Maria

  • Daytime Postpartum Visits: $1260+

    • 3hr visits over the first 2 months postpartum.

    • $70/hr when booking a min of 18 hrs.

    • Generous phone, text, email support throughout

    • Certified Postpartum Doula

    • Certified Lactation Counselor

    • Newborn Care Specialist

    • Infant CPR Certified

    • Single parents

    • LGBTQ families

    • Preemies

    • High risk families

    • People with mood disorders

As a DONA Certified Postpartum Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor, Maria has helped parents grow their families for over sixteen years. 

Her own struggles as a first-time mom inspired her to become the support she wished she had. Her personal experience with birth complications and feeding challenges informs her work, and she understands first-hand the feelings of fear and self-doubt that can overshadow the joy of a new baby. With empathy and respect, she encourages parents to trust their gut as they hone their skills and gain control of their postpartum experience with guidance on infant care, feeding and sleep. Parents can rest while she minds the baby and assists with light household tasks. A former nanny, she enjoys caring for older siblings as they adjust to the new family dynamic, and as an Italian from New Jersey, she loves to cook and feed people!

Maria’s calm presence, sense of humor and cheerful manner puts families at ease as they find their footing. Her mission is to be the relief that allows parents to stay grounded amid the beauty and chaos of this major life change.

  • "Maria was absolutely amazing. I really don’t think we would have gotten through these first 3 months without her. We just had our first and don’t have any family here so Maria met us when we arrived home from the hospital. She showed us how to do everything with our son and prior to his birth made sure we had everything we needed for his arrival home. I think what I liked most about Maria was how comfortable she made me feel, in particular with breastfeeding. I really struggled with this at the beginning but she helped me through it. Her knowledge of new borns is incredible! 12/10."

    Christine

  • "I look back at that time, and I loved every moment of being with my newborn. Our family simply had no relatives nearby, and no “template” from which to draw the wisdom, strength and natural parental resolve that were needed in those first days. We read every book on the subject, but in the moment, there was no replacement for Maria in our lives. Oh, and she bought groceries, cooked, and tidied too! Less worry and mundane decision-making, more sleep and life-affirming joy – this is what Maria brought to my family. She helped open our eyes to the wonder within and around us, and I will forever be grateful to her for affording us that when we needed it most. Thank you, Maria. You are my forever-sister! "

    Indira

  • "Maria was our postpartum doula after our middle son was born. She made the transition home so much easier, helping care for the baby as well as keeping his older sister engaged to diffuse some of the usual jealousy. She helped keep me and my husband sane as we settled into life as a family of four. She became part of our family and was so loved that she helped us again when my youngest son was born. Years later all three of our kids still refer to her lovingly as Ri-Ri. One of my favorite memories is of Maria humoring our son (multiple times a day!) with dance parties to “SHOUT!” when he was absolutely obsessed with that song.”

    Allison

  • “Maria’s knowledge about infant care was crucial when we brought home our adopted daughter! She helped get these two brand new (and maybe slightly terrified) dads on track with feeding, sleeping, teeny tiny toenail clipping, and a million other things we weren’t thinking of yet. She is a bottomless source of information, warmth, humor, intuition, and compassion - she got our growing family off to the right start and became an indispensable part of it at the same time.”

    Chris and Andrew, Ellie’s dads

  • "Having a calm and grounded presence like Maria with me (sometimes as early as 6 am!) brought me back into myself. She helped reconnect me to my body and allowed the spirit of the moment to flourish, so I did not miss a minute of the beauty that was right before my eyes. She taught me how to soothe my daughter, how to position and latch her for optimal feeding. She provided me the opportunity for blessed sleep. As my fears subsided, my postpartum experience filled with magic, joy, and growth. I felt a part of something very special and loving, not isolating or frightening.”

    Indira

  • “I am so grateful that I met Maria in my early weeks of postpartum to help and support me, and always with the biggest smile. She is kind, personable, patient, loving and proactively so helpful with all things baby and motherhood. Ahead of each visit, Maria provided ample suggestions for healthy meals and snacks to prepare for me and picked up the necessary ingredients on her way over. Her food was delicious and well beyond my skills in the kitchen, so it was a real treat! We spent hours chatting while she prepared food, and while I had my baby contact napping on me or breastfeeding. The early weeks postpartum can be stressful and lonely so I always looked forward to her visits. When she wasn’t cooking, she was eager to help with my baby - playing with her and soothing her while I rested, helped with naptime, and offered suggestions around things like baby wearing, effective burping strategies, breastfeeding, and more. Maria is a fantastic doula with a great personality and so much love, energy, knowledge, and skills to share! I wish I could have my fridge stocked with her freshly made meals all the time!”

    Jennifer

  • "Maria made the early weeks of parenthood easier and more enjoyable for many reasons, especially her cooking. For the first couple months after our daughter was born, we never worried about cooking, but still got to enjoy delicious homemade meals. Maria is an excellent cook and can do it all! We indulged in comfort food the first few weeks postpartum (meatballs, eggplant parm, and chicken pot pie to name a few). When we then asked Maria to help us get back to a healthier diet, she made us delicious salmon, chicken, tofu, and veggies of all varieties. Maria is a flexible and innovative chef. She’ll cook anything you ask for, make you her favorites, or improvise with whatever you have in your kitchen. She also makes a point to clean up after herself and leaves the kitchen as clean (or cleaner!) than it was when she arrived. While she was cooking, Maria and I would talk through any questions or issues about breastfeeding or infant care, and while dinner was in the oven she would clean bottle and pump parts. Imagine having a home chef who can also change diapers and soothe a fussy baby!"

    Cade

  • "Maria is an absolute multi-doula! She helped our family navigate the postpartum period with such gentle care, wisdom and expertise. She has a calming presence to baby and parents alike, we call it Ri-Ri magic! She has brightened the otherwise daunting early days of new parenthood with a sense of humor and compassion, cooking delicious postpartum meals (a must try and she always tidied up the kitchen!), guiding us through newborn care essentials and ultimately helping to organize our scrambled postpartum brain and life. With tremendous support and encouragement, Maria helped me build my confidence as a new mom and I will always have great appreciation for that."

    Jeanne and James

  • "As a single mother via IVF, I decided to give birth to my baby in my hometown where I would have the support of family and friends. When I came back to NYC at the end of my maternity leave, it felt completely daunting and I immediately sought postpartum doula care for myself and then-4 month old baby. I wasn’t clued in on all that the city has to offer new parents, especially single ones like myself, and was nervous to bring the baby out in public to do simple things like run errands and eat at public cafes with my active and very curious child in tow. Maria's accompaniment put those feelings at ease with skill and humor. I absolutely loved her approach and I especially appreciated her candor and incredible support. She also provided a wealth of resources to help me connect to neighborhood parent groups, calmly assisted as I fumbled with car seat installation in the many Ubers I had to take, and minded the baby so I could reconnect with my colleagues and get back into the swing of work. She also happily took on the daytime nap routines so I could get some much needed downtime. Maria was invaluable in helping me integrate back into city life with a baby. Being a single parent is full-on, and her companionship and the breaks I was able to get with her visits were invaluable for both myself and my daughter. Maria is one of a kind and anyone would be lucky to work with her!"

    Allison J

  • "We love Maria! She has been a great postpartum support to us. We are first time parents and Maria made the first month with our baby girl so much easier. She is extremely knowledgeable about newborns and we learned a ton about taking care of our daughter. Maria was always there for us whenever we had questions, she eased our worries by listening to our concerns and provided timely and effective guidance. She helped build up our confidence by being really understanