About me
Mother of three, Amsterdammer and above all: a midwife
I'm Gulgen, a midwife (vroedvrouw in Dutch), a mother of three and a wife. I was born and raised in Amsterdam, where I still love living. Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated by the female body and the miracle that can grow inside it and come to life.
As a teenager, I already gave a talk in biology class about how an embryo develops. So it was no surprise that I made my dream come true after my second child was born.
3
children
2020
midwifery degree
750+
students
Vroedvrouw rather than verloskundige
“Vroedvrouw. Vroede (wise) vrouw (woman). The word that originally named the woman full of knowledge and experience who guides pregnancies and births.”
Why vroedvrouw and not verloskundige
In Dutch, vroedvrouw and verloskundige both mean midwife. Verloskundige, the more modern term, captures less of my holistic approach: care that follows the natural processes of pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. I share my knowledge with (future) mothers like you, so you learn to trust, sense and understand your body. That's why: vroedvrouw Gulgen.
Physiological principles
Your body knows what it's doing. You're in control.
By understanding and applying physiological principles, I can play an important role as a midwife in supporting a healthy and safe birth. Physiology is simply all the natural processes and functions that keep your body working. Knowing this physiology is the key to making your experience as a mother during the birth as good as it can be.
As a midwife, I help you get to know your body so you can trust it completely. You're in control. When you understand the processes that take your body from dilation to the baby in your arms, you feel more at ease. Your body was created in the best possible form to grow a tiny human, give birth and breastfeed. That's why we work together on that trust from your pregnancy onwards, by building your knowledge.
As a midwife, I see every woman and every birth as unique. Not every birth goes naturally. If complications arise, you can trust that your midwife has the knowledge to act quickly and effectively. You're in control. As your midwife, I keep watch over the health of you and the baby you bring into the world.
My path to midwifery
From school talk to midwife
- 2007
Theology & Pedagogy
I started a degree in Theology and took up Pedagogy alongside it. Two degrees at the same time. In my third year, I was expecting our first child and chose to finish my bachelor's in Pedagogy.
- 2015
Through the midwifery selection
I was the mother of two young children, the youngest only four months old. Even so, I decided to follow my dream and take part in the selection round of the Verloskunde Academie Amsterdam, the midwifery academy in Amsterdam. Each year, only a small group of candidates is admitted. I was one of them. Still, many people thought it impossible that I would start such an intensive programme as a mother of two young children.
- 2020
I become a midwife
I complete my midwifery training and can finally call myself a vroedvrouw. A dream come true. In practice, I soon see how much influence good guidance, knowledge and confidence can have on how a woman experiences her pregnancy and birth.
My graduation day - 2022
My own path to a home birth
After a medical birth with induction for my first and a physiological outpatient hospital birth for my second, I really wanted to give birth at home with my third. In 2022, I gave birth at home in the bath and felt the strength of physiological birth for myself once again.
- 2023
From midwife to entrepreneur
I take the next step and start my own webshop with carefully chosen products for pregnancy, the postpartum period and recovery, including my own herbal teas. I also develop my first online pregnancy course for Turkish-speaking women in the Netherlands. That way, my work as a midwife reaches beyond the consulting room and the delivery room.
- 2025
The Dutch Bevalcursus
I launch my Dutch online Bevalcursus. Everything I learned as a midwife in the years before and saw in practice comes together in one extensive course about pregnancy, giving birth, choices, interventions and the time afterwards.
- Now
Everything comes together
By now, I've had the privilege of preparing hundreds of women for their birth. My experience as a midwife, my own experiences as a mother and everything I keep learning in practice come together in what I do now: giving women knowledge that helps them feel well prepared for their birth.
My mission
“Giving birth is so much more than the birth of a new life.”
Every pregnancy and birth is unique. Every woman has a different experience. What I find so precious and special is getting to see the transition you make as a woman into parenthood. It's an honour to see up close how you go through one of the most important events of your life.
I believe that as a midwife I can create a space for you and your partner where you both feel at ease, heard and valued. Your own wishes, needs and expectations guide me in giving you care that fits as you become a mother.
As a midwife, I help you understand what is happening in your body and around you, while you get the tools and knowledge to experience your pregnancy and birth in the best possible way. That idea is where my pregnancy and birth courses came from. I want to make a difference for pregnant women and their families. Because for every woman, this is true: your birth is in your hands.
