Get to know me

Hello! I'm Valentina, the person behind Juno Births.

I am an Italian doula, kraamverzorgende and childbirth educator, a mother of three, and I have called the Netherlands home for more than fifteen years. Before that, life took me from the Prosecco hills where I grew up to Vienna, where I spent some very happy years before eventually following my Dutch husband to the Netherlands.

My first career was in education. I studied pedagogy and education and spent more than twenty years working with children and families, particularly in the early years. In 2021 I began training as a doula, and what started as a new direction gradually became the work I wanted to dedicate myself to completely. When my chapter in education came to an end in 2024, I made the move into birth work full-time and later trained as a kraamverzorgende.

The two worlds turned out to have more in common than I expected. I have always been interested in how people grow and develop into something new — and these days, the person whose growth I have the privilege of witnessing is often a mother

I bring a calm presence to my work. I tend to notice the small things: patterns, changes in mood or energy, what is being said and sometimes what isn't. When pregnancy, birth or the first days with a baby feel overwhelming, I help bring some structure and perspective to what is happening.

My care is personal. I want to know what matters to you, what you are worried about, what makes you feel safe and what kind of support actually helps. By the time I enter your home for the kraamweek, I hope not to feel like another professional arriving with a checklist, but someone who already knows something of your story.

After birth, my attention is as much on you as it is on your baby. I make sure you have the conditions to rest, recover and stay close to your baby, while keeping a professional eye on both of you. There will be practical care, information and guidance, but also good food, conversation, reassurance and space when that is what you need.

My practice is neuroaffirming. I recognise that pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period can affect sensory needs, communication, routines and the systems you normally rely on to function. Rather than expecting you to adapt to one standard way of receiving care, I adapt the way I communicate, prepare and work around what helps you feel comfortable, understood and in control.

As an international mother myself, I also understand how unfamiliar the Dutch maternity system can feel. I can help you make sense of how things work here without assuming that you need to leave your own culture, expectations or ways of doing things at the door.

You can expect professional knowledge without rigidity, warmth without taking over, and support that leaves room for you to discover your own way.

My Approach and Believes

Aiutami a fare da solo

What You Can Expect

A well-supported mother becomes part of the foundation on which a family grows.
The care we give her ripples outward: to her baby, her family and the generations that follow.

At the heart of my work is a deep respect for mothers: for their strength, their individual stories, and the enormous physical and emotional transition that takes place as they become responsible for a new life.

My role is to support that transition with knowledge, practical care and perspective. I want the families I work with to have the information and tools they need to make thoughtful decisions, while knowing that their choices and their individual path to parenthood will be respected. There is no single version of pregnancy, birth or motherhood that I expect a family to follow.

My background in education continues to shape the way I care for mothers. One of the principles I carried with me from Montessori education is help me to do it myself: offering enough support, guidance and security for someone to develop confidence in their own abilities. Just as children need this while moving through new stages of development, new mothers need space to learn, adapt and discover what they are capable of.

This means knowing when to offer information, when to step in with practical support and when to step back. My aim is not to make myself indispensable, but to help you grow increasingly confident in understanding your baby, trusting your decisions and finding your own way of doing things.

My years in education taught me how much the earliest foundations matter. My work today begins one step earlier: by caring for the person who will provide so much of that foundation.

My work brings together more than twenty years in education with my later training in birth and postpartum care. I studied Pedagogical Sciences in Italy and later completed a Master's degree in Education, before spending many years working with children and families in early years education.

I trained as a birth doula and childbirth educator, and later as a HypnoBirthing® trainer and kraamverzorgende.
Over the years I have continued adding to that foundation through training in areas such as Ayurveda, neurodiversity affirming birth support, breastfeeding, reflexology, massage and other approaches that support pregnancy, birth and postpartum recovery.

I don't see these as separate hats that I put on depending on the service you book. They inform one another, and together they shape the way I work: with an understanding of development and family life, professional maternity care, birth knowledge and a growing range of hands-on ways to support the body as well as the soul.