I never imagined that moving to Norway would shape not only my life, but also my life’s work.
I arrived in Norway seven months pregnant with my second child and a one-year-old son. At that time, I didn’t speak Norwegian and knew only a little English. Apart from my husband’s support, I had no family, no friends and no community around me.

Like many international mothers, I found myself preparing for birth while adapting to a new country, a different healthcare system and a language I didn’t yet understand.

It was one of the most vulnerable periods of my life.
A few months later, I gave birth to my daughter at the Ullevål ABC Clinic in Oslo.

That birth changed me.

After my son’s birth, he had been taken away almost immediately to be weighed, washed and dressed. With my daughter, everything was different. She was placed directly on my chest.
I still remember the warmth of her tiny body and the scent of her skin. Years later, that memory is just as vivid.
For the first time, I experienced what it meant to feel truly respected, supported and included in my own birth.

That experience made me realise how much those first moments matter—not only for the baby, but also for the mother.
It inspired me to become a doula.