About Me

Hi, I’m Maribel, a DONA International-certified birth doula and birth photographer based in Irvine, serving Orange County and select surrounding communities in South Los Angeles County/South Bay, the western Inland Empire, and North County San Diego.

I didn’t always know what a doula was. I found this work because I needed that kind of support myself, and experiencing what it felt like to have someone calm, familiar, and fully in my corner changed the way I understood birth. Eventually, it changed the direction of my work too.

Today, I try to offer families that same sense of steadiness and connection. Before labor, we build a relationship and practice tools so the day feels more familiar. During birth, I adapt to what you need: hands-on comfort, positioning, breathing and relaxation, experience with different tools, a softer ambiance for relaxation, partner coaching, and support around informed decisions. I am especially intentional about partners; my role is to support them, not take their place, so they can spend less energy wondering what to do and more energy simply being your partner.

After birth, I stay connected with early postpartum care for the families whose births I attend, including emotional, educational, and practical support within my scope.

Photography comes from my love of real-life storytelling. Birth is so absorbing that there are parts of your own story you may not get to see while you are living them: the looks, the gestures, or the small moments surrounding the first time you meet your baby. My documentary approach is quiet and unobtrusive, preserving those pieces so you can return to them later. Birth photography may be booked on its own or woven into doula care.

My broader full-spectrum doula work also includes standalone abortion support, pregnancy loss, and infant loss support. I provide care in English, Spanish, and French. Eligible doula services may be covered through Medi-Cal or select commercial insurance benefits.

Practice Philosophy

My philosophy is grounded in a vision of a world where birth is met with presence, understanding, and respect; where each story matters, inner strength is nurtured, and the path into parenthood is honored in all its complexity.

I do not believe there is one right way to give birth, or one kind of family this work is for. I want to understand what matters to you, help you prepare thoughtfully, and support you in a way that fits your life and the birth in front of you.

Information matters, and so do your instincts. We can build strong preferences and still leave room for them to change when new information or circumstances arise. To me, a positive birth experience is not defined by one outcome or by how few interventions happened. I care that you were respected, understood what was happening, had room to ask questions or change your mind, and felt supported through the experience.

My role is non-clinical. I help you understand options, formulate questions, stay connected to your own voice, and find specialized care when a need falls outside my scope. Above all, I want you to feel that your birth belongs to you.

Population Experience

First-time and experienced parents; families navigating infertility/IVF; VBAC; pregnancy at 35+; gestational diabetes; hyperemesis gravidarum; planned or unexpected cesarean; abortion; miscarriage/pregnancy loss; infant loss; LGBTQIA+ families; and multicultural/immigrant families.

Specialties

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• • Birth: hospital
• birth center
• home and water birth; induction; epidural; unmedicated labor; VBAC; planned or unexpected cesarean • Preparation: childbirth education
• informed consent
• partner preparation
• positioning
• movement
• Spinning Babies techniques
• breathing and relaxation • Comfort & ambiance: massage
• counterpressure
• TENS
• aromatherapy
• positioning and coping tools
• soft lighting • Pregnancy: infertility/IVF
• hyperemesis gravidarum
• gestational diabetes
• pregnancy at 35+ • Feeding & postpartum: breastfeeding/feeding education within scope
• pumping
• bottle
• milk storage
• newborn care
• soothing
• sibling preparation and practical postpartum support • Full-spectrum: abortion
• pregnancy loss
• infant loss • Photography: documentary birth photography
• independently or combined with birth doula care

Services Offered

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• Prenatal Care
• In-Person Labor & Birth Support
• Postpartum Care
• IVF Support
• Pregnancy Loss Support