Sherri Pim

2/22/2024

I highly recommend Maria as a doula because working with her would be unparalleled. Having Maria as our Post-Partum Doula was the ultimate blessing for our family! We took countless classes and read books, but nobody prepared us for newborn care and post-partum life like Maria could. She brings decades of L&D nursing experience, as well as her own personal experience of having raised three children. She was truly there for us to guide us and support us during critical moments in the first month, and even helped us plan the layout of our home before the baby was born. She trained us on anything you could imagine including lactation, bathing, feeding, diapers and sensory development. She's very resourceful and shares great book and video recommendations. Maria really became part of our family, and we sought comfort from her visits because she truly cares and takes ownership of the baby's holistic well being. She offered suggestions to manage our baby's reflux and torticollis that even our pediatrician did not recommend, and they made all the difference in remediating the issues. We literally cried when our contract with Maria ended and I will use her words in describing her as a professional grandma! We are still in touch with Maria and will be forever grateful to her for holding our hand in the very sacred and early moments of welcoming our baby to the world.

Lacey Hunter

1/21/2024

Maria was absolutely wonderful - easy to communicate with, organized, kind and so, so helpful.  Not only did she have great suggestions about how many hours to purchase, she was flexible with scheduling, came to 'learn the house' before the baby was born, and took the time to think of a fun activity to do with our 3 year old at the end of our time together so that he wouldn't feel left out.  He still asks about her!  Maria was really like part of our family and always looked around for additional ways to be helpful (eg, dishes or laundry if she had extra time / if things were going well).  I cannot express how much our family loved having Maria as our doula!

Eliana’s family

1/15/2024

Maria has been with us since my baby was born and we insisted on keeping her to teach us and help us until my baby gets almost 8 months when my parents came to help take care. I would say Maria is a fantastic doula and ONE OF THE BEST! We are so blessed to have her accompanied us along the journey being a new parent! When I look at the old photos, I am so moved to recall the every moment Maria is present, from the first bath to now my girl can sit up! Words are not enough to describe how I would recommend every family who deserves the best doula as Maria. I hope to share some stories that makes Maria a special one! Maria took Doula as her career rather than a simple job. Even though she has many qualifications/certifications already, she keeps learning and attending new symposium to keep her updated to the best baby care practice! We have talked over this, and yes, she is passionate about this career! She cares and she wants to bring the best to the family! Maria loves baby so much! She is gentle, loving, caring and is as proud as the parent whenever we see any developmental improvement from our baby! I can still clearly recall Maria's eye shining when she told me that my baby starts to grab things based on her own wish rather than a random grab! How subtle this observation is! Maria is so knowledgeable, whenever we had a question or concern about the baby, I will text Maria and get appropriate information. She is like "half a pedestrian to us ". Maria loves to help! I know that she did many volunteer work for nonprofit because she wants to help the ones in need. She never missed or late once for the past 8 months. Many many good words about her that I want to share! Simply she is one of my family member! Thank you!

Eliana’s family

1/15/2024

Maria has been with us since my baby was born and we insisted on keeping her to teach us and help us until my baby gets almost 8 months when my parents came to help take care. I would say Maria is a fantastic doula and ONE OF THE BEST! We are so blessed to have her accompanied us along the journey being a new parent! When I look at the old photos, I am so moved to recall the every moment Maria is present, from the first bath to now my girl can sit up! Words are not enough to describe how I would recommend every family who deserves the best doula as Maria. I hope to share some stories that makes Maria a special one! Maria took Doula as her career rather than a simple job. Even though she has many qualifications/certifications already, she keeps learning and attending new symposium to keep her updated to the best baby care practice! We have talked over this, and yes, she is passionate about this career! She cares and she wants to bring the best to the family! Maria loves baby so much! She is gentle, loving, caring and is as proud as the parent whenever we see any developmental improvement from our baby! I can still clearly recall Maria's eye shining when she told me that my baby starts to grab things based on her own wish rather than a random grab! How subtle this observation is! Maria is so knowledgeable, whenever we had a question or concern about the baby, I will text Maria and get appropriate information. She is like "half a pedestrian to us ". Maria loves to help! I know that she did many volunteer work for nonprofit because she wants to help the ones in need. She never missed or late once for the past 8 months. Many many good words about her that I want to share! Simply she is one of my family member! Thank you!

