy and smooth childbirth.

Since I started dancing I no longer have pain in my hips and feel very competent and proud as a life-giver (instead of scared of dying of pain).”

Calm-Birth-Logo-Full.png

Calm Birth helped me to feel prepared with methods to do a calm labour and enjoy the exciting experience, feeling aware and present at any moment with my baby throughout the entire process.

 

I really enjoyed it! I'll use the learnings beyond my pregnancy/delivery/early parent life!

After the birth:

The Calm Birth breathing and meditation practices helped me a lot to remain calm and positive and everything went well, no baby blues and super happy since the day my baby was born :-)

Baby's Hand

Marise was such a support as we prepared to welcome our first baby. 

With so much to learn and prepare for, she helped us so much approach parenthood with much more calm and confidence. 

We ‘completed the sleepy baby on the way’ program and found it superb.

Learning about the holistic approach to sleep really gave us such useful tools to help optimise all our sleep!

This really worked with us and we just enjoyed 8 hours sleep last night with our 12 week old baby’ 

We are so grateful!!’

Calm-Birth-Logo-Full.png

Calm Birth helped me to prepare for labor in a calm and positive way. I feel more confident about my abilities as a woman and as a future mother.

 

Marise has a wonderful, calm energy which helps to bring trust in myself and make the class very enjoyable.

During the contractions focussing on my breath helped me a lot. I went completely still and just breathed through it. I believe it was thanks to the meditations that helped me to do this.

Pregnant Woman

Thank you very much for the session and a small gift.

And a special thanks for such a detailed info!

 

You are wonderful, so much of my time and worry saved!

 

I no longer feel overwhelmed and the panic is passing away.

 

So thank you.

Calm-Birth-Logo-Full.png

I have recently completed the calm birth course with Marise and found it very enlightening.

 

It was useful to think of birth from a different angle and will hopefully give me a positive birth experience with my upcoming second child. 

 

The course demonstrated to me that birth does not have to be a purely medical process but can also be a positive experience that allows you to connect with your baby before, during and after birth. Marise explained the processes clearly and whilst there were many things I had never even considered before they all make perfect sense when we put them into practice.

 

I would strongly recommend anyone wanting to explore different birthing techniques and approaches to contact Marise and see how she can help.

After the birth:

Overall it was positive and certainly the womb breathing helped in the build up and even while I was being prepped for the c section.

all the prep we did made such a difference + has made me a lot more relaxed about the build up to the birth, then has let me build a real connection with my daughter much faster than last time. It's funny, I feel much more at ease with her and all the worries and stress I have is related to my eldest. Maybe that is normal but I do wonder if being so much more connected to my baby before she was born has made a difference.

Happy Baby

Marise gave me a condensed course of 2,5 hours on calm birth with many advices, audio and written materials about 2 weeks before delivery.

 

Since then I have done meditation twice a day. I thought I was unprepared for natural birth and only wanted to prepare delivery in case I was too late for epidural.

 

I gave birth yesterday and consciously chose to go as far as possible without medical intervention and we did it ! Delivery was not so painful!

 

With strong mental focus, you all can do it. It was a magical experience and I cannot thank Marise enough for empowering me, making me believe in my inner force.

 

THANK YOU!

IMG_4564.jpg

I did the Calm Birth classes with Marise. I found them really great in the period leading up to the birth. Being my first birth experience, the meditations kept me calm and relaxed. During the birth itself, they helped me stay stress-free and focused on what matters most - welcoming the baby in our lives. It was a very positive experience.

 

Water Birth

I'm so grateful that I've signed up for Marise's Conscious Birth Package. Marise has done a tremendous job of putting all the valuable content together, so well laid out.

 

There is no way that I would have managed to sift through google to find all this valuable information. I am so grateful!

Dance for birth-42.jpg

I had the baby earlier this morning. It was a wonderful incredible birth in the tub. I used lots of the dancing moves in the last days to bring her down!

Pregnant Belly

First of all, I would like to use this opportunity once again to express my joy and gratitude I have been lucky to have met you and having gone on this journey together. Besides the fact that this is my first pregnancy, in addition as an expat not speaking any of the official languages and not being fully acquainted with the local culture of the prenatal care, medical institutions, baby products and services etc, I had a mix of negative emotions at the very beginning of my pregnancy, along with fear, feeling lost and even some sort of panic, not knowing where to start and what would be the best available options. Spending hours a day researching the required info online which a lot of the time is rather contradictory and full of trash, one must carefully analize and do some desk research to get the unbiased source of information etc which is one option. Having an experienced and passionate doula/coach/mentor who can provide guidance and support along with the required information is another option. I found the first option was extremely time consuming and rather frustrating, it made me feel even more anxious, confused and tired than before  commencing this web surfing journey. I have to add that reading endless comments, reviews online etc along with asking people’ opinions around did not work for me either as everyone is different and has own opinion based on personal experience (sometimes quite negative) etc which can further lead to false expectations and/or fears.

 

In short, I was relieved and happy to have found someone I can trust and go along this first time journey together, gradually releasing fears, doubts and overall frustration. For me, this can never be compared with just books, web or «friends’ opinions». In addition, I must say that I was rather impressed (which is difficult to achieve :) with the level of your extensive knowledge and professional approach to collecting data and putting it all together and presentation skills; the sessions and info provided I found very organised (which I like), well structured, all materials are backed up by provided sources and links which is great to continue personal research later. I have had some experience with private coaching previously (not prenatal) and sometimes I was frustrated with the lack of organisation skills, when a person is all over the place, jumping from one subject to another, forgetting what we have discussed previously, adding too much of personal emotional feedback etc which turns a private session into a friendly chat which is not what I would expect in the end. In my opinion, you have carefully maintained the right balance between providing the required information and emotional support and guidance. I have learnt so much and discovered some fantastic alternatives which I doubt I would have had the opportunity to discover being so busy at work and preoccupied with other private matters during my pregnancy. I have recommended you and continue to do so to my friends and acquaintances. It has been a wonderful journey and thank you once again for making me feel I am not alone with my bump. 

gold image only light.png

“We rate this course 10 out of 10 and would recommend it to others. The guided meditations and the explanations was most important. Detailed content is combined with light-hearted vibe. It will help me to be calm during the birth and we also loved to have some time together to prepare us to start our family. Thanks so much!"

2015-high-res-dfblogo_300x300_edited.png

Deborah, an expectant GP took 2 x 2,5h private DFB Workshops (at the cost of my standard doula rates per 2.5h) in-person at Soulspace, customised to her needs and questions. Here is what she said:

"I heartily recommend the dancing for birth course with Marise, it was such a great experience during my pregnancy and preparing for the birth. Marise is so nice, I especially appreciated that she personnalized the course for my needs, and I just had a great time dancing with her. Thank you Marise!"

Calm-Birth-Logo-Full.png

I would recommend this course to others. It definitely helps you focus on the inner self and bond with baby as pregnancy can be so overwhelming!

It helped me to connect to myself at any time i feel it's important to do so and to be more aware of things that matter more. "

gold image only light.png

“We did the Calm Birth and 4th Trimester Prep with Marise ahead of our first baby. The calm birth course gave good preparation and tools for handling the intensity of giving birth. The 4th trimester sessions gave us confidence in knowing what to expect when our baby came, what we could prepare beforehand and tips of how to take care of a newborn. We truly enjoyed working with Marise, she’s warm, caring, positive and gives you confidence in trusting yourself!"

CHRISTINE MATERNITY132.jpg

I’m so glad I found Marise to help me prepare for our first baby. My partner and I did the Calm Birth program (included in the Conscious Birth baby on the way), which really opened our horizons to what birth can be like. To me, it was important that I made educated decisions when it came to pregnancy (and later labor). Marise gave us all the wisdom and the tools needed to go into this adventure feeling empowered, and she did so with patience and warmth. I had no fear going into labor, I just felt calm and curious.

Abstract Portrait

I really enjoyed working with Marise and throughout the process, I felt supported and in good hands. Her listening ears and healing sounds were truly therapeutic to me in time of great need for being supported and listened to. I felt understood throughout the session the whole time and felt that I can open up and share my deepest pain and sorrow. Thanks to her methods, involving role play and deep relaxation, I had the chance to see things from a different angle and let go the pain I had carried. I had the chance to get the support that I wish I had from others around me right at the time to loss happened. With the help of her healing sounds, touches and aura I could deal with my personal situation with more ease than I could have ever done alone.

Thank you for that! All in all, I would be looking forward to be working with you in the future.

It's been a real pleasure getting to know Marise and receiving from the power of her healing energy and positive vibes.

Thank you for this experience.

IMG_1889 2.jpg

 Marise is warm like a ray of sunshine🌞.

 

With the Dancing for Birth course & "Emotional healing of previous birth" session as sleep coaching & prep for new birth she helped me connect to my body and made me first listen and then trust my senses!

Twin Babies

I just wanted to let you know our twin girls arrived last Monday. It was a straight forward and relatively quick delivery!

Thank you so much for your time and insight in the run up to the birth! I felt infinitely more prepared and ready.

 

You really helped me reframe my internal fears and I've felt so much more positive ever since.

More testamonials prenatal & sleep

Ivana

Sleep Coaching Maxi Program for baby 5 months old.

"I do regret one thing and it is that I did not ask Marise for support earlier. We were having sleeping “troubles” with our daughter and we bought many books, different methods - read them all and at the end, we were not sure what to do, so we did what we could and felt. Nights were short... When she was 18 months her brother joined us… so we continued to do what we could and felt is right with the toddler and a new-born; and nights were still short/er…;)  I am not sure if it is prejudice, pride or a cultural thing but it sounded just weird to ask to some sleeping coach to come to our house and help us with something that we as parents should know the best… anyhow. When we exhausted and desperate I asked Marise to help us. And she did help us, a lot and I would like to thank her for that (her knowledge, compassion; recommendations, no judgements, discussions, positive attitude makes her a great person and fantastic coach) and I would definitely recommend Marise and recommend any parent not to wait to reach the point of exhaustion to reach for her support."

Roxana

Sleep Coaching Maxi Program for baby 5 months old.

"Marise, thank you very much for coming into our life. Our work together was so positive and it opened our eyes to understand the basis of good sleep and especially, how to help our little girl find her natural sleep rhythm. We started working with Marise when our girl was 3 months old, but I really wish we knew about her pre-natal program to better prepare us for challenges of the first months and have realistic expectations about the changes in our family dynamics. We knew we wanted to follow a natural way of sleeping, without “sleep training” our little girl and Marise’s program was perfectly designed to meet our gentle parenting approach. The personalized sleep solutions that Marise prepared for our specific needs and all our meetings together brought a new level to our family life. We could not recommend more Marise’s holistic sleep support."

Fanny & Martin

Sleep Coaching Maxi Package for Martin

Implemented Holistic Sleep Foundations, followed by a gentle and very gradual transition from naps only in sling to crib, longer naps, improved night sleeps, happy parents!

Marise provided great advice without judgments that led to concrete and amazing results.  Our son showed incredible improvement and he is now sleeping through the night and napping on a consistent basis.  We are so happy we found her and we absolutely recommend her!

Nufar Yosef Sukenik

Sleep Coaching Maxi Package for Almog (5 months)

Implemented Holistic Sleep Foundations followed by a gentle and very gradual motion weaning strategy

When we met Marise, we had an almost 5 month old baby who wasn't sleeping day or night! we were exhausted, first time parents who had no idea what we were doing wrong! Marise was amazing! very reassuring and supportive.

Jackie Le Roux

Online Baby Planning Coaching as from Early Pregnancy

Occupation: Accountant

Nationality: South African

If I had to write about all the wonderful benefits I got out of Marise’s coaching …I most certainly would use more than two pages. Instead, I would rather hope that mommies-to-be experience her outstanding guidance themselves as I always believe actions speaks louder than words…

Rhenie & Herman

Sleep for Newborn - Private Education Session

Occupation: Finance & Audit roles

Nationality:  South African

Our little one is due soon and we were fortunate enough to be gifted a sleep coaching session with Marise. As first time parents-to-be, you find that you easily stress out about any and every question that comes to your mind. Marise was so great at putting us at ease..

Lindsey Auguin

Pregnancy Sleep Coaching

I was offered a pregnancy sleep training consultation as part of Marise's training and recommend her wholeheartedly.

 

Fanny Sergent

In-house Baby Planning Coaching - From the beginning of Pregnancy

Occupation: Big 4 Audit Partner

Nationality: French

During my pregnancy, I found out that there were many things that I had no idea about.  Marise's thorough one-to-one approach has really helped me to navigate through the past few months, giving great tips on all sorts of things...

 

 

In-House Baby Planning Coaching towards end of Pregnancy

Occupation: Auditor

Nationality: South African

"...And then I met Marise (happy sigh) who scheduled a baby planning meeting at my house. Here we went through the whole process from birth to the first few weeks in an environment where I felt safe to ask all my 'silly' questions and learn some valuable insights.  Before this meeting, I was..."

In-House & Online Baby Planning from Mid-pregnancy

Occupation: Proud Home-maker

Nationality: British

"...Thank you Marise – you have been a great help, your service is fantastic and I don’t know what and how would I have done without your support and advice. Thank you for your time and efforts !!!

 

27th of March, was when Jiana arrived into this world. Soon after birth..."

In-House Baby Planning from the Beginning of Pregnancy

Occupation: Resident Physician

Nationality: Luxembourgish

"...Marise's customised baby list was really helpful to us: what are the essentials to get before due date, what are the pro's and cons of different items and where to get them at the best price, which stroller is perfect for our specific needs.  Those questions were rapidly..."

 

In-House Baby Planning Coaching from mid Pregnancy

Occupation: Stay-at-home-mommie

Nationality: South African

"So, I just found out. We’re having a baby! These things are supposed to take months isn’t it?  Not for me, two weeks and I’m pregnant! Happy, nervous and a little surprised, okay very surprised! I was planning on loosing a few kilo’s before the baby, I mean I just started..."

In-House and Online Baby Planning Coaching from Mid-Pregnancy

Occupation: Stay at home mom

Nationality: American

"Marise was a consummate professional with her prenatal planning services from start to finish!

I will recommend her to all my mommy-to-be friends who are looking for guidance in everything “baby!  Being away from “home” and giving birth in..."

 

In-House Baby Planning Coaching from Early Pregnancy

Occupation: Teacher

Nationality: Italian

"...My whole experience with Marise was extremely useful and very pleasant: Marise is kind, nice and always smiling, and her positive attitude helps a lot!

 

I especially found the information and guidance about..."

1/1

Please reload

Iulia

****

Follow-Up Coaching after Attending the Group Holistic Weaning Workshop

 

I have asked for Marise's advice and coaching because I knew I could only benefit from her advice, tips and warm attitude. And I was very happy I did. She is not only a beautiful person, but also tells you things that you have never thought of and which can practically change your whole approach on life and raising children as best as you can...Thank you, Marise, and may that as many families as possible benefit from your professional advice as well.

 

Joanna

*****

 Thank you Marise for a great weaning workshop this week! Great atmosphere, discussions and helpful info and demonstrations to merge the "world of food" for our little ones. 

Sofia Manatou

*****

Thank you so much for the great workshop!! It was really helpful!

Sarah

*****

I had a great time at the weaning workshop yesterday! I am totally excited now about working probiotics, bone broth and coconut oil into my baby's diet-- and ours too! Thanks for doing all the hard work for us so we can benefit from your extensive knowledge!

Piret

*****

Thank you for this interesting and informative workshop full of practical tips and tricks how to wean a baby! I'm sure with such thorough preparation no weaning can go wrong and it can actually be fun.

Katarina

****

Marise, thank you for very good weaning workshop - I learnt some completely new information although I already have an older son, and you gave us very useful and practical tips which now I am trying to implement and it makes our life easier and funnier!

Monika

*****

I found the weaning workshop extremely helpful in terms of getting a more contextual, clearer picture of what kinds of food I want to be giving to my baby (and to the whole family, as a matter of fact). I loved that it was such a cozy atmosphere and everyone got to ask all their questions. As for me, it was precisely what I was seeking - a tool to navigate through all the different, often contradicting approaches to weaning. Thanks for this, Marise!

Marcia

****

The weaning workshop is very informative. Marise condensed a lot of information into the 3-hour presentation. I attended it for my second baby to refresh my memory and I'm very happy having learned something new at this workshop.

Laima

*****

I loved the workshop of Luxmama. It was very informative and useful. On top having such a great atmosphere at Marise's place! Thanks a lot!

Di

*****

Thanks so much Marise for a very inspiring morning, thanks for sharing info with us!  Very nice and relaxed atmosphere!!!  I'd highly recommend the workshop

Sara

****

Thank you Marise Hyman for your interesting workshop. Even having weaned my eldest 5 years ago, it was fruitful to hear the latest news about it, discuss controversial topics and discover new holistic approach to nutrition (totally resonant to my lifestyle).

Klaudia

*****

Thank you Marise. It was a very inspiring morning. Many things i did not know, handout with all the details i need to read more deeply. And Marise with her smile and full of energy, it all gave me feeling that weaning is actually going to be fun and not an issue.

Please reload

bottom of page