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Viktoria von Hof

@viktoriavonhof

3.3K

followers

2757

following

talking about eggs + hormones + fertility
founder @sukha__retreats
creative producer
jivamukti yoga teacher 800hr

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On Saturday, March 14, I posted about my fertility journey. The frustrating, exhausting process of it. It took me a long time to find the words. Even longer to find the courage to post them. They sat in my notes for probably more than 3 months. Being scared and insecure about what people might think.

But I felt a deep yearning to share it. To share what so often stays untold. What is painful and vulnerable. I knew I could put words to something a lot of people cannot.

4 days later, I found out I was pregnant.

I had no words. I felt somehow guilty, ashamed, overwhelmed and a little bit shocked. Thinking of all the women I had talked to that might not (yet) be as fortunate as I was.

I had just started opening up about my fertility struggles, about early perimenopause symptoms. I felt this was my calling to build a community and programs around a „taboo“ topic. Because that’s what I wished I’d had in 2024 + 2025. It was that deep gut feeling of something that felt so right.

Then, 4 days later, I held a positive pregnancy test. In a cycle I hadn’t imagined myself pregnant in. I didn’t feel pregnant. I wasn’t hoping to be pregnant. I just let go. Because I was onto something else.

Here we are, 6 months in. My whole life turned upside down.

Feeling so grateful that I met the right people along the way, people who helped me make the shifts. That somehow everything paid off and we got the biggest surprise we could have asked for.

I decided to keep going with my calling. To bring a little hope into this world: that things can change, that our bodies are wonders and that our stories are worth sharing, even before we know how they end. taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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2 months ago

The past year has been a year with many challenges. One of the biggest ones as a woman in your mid 30s is apparently your egg count.

Very low AMH, early perimenopause, many things I’ve been told at the fertility clinic with 36 and which came to me as a shock. Not knowing what to do, trying to squeeze out the last eggs I have left to potentially “buy time”. Because you think you’re in control - until you know you’re not.

I felt ashamed, less female, thinking “what’s wrong with me and why is my body not working the way a female body is supposed to work”.
I want to open the topic around fertility and perimenopause because i think it needs awareness in this world. So that someone who is going through this right now feels less alone.

Big shout out to @filippaharrington who showed me how a healthy lifestyle looks like, who gave me hope and who always had an answer for me. Go talk to her.

I will soon share more about my journey here as well as on @sukha__retreats as I will shift my focus towards hormonal health for women who seek community and connection.

#eggfreezing #loweggreserve #earlyperimenopause #perimenopausehealth #hormonalhealth by @viktoriavonhof

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7 months ago

Turns out I’ll find any excuse to create something. Spaces, experiences, excuses to get people in a room together.

I teach yoga. I also can’t stop building itineraries, curating playlists, finding the right people for the right room and locations that do half the work before anyone arrives.

@sukha__retreats

Shot on Super 8 by @lumavonperfall

#retreat #super8 #yogaretreat #explore taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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6 months ago

september 🤎 taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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2 days ago

i thought the hardest part was behind me. turns out, not quite.

here we go again.

daily heparin injections - from the first day of my pregnancy until 6 weeks postpartum. this is what life looks like with factor v leiden.

it’s a gene mutation that affects blood clotting, and most people only ever hear about it in relation to thrombosis risk. what far fewer people know, and what i find quite shocking - and this includes many doctors - is that it also significantly raises the risk of miscarriage.

i didn’t learn that from a specialist. i learned it from women who had already been through loss, who told me to start injecting from day one.

when i found out i was pregnant, i spoke to up to 8 doctors. i had already had a thrombosis the year before - in my arm, in the vein from the IV during my egg retrieval - and still, 7 turned me away with the same line: “don’t worry, you have time, you won’t get a thrombosis now.”

i started injecting on my own, until one doctor finally took the time to actually listen.

over 200 injections in. my belly was covered in bruises for a while - i’ve since moved down to my thighs. it hurts, it’s relentless, and i would do it all over again without hesitation.

i’m sharing this because no one should have to fight this hard to be taken seriously. if you have factor v leiden and you’re pregnant or trying to conceive - early heparin or baby aspirin may matter. keep pushing until someone listens, puts you on a proper protocol, and monitors you closely throughout.

and if you know someone who might need to hear this, please share it.

#factorvleiden #thrombosis #miscarriage #maternalhealth #pregnancylossawareness taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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5 days ago

Some places become home in ways we never expected.

For @viktoriavonhof , Berlin wasn’t always the obvious choice.

After years overseas, she found her way back to a city that initially felt cold, grey and overwhelming. Over time, it became home through the people, friendships and community she found here.

We photographed these moments in her Berlin home, capturing a little of the life she has built here.

Alongside her work as a creative producer, Jivamukti yoga teacher and founder of @sukha__retreats , this was also a special chapter of her personal life.

I love the idea that a portrait can hold more than the person in front of the camera. Sometimes, the surroundings tell a story of their own.

#personalbrandphotography #brandphotographerberlin #berlinphotographer #personalbrandportraits #editorialphotographer taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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8 days ago

portugal in august 🍒 taken in Alentejo Portugal by @viktoriavonhof

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10 days ago

some captures from my berlin home.

berlin was never a place I saw myself staying in. especially not growing my little family here. after many years overseas in a warm and sunny place, I found berlin rather cold, raw, grey, rough and overwhelming.

but somehow it kept pulling me back. until I realized berlin is home because of my people, my community, my friends who made this place warm and special.

thank you @mimivollgraf for capturing these early pregnancy moments with me 🩷

ps: love some dusty pink + safari animals. taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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17 days ago

summer + blue shirts taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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22 days ago

Sometimes you get pregnant exactly when you planned to.
Sometimes you get pregnant when you didn’t plan to.
Sometimes you plan, hope and wait, and it doesn’t happen.
And sometimes, after being told it might not be easy, after learning that the path may look different than expected, life surprises you.

Like @viktoriavonhof 🤍

Every pregnancy has its own story. There is no one right way, no perfect timeline, and no single path to becoming a mother.

Thank you so much for letting me capture this chapter of your life. taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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a month ago

what TCM taught me 🧧

- warm meals: morning, lunch, dinner. cooked over raw, always.
- teas + herbs. there’s a whole pharmacy in plants.
- acupuncture is the only thing that truly knocks me into full rest.
- jujube dates to nourish blood.
- certain fruits hydrate you from the inside: pears especially. moistening, good for the lungs.
- nothing cold if you suffer from bloating. cold smoothies, cold water, cold anything. it kills your digestive fire. learned that the hard way.
- keep your feet warm.
- ginger. in everything.
- don’t eat late. your digestion has a clock - and it slows right down in the evening.

they’ve known this for thousands of years.

excited for our expert evening tomorrow on hormones, TCM & osteopathy.
more to come soon.

@sukha__retreats taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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a month ago

Sardines.
Yes, the one in the can.

Never thought I would have strong emotions about a fish in a tin can. But here we are - sardines are basically a fertility supplement with better PR.

Full love letter on substack. Link in bio 🎏

#fertilitysupport #sardines #foodasfuel taken in Berlin, Germany by @viktoriavonhof

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a month ago