Aisha

7/24/2023

I used Swedish's postpartum doula services to interview and hire Maria as an advanced postpartum doula.

I instantly connected with Maria during the interview because she was able to weigh in the latest trends in parenting and weigh it against past practices that I was exposed to, despite becoming a first time parent. Her nuance with what works and what might not be something to worry too much about carried over her visits to our home.

We were independently bracing for complications in pregnancy, and did end up with a set of them close to the end, that resumed postpartum for up to a few weeks. I didn't think I needed Maria during the postpartum hospitalization and the babies' NICU admission, but I think I should have for the first day and on and off to ensure there was some patient advocacy in the midst of busy hospital system. My husband and I considered ourselves pretty good at navigating systems, but when dealing with these lives, there's a lot of vulnerability that breaks down strength.

Maria's visits were at first, a lot for me to get used to (because I don't like asking for help), but I definitely needed her thorough advice. She taught me more about babies' latch, bottle feeding, and the humungous practice and theory around early childhood enrichment. But when I really couldn't pitch in too well, she ensured that she executed on our priorities for baby care.

Once I was more conscious, we worked like partners experimenting with the incessant challenges with multiples and my own challenges with feeding them. My husband would scour support groups and provide more wacky input for me to try, and I would turn to Maria to figure out why one technique works and the other doesn't.  Maria took classes and went to conferences to learn about new findings for premature babies, lactation, etc.

Maria demonstrates her exp. as a medical professional, likely an incredible lactation consultant, and a non-stop learner.

Aaron and Bailey

5/25/2023

Maria is an incredible Postpartum Doula - we are so much better off because of all her help, and cannot recommend her highly enough!

She introducers herself as a “professional grandma” and really is awesome in that capacity -  she occasionally cooks delicious food, is happy to help with chores around the house, brings positive energy, and gives impactful words of encouragement.

But the reality is she is so much more thanks to decades of experience and deep expertise as a nurse and IBCLC. I owe my success with breast feeding to her! She had great advice for us as new parents for everything from baby exercise positions to developing a sleeping rhythm. We also really appreciated that she would always give us multiple recommendations on how to do something and was open and non judgmental if we wanted to proceed a different way.  Lastly, it was also wonderful to be able to get reassurance when we were experiencing something new with our little one that didn't seem right. Maria was someone we truly trusted during this new phase in our lives! 

One other thing we really appreciated about Maria is her two hour minimum session visit. I think other doulas have four hour minimums. Aside from the first week, we found two hours more than enough. For us we found more visits, particularly over time, to be far more helpful than a smaller amount of longer visits. So while her hourly rate may be a bit higher, the value is much better.

Thank you, Maria!

Ida

4/1/2023

We are very lucky to be able to work with Maria for our baby. As first time parents, she helped us become confident and comptent. She helped me establish breastfeeding and taught my husband and me on how to care for a newborn, to play & interact with our baby to help his development, and to massage! She is not only a doula but also acting as a grandma. She brought comfort and assurance to us when we felt down and frustrated. She also made simple and delicious home cook meals a couple of times for us when we were hungry and flustered. She is the best!

Charu

2/3/2023

Maria has been an angel during my early postpartum days. She has such a pleasant personality and was an absolute pleasure to work with. I am a first time mom and Maria constantly helped me build my confidence and put my postpartum anxiety to ease. Her extensive background as a nurse and specifically lactation specialist was very useful during those early days. She showed several techniques to help with feeding and caring for the baby. She helped with laundry, and also gave me wonderful postpartum massages. Those were so needed!! Maria was very professional,  punctual, and flexible with her schedule. I would happily recommend Maria as a postpartum doula to any of my friends.

