Meet the influencers: Joanna Nawfal

Joanna Nawfal, Breastfeeding Consultant & Childbirth Educator

@Sophia_Maternity

How are you living your lockdown?

I am a mom of two kids, and I have my center in Beirut. During the lockdown, and like many other mothers, I had to shift to online learning with kids, so I became a teacher overnight. It is not easy especially that we are not trained as teachers, but we managed. I also had to shift all my work online. I work with parents and many of my sessions and consultations cannot be postponed, so I basically continued working full time but from home. Online work was something I was resistant to for many years, as I believe in face to face interactions and how important they are. However, when I started the shift and as things started flowing, I realized that it is doable and this decreased from my stress of meeting my clients’ demands.

From your active life, what do you miss the most?

I work with families and I love babies. I miss babies so much. I also miss nature and walking around the city without being worried about taking the right precautions.

What don't you miss?

One of the things that used to bother me so much in Lebanon was roads, and people not respecting traffic rules. But even that I miss!!

How do you think life will be after Corona?

I know many analysts are talking about the economic meltdown that will follow, and also about how people will start being more anxious about touch and physical proximity, and many other repercussions. I pray for Lebanon, especially after being through so much. On a smaller level, however, I believe human nature will always be the same. We will quickly go back to many of our old habits. All the events that happened will only change people who are ready for change. Every person will be affected differently. Some people learnt so many lessons from this phase of lockdown, but only because they were at a stage of their life where they were ready to change and needed this awakening call. I think it is really personal. Life is relative.

A word of encouragement to our readers

Many psychologists are labeling this period as a collective trauma or mass grieving. Everyone is affected differently by life events and stressors. And since nothing lasts forever, and after all of this is done, I encourage people to see how this affected them, and work on it accordingly. Life will never be free of stress or difficult times; it is how we deal with them that makes all the difference. Being aware of our feelings and how they affect us is 50% of the solution. Good luck everyone.

What are your future projects?

My newest inspiration now is integrating my work for newly married couple as I believe awareness about parenting starts from the moment you get married and even before. So, I invite everyone whether they are pregnant, parents, newly married, or planning to get married to check our page and work.