Hoi (Hello)
My name is Maria (she, her).
​I am a Dutch gal in the USA, blessed with a husband, 4 kids, and 3 cats. I love getting dirty in my native backyard habitat, knitting, cross-stitching, singing, live concerts, and discovering new coves at the coast.​
​
I was inspired to become a birth professional after my own powerful birth experiences. The birth of my first child was incredibly intense, and I discovered an inner strength that I did not know I had. I learned from this birth that our bodies are incredible and unpredictable and that giving birth was simultaneously beautiful and raw. I am still blown away by how awesome we are!
Between 1998 and 2006, I gave birth to five more children, two of whom are angel babies. These experiences made me into the woman, wife, mother, doula, and educator I am today: I trust our bodies and our innate knowledge to give birth and accept the process wherever it may lead us.
​
I remain intensely grateful to the women who surrounded me during those births, in person and in spirit: my midwives, my mother, and my grandmother. They held space for me, trusted, encouraged, and loved me. I am also grateful to my husband, who would have preferred to stay in the kitchen with our first, yet caught our fourth like a pro.
Photo credit: Lem & June Collections
Best gift from a nurse ever.
These profoundly transformative experiences inspired my passion for supporting, nurturing, and holding space for others. I became a professional Doula in 2009 through Birthingway College of Midwifery in Portland, OR. In 2016, I joined Baby Nest Birth Services, where I enjoyed 8 years of wonderful sisterhood. In 2021, I added a birth doula certification through Birth Arts International and also became a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. I am a Traditional Health Worker Doula in Oregon, serving families on the Oregon Health Plan. My heart is also invested in supporting families experiencing loss during the perinatal period.
My philosophy is that we all deserve someone who reminds us that we can trust our inner strength and guidance. Birth is unpredictable. Whether planning a home birth or hospital birth, low-risk or high-risk, first baby or not, feeling seen, supported, and confident during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum time is very important. You will remember how you felt and how you were made to feel. This is the space my doula heart holds for you.
​
I approach things with a sense of humor and calm, groundedness. I am dependable, somewhat direct, and not too bothered with hierarchies. I show up for you.​
Old birthing chair I did not have time to use.
Another passion I have is community-based or private-arrangement human milk sharing. I am one of the founders of Eats on Feets, a network where families in need of milk for their baby can connect with someone who may have milk to share, and I co-authored the Resource for Informed Breastmilk Sharing, an extensive database of information to support safe practices in milksharing.
All babies need human milk!