SL

10/4/2022

We have Maria to help us with our first baby. She is knowledgable, friendly and professional. My wife had a very smooth breastfeeding start with her help. She also taught us a lot about how to handle our newborn. Besides, she gave a hand on house chores, so we had some additional time for sleeping. Maria put a top priority on sanitization, such as wearing a KN95 mask all the time. This makes us more comfortable since we are with the newborn. Maria is also very reachable for questions during the off-hours. Having Maria help us is one of the best preparations we made for the postpartum period.

Sabina N

7/20/2022

We had hired Maria as a postpartum doula as I needed help around the house with my second baby.
After the interview itself both me and my husband felt that she was very warm and humble. Once we hired her, she was very clear on her plan. She wanted to have a plan on what is expected of her. Even before the baby arrived she provided valuable information about breastfeeding so I can be prepared.
When she started at our home, she introduced herself to the whole family and we all felt very comfortable with her instantly. The best part was she instantly connected with my elder daughter. My elder one always looked forward in spending some time with her to play. Maria was very helpful in educating me and my family on breast feeding. She corrected the baby’s latch and fine tuned the process so not only baby was comfortable but me as well. She educated my family on feeding the baby in case I was not around. She demonstrated multiple ways on how to bath and massage the baby. During every session she always asked on my well being.
I really wish I had her company during my first child.

Katrina Zlatkovsky

4/16/2022

I can't express how much Maria's help has meant to me: I feel like she's my magical fairy godmother who showed up at just the right moment, turning what would have been a negative and stressful experience into an amazingly wonderful one! I was so anxious and depressed with my first baby due to feeding and pumping challenges, and so afraid I would experience a repeat with my second. Sure enough, it seemed initially like I was having similar challenges, but thanks to Maria's help, I was able to find a way to latch with minimal pain, work through my fears of pumping and supplementing, and get the practical and emotional help I needed to keep moving forward towards my goal of exclusive breastfeeding. Thanks largely to Maria's help, I was able to completely stop pumping and supplementing by five weeks.

Not only does she offer expert breastfeeding support, but Maria is also so knowledgeable about everything else baby-related: including teaching us how to carry baby in a wrap, and some facial and body exercises to ease tension and help with gas and breastfeeding. She even offers to cook fresh home-cooked meals, and as an extra bonus, happily entertained my toddler with the special treat of "helping" Maria while cooking.

She has such an amazing personality: my two-year-old fell in love with her just as easily as my husband and I, and it was always such a pleasure to talk with her and spend time with her! I truly can't imagine a more supportive or wonderful doula!

Karina

11/1/2021

My experience with Maria was excellent. From the moment we started communication, she was a wealth of knowledge, has a calming prescence, put us at ease as first time parents and I am so grateful we found her. She was well liked by my mother, husband, and I. She explained throughly all aspects of baby care and showed us hands on how to expertly do diaper changes, feed baby, umbilical cord care, how to wear our baby, bathe & burp baby and much more. I highly recommend Maria as a postpartum doula. 

Laura Reith

10/19/2021

I was lucky enough to have Maria as my postpartum doula. She worked with my family for almost two months, and I wanted to keep her forever. She taught me newborn first aid, how to take care of a newborn baby, cooked for me, and she was the reason I overcame postpartum depression.

Maria became like a mother to me, she helped me with light house chores, cooked delicious healthy meals, and taught me how to take care of my newborn. She has years of experience as a nurse so, she knew exactly what was normal newborn behavior and what wasn't. 

Everything I needed to know about lactation, I asked her. I was successful on my lactation journey because I had her by my side on those first months. 

She also helped me overcome postpartum depression. My husband deployed right after my son was born, and Maria helped me feel supported during that period. 

I can honestly say that I could not have done it without her. 

Ada Lastiri

8/27/2021

Maria was a very good help for me. She listened with empathy about my needs and goals and gave me good referrals to get help from other  specialists. It is worthy to get the help that you really need, Maria is that help! 

Leela's parents

7/5/2021

Maria is an amazing post partum doula. She truly cares for the baby, mom and the whole family. Her multi decade experience as a nurse is a huge plus. She was a life saver for us during the pandemic with no other help. She cared for the mom as much as the baby, providing physical and emotional support. She cooked wonderful tasty meals and accommodated or dietary requests. She said it best during our first meeting that she is a professional grandma... She is both a great professional doula and a truly loving grand ma.

