I’m Iliona Wolfowicz, PhD in Biology, Portuguese born and raised by a Portuguese mother and a Belgian dad. This is where my multicultural background stems from. My native language is Portuguese but working abroad for more than 10 years is how I developed full proficiency in both English and French languages. Nowadays I also have a basic level of German - my partner is German, and German, Portuguese and English are the languages we speak at home. 

 

I moved to Belgium in 2008, after a bachelor’s in biology, to pursue a master’s degree in molecular biology, while working part-time. After studying and working in this field, I continued pursuing a science-based education, went to Heidelberg University in Germany, and in 2017 I completed my PhD in cell biology. During this time, I published scientific articles, worked together with colleagues from many different cultures and presented data to a variety of audiences. This allowed me to develop many useful skills relevant to my current family-centred project such as, adapting to and becoming aware of intercultural differences, avidly learning new topics, efficiently going through literature searches, critically analyse scientific publication and communicating in an easy and graspable way complex concepts. 

 

In 2018, together with my husband, we moved to Portugal and settled in Braga - I was a few weeks pregnant with our now three and a half years son. After +10 years of living abroad, Portugal also felt like a new country to me. Unaware at that time, we knew very little about the Portuguese system and how to navigate pregnancy and motherhood/parenthood over here. Fast forward to 2022, it has been a journey, but we have built our community and an understanding of the system and the parenthood scene here in Portugal.

 

Also motivated by my own positive birth experience, I took the steps to get trained as doula back in 2020 with Doula and Author Sandra Oliveira, and stared charing empowering pregnancy, birth and postpartum knowledge to the community. In early 2022, I finished the physiologic birth course by the Australian midwife, professor and researcher Dr. Rachel Reed. 

 

This year 2022 has been the time to invest in areas that I was unobservant. I read inspiring authors such as Laura Gutman, Liese Bourbeau, Eckhart Tolle and Gabor Mate. I took the teachings of by Eckhart Tolle Conscious Manifestation and further developed my experience with the basics and benefits of free and natural play for babies and children with the course Raising Play by Autralian mother and entrepreneur Hannah from Ark and Luna. 

 

My intentions are to support women and families that want to make their choices from a place of awareness, knowledge and ease so they can navigate through parenthood with presence.

 

My project focuses on family-centred care, I continue learning, ongoing personal development and how awareness as integral for life. Over the years, and as avid learner, thinker and scientist, I realised how fundamental it is to nourishing mind, body and spirit, and how bringing more zen to life is critical for the well being. 

 

I got recently certified as teacher for natural family planning to further support women in their journey of fertility management and body literacy. I am working on a tool for foreigners and multicultural in Portugal that I am so passionate about. You can subscribe to the newsletter and get to know first hand when it comes out to the world.