The WHY behind The Motherhood Collective
Almost exactly 10 years ago I was pregnant with my first born & living in Colorado. I had so many options available to me for prenatal care, birth, wellness, fitness, & postpartum support- it was wonderful, & overwhelming. As a new mama-to-be I did not even know where to start. And as a young Montessori teacher with a hubby in grad school, my options were also somewhat limited by cost.
Luckily for me, a few weeks into my pregnancy I stumbled upon a yoga studio a few blocks away from where I taught, that just happened to serve mamas during the motherhood transition. At this studio I attended regular prenatal yoga classes a couple times a week, met our (would have been) doula at a “ Meet the Doula’s” event, attended “ask the midwife” question sessions, & my husband & I took an amazing childbirth education class to help us prepare for birth. This community was the village that I didn’t even realize I needed as a first time mom. I was so grateful to have this community of support at exactly the right time.
However, all that changed as I entered my third trimester of pregnancy & we made the difficult choice to leave CO & move to La Crosse, WI for my hubby’s new job & to be closer to our families. I was heartbroken to leave the network of support I had in Denver. I had to meet a new set of midwives, at a new hospital only a couple of months prior to giving birth, & had trouble finding a doula in my online search prior to moving. Once we landed in La Crosse I had difficulty finding prenatal, postpartum, baby + caregiver yoga classes, and many of the resources that I had once had access too. I longed for the community I had left behind.
The past ten years I have been busy growing, birthing, & raising my own children, but the desire to create an intentional community for mamas has never died. It feels more important that ever to create an intentional community, resources, & affordable services for caregivers & birthing people at a time when so many women find themselves facing so many demands. The Motherhood Collective was born in the heart of the pandemic on 11/23/20 as a space to support mothers during an incredibly challenging season and as a means to connect back to my community at a time when we were physically distant.
The Motherhood Collective is here to serve you as you navigate the transitions of motherhood. I am so glad you are here and so glad you’ve found this space.