Ingrid

5/17/2021

Maria was my post partum doula this winter in the month after my first child was born. It was important to my husband and me that we seek help since our families live across the country and couldn't travel due to COVID. Maria provided this support seamlessly - she was flexible, able to tailor her support to our evolving needs and as we got to know our son. She has a nurturing, warm and relaxed personality which is very appreciated in those first few chaotic sleepless weeks. I also was drawn to her expertise in breastfeeding, as I had heard that could be a source of stress. She was really helpful in building my confidence, showing me tricks to get comfortable, and helping me keep perspective on the fact that breastfeeding is a learned skill - for both mother and baby. Almost 3 months later and my son nurses great - never had much discomfort and I think it's because we invested time at the beginning to have a strong start. I'd definitely recommend Maria to be that extended family support - her willingness to do whatever she could to be helpful (cooking, light cleaning, errands, dog walking) in addition to her expertise were so valuable to us.

Marina Nastopoulou

1/13/2021

Maria helped us for 2 months after I gave birth to my twins during the Covid-19 pandemic and none from our families could come and help us.

She was so helpful and understanding, and made me feel secure and safe as if my own mother was there.

She prepared a lot of reading material and did a check list with us before giving birth, so that we would be prepared as best as possible. 

After giving birth, she was there to give to me and to my husband some time to rest and recharge. But most importantly, she was the most gentle and sweet person to our little twins, she made them feel calm and she was the most patient and sweet guardian for them.

Maria you will always be part of our family!

Alexandra Zakharova

10/15/2020

Maria is very caring. She is also patient, kind, responsible and extremely organised.

We worked with Maria as a postpartum doula for the first 25 hours in the hospital, after our third child' was born. She was around when the baby and I needed care the most, and suggested best lactation techniques.

Maria was trained as nurse in Spain, and understands challenges a family welcoming their child may face. I felt confident the entire time Maria was supporting myself and the baby, and highly recommend her as a postpartum doula.

Selene Cazares

8/23/2020

I feel very lucky that Maria was my postpartum Doula. As a professional she is an excellent Doula who always patiently listened to all the doubts and concerns that I had as new mom. She guided me and provided the appropriate information for each situation, especially with the breastfeeding topic in which she has a lot of experience.
As a human being, she is a great person that cared about my physical and emotional health. I will always be grateful for all her empathy, solidarity and support. 

Ajeta

8/21/2020

Maria is very knowledgeble. In our first visit, she came prepared with lot of information on breastfeeding, baby related information, nutrition etc. I was very impressed by her knowledge and experience.

She helped us as post partum doula for 2 weeks after the baby was born. I needed her help the second day after baby was born and she came to the hospital directly as I needed her help urgently. Maria is very proactive and identifies herself how to help the baby and the family. She is a nice human being and very professional as well. 

I will definitely recommend her to other families. I was very happy with her.
 
 
 

Lauren

3/2/2020

I can't say enough good things about  the support we received from Maria. She was extremely responsive and flexible with our schedule. Her expertise in breastfeeding and newborns was invaluable over the first few weeks as new parents. She helped us a ton during the first few weeks with our baby and helped make it a great experience for us. I would highly recommend Maria. 

Daman

11/22/2019

Maria was an absolute gem in working with our 36 week twins. Her professionalism throughout the pregnancy and post partum was above and beyond. Her nursing background was important to me as I am in healthcare myself, I wanted someone with experience. Maria has a way to be patient and empathetic in what feels a crazy situation- her presence is calming. She was flexible with what worked for our family. She was comfortable with working with tiny babies, and her passion for infants was inspiring. She knew how to change, swaddle, feed, burp, put to sleep, etc etc as if the baby were her own. Both of our boys cherished her and if I have another baby, I would have her back with us in a heartbeat. I can not recommend her enough. 

Anna Zamora

11/1/2019

Maria was an excellent doula for our family; she is extremely kind and knowledgeable. If I have a second child, I would love to work with her again.