ENEsther, Birthlight yoga teacher, owner of 2 yoga studios, September 2017
I met Maartje during our Birthlight Prenatal teacher training in Utrecht about 5 years ago. Maartje and I work together giving workshops for couples to prepare for birth. She supports me during workshops with her knowledge and enthusiastic and peppy energy.The way I know Maartje doing her work as a doula and birth professional I can say she has a lot(!) of knowledge (sometimes more than the midwife) and she is really dedicated helping both the birthing lady and her partner (!) during birth (also pre and postnatal). She has lots of social skills and can be a great help to comfort them and create a save place which is really important during birth. She is well organized, punctual and a strong powerful woman who has no problem with making decisions and act quickly and at the same time cooperating with doctors and midwifes. Above that she is a very very sweet person. (And she speaks at least 4 languages)
‘Ik heb Maartje ontmoet tijdens onze Birthlight zwangerschaps yoga docenten opleiding in Utrecht, ongeveer 5 jaar geleden. We werken nu geregeld samen om koppels voor te bereiden op de bevalling door het geven van een workshop in mijn yogaschool. Maartje ondersteunt me tijdens deze workshops met haar kennis en enthousiaste opgewekte energie. Zoals ik Maartje ken als doula en geboorte professional, kan ik alleen maar zeggen dat ze heel veel kennis heeft en soms zelfs meer weet dan de verloskundige en dat ze bovendien heel erg toegewijd is aan zowel de zwangere als aan haar partner gedurende de bevalling maar ook ervoor en erna. Ze is erg sociaal en kan een enorme hulp zijn bij het bieden van extra comfort en het creëren van een veilige omgeving, wat heel belangrijk is tijdens een bevalling. Ze is super georganiseerd, punctueel en een krachtige vrouw die geen moeite heeft om snel beslissingen te nemen maar tegelijkertijd ook prima kan samenwerken met dokters en verloskundigen. Bovenal is ze een super aardig mens (en ze spreekt 4 talen).’
Denise van Eeden, doula and forensic psychologist, August 2017
I know Maartje since I started my training as a birth doula in September 2014. During the training she came by to tell about the business she started and how she was an inspiration to many of us!
Maartje is not for no reason sometimes called Duracell Doula. She has a great positive energy surrounding her. This energy she uses to motivate her clients, both before and during birth. But besides that she is very caring, always puts others first and takes time to sit down and listen to you. She is easy going and sociable, I love having her as a colleague and friend!
From the moment she decided to become a doula she focused fully on starting her own fulltime doula business. Something that not many others doula dared to do, but she was sure she would succeed. And she did! She probably has the most busy doula business in Amsterdam but still she makes sure her clients get the attention they need. She is always dedicated and full of passion.
In April 2016 I got a call from Maartje where she asked me to help her out with the many clients she had taken on as a birth doula for spring and summer. She was looking for a (new) back up that also wanted to do some prenatal visits. For me it was a great opportunity to learn from an experienced doula like her, so of course I said yes and we worked very closely for half a year. I’ve seen her as an amazing teacher and she really coached me along the way every since, resulting in a thriving business that is still growing further every month. I feel blessed to be able to work with and learn from her!
Lisa, clinical midwife, July 2017
‘Every time Maartje is in the hospital and I get to pick which room(s) to work with, I make sure I pick her client’s room. She’s capable of preparing her cients so profoundly that I hardly have to do anything to make the birth into a perfect one. She’s the doula I love to work with during waterbirths, and they all seem to end up perfectly. I’m sure that’s because she and her clients come really prepared.’
‘Als ik tijdens de overdracht hoor dat Maartje op de verloskamers is, vraag ik de kamer aan waar zij met haar cliënt aan het werk is. Als doula weet zij haar cliënten zo volledig voor te bereiden op wat ze kunnen verwachten dat ik als verloskundige eigenlijk niks hoef te doen om de bevalling zo goed als maar mogelijk is, te laten verlopen. Zij is de doula waar ik geweldig mee werk tijdens badbevallingen, die stuk voor stuk prachtig lijken te verlopen.’
Tiba, chief of clinical midwife staff, June 2017
‘We love having Maartje around during a birth in a delivery room. We wish there’d be more doula’s like her, with her extensive knowledge. We call her ‘the big M’.
‘We zien Maartje graag verschijnen in ons ziekenhuis tijdens een bevalling op de verloskamer. We zouden willen dat er meer doula’s zoals zij zouden zijn, met haar uitgebreide kennis. We noemen haar ‘the big M’.
Joyce, doula, June 2017
Maartje and I met each other in September 2016. I just finished my midwifery education and doula training and was was beginning to work as a full time doula. Maartje contacted me because she was looking for a back-up doula. We had a direct connection through our similar ideas and working ethics.
Maartje is an intelligent, personable, warm, hardworking business woman. Her clients (and mine) love her because she can inspire people and is always positive. Her honesty is also one of her strong points and she accepts no nonsense. Maartje is very creative and knows how to present herself and her business.
Maartje is very clear in her approach. Her clients and business come first. She is very hard working, always looking for new information. She reads a lot and is well informed on new procedures or situations. She also likes to talk to people, and by that she gets lots of inside information. Maartje knows how to balance this well as she is always very discrete.
Maartje likes to teach people. She took me under her wing and assisted me to start up a business of my own. I can always(!) call her for help or information. Every week we discuss the situation with our clients and we see each others clients at least once during the pregnancy. Maartje informs me when she starts and finishes with a birth, so I know what is happening. I feel fully supported and informed by her!
Alexandra, clinical midwife, March 2017
‘Maartje is very clear in explaining what to expect from labour and delivery. She is an enthusiastic teacher and is and true asset to the medical team when she’s present at a birth. She brings peace of mind as well as action during labour AND is very experienced. Last but not least: she knows her clients so much better then I could ever hope to achieve so that immediately facilitates a nice atmosphere in the delivery room.’
‘Maartje is heel helder in wat er nodig is tijdens een bevalling. Ze is een enthousiaste, energieke trainer en een echte aanvulling op het medische team tijdens een bevalling. Ze brengt de nodige rust, maar ook veel actie tijdens een bevalling en ze heeft aantoonbaar veel ervaring. Tenslotte kent zij haar cliënten zoveel beter dan ik ooit hoop te kunnen bereiken in de korte tijd dat ik met ze mag werken, dus dat brengt de sfeer in de verloskamer enorm ten goede.’
José, nurse, April 2017
‘I’ve known Maartje a few years as the doula with balls! She always has a festive energy and is very enthusiastic and happy. She dances with her clients in the delivery room!’
‘Maartje ken ik al een aantal jaar als ‘de doula met ballen’! Ze heeft een positieve, feestelijke energie en is erg enthousiast en blij. Ze danst met haar cliënten in de verloskamers!’
Marie, nurse, February 2017
‘Maartje is our ‘house’-doula! It sometimes seems that she’s always here, she therefore knows her way around the hospital. She knows how to get things done and brings peace and an overview for her clients during sometimes medically challenging births’.’
‘Maartje is onze ‘huis-doula’! Soms lijkt het wel alsof ze er altijd is en daarom kent ze ook goed de weg, hier in ons ziekenhuis. Ze weet hoe ze dingen voor elkaar kan krijgen en daarmee brengt ze rust en overzicht tijdens soms medisch uitdagende bevallingen.’