Dr. Ioana Vârtosu is a family doctor and the founder of the Junior Mother's School Association, initiated from the desire to provide correct support and information to the future parents. Thus, he created a community dedicated to educating and supporting mothers, offering childcare courses and medical recovery services.

In addition to his medical activity, Dr. Vârtosu is involved in social and educational projects, being recognized for his contribution in the field of maternal and childish health.

1. What inspired you to set up the "Junior Mother's School" Association and how has it evolved over the years?

It all started in 2003, when I was a fresh mom and medical student. Then I realized that my friends had questions that I already knew: how work the work (I already had 4 years of practice in a maternity ward), how we take care of the baby-from the banal question "How do we do it?". I realized how valuable this information is for the young mothers, and this is how the idea of "Junior Mother's school" was born.

2. How do you see the role of fathers in prenatal and postnatal education and what measures did you take to encourage them to be actively involved in these stages?

Since the first courses I have been impressed by the number of dads eager to participate. In Romania, fathers are encouraged to be actively involved with the mother, benefiting from a legal leave of 15 working days in the first 8 weeks after the birth of the child, with one condition: to participate in a childcare course.

With the help of a daddy-Călin Rabure-we managed to bring the courses from the room to the online environment, making them accessible to any parent, grandparents and even maternal assistants. Thus, we have reached over to over 300,000 students on www.rscursPuericura.ro from all over the country.

3. What impact did the "Junior Mother's School" have on the local community and how do you measure the success of the programs carried out?

Over time, I realized that beyond the need to inform parents, we can contribute major in the field of children's health through:

• Equipping hospitals, so that no device is missing to make a diagnosis in time and save lives.
• Renovation of pediatrics sections, so that every parent can trust a state hospital, without fear.
• Supporting parents of children with disabilities, by offering real support.

Together with over 500 volunteers and 3000 donors and sponsors, I succeeded:

Let's equip over 100 maternities and 50 state hospitals and polyclinics. Let's renovate pediatrics from the hospitals in Timisoara.

We measure success in several ways: financial investment, the number of donated medical devices, the number of children who benefit from treatment, attracting new sponsors and volunteers. But, most importantly, the real impact is seen in every saved child, in every parent who breathes easy and in every doctor who has to do his job properly.

The most challenging project? The one dedicated exactly to children. Every mother dreams of the day when her child jumps in her arms, says "mother", goes to school ... But unfortunately, some mothers see this dream suddenly, either at birth or later, when they receive a devastating diagnosis.

For Timiș County, I made a "letter" For each parent who receives a serious diagnosis, explaining their rights, allowances available and institutions, doctors and NGOs that can help them.

We set out to bring to Romania Innovative therapies to make the real difference in the lives of children. That's how I started with:

✔ Hydrotherapy (since 2009), with training in England and Switzerland. ✔ Tomatis method (from 2016), studied in France. ✔ Neuro-sensory integration (from 2018), implemented in Poland.

Why these? Simple - hydrotherapy stimulates the central nervous system, the Tomatis method re -educates the inner ear and improves language, attention and balance.

So far, I have worked directly with over 750 children, I have witnessed at the first steps of some children who have stayed for years immobilized, at the first words spoken after years of silence, at The first day of kindergarten, up to children who graduated from high school and even college.

A case that remained in my soul? A blind girl who dreamed of becoming a therapist. Even I was skeptical at first. But by her ambition, not only did she finish the Kinetotherapy Faculty, but today is Employed at Cluj-Napoca Clinical Hospital. A lesson about see skills beyond disabilities.

4. What are the main challenges in developing hydrotherapy programs for children with disabilities and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was and remains access to a recovery basin.

Over the years, I have collaborated with many state and private basins, but Each time we were kicked out. Sometimes I received painful replies such as:

"If I knew that in this basin where my child was swimming and the disabled, I would take you out for a long time!"

Unfortunately there is still a closed mentality compared to these children. Not only to access to the pools, but also in kindergartens, schools, even at shows.

Currently, we succeed to pay access to a private basin thanks to people with great soul. But our dream is There is a special therapy basin in every city in Romania, accessible to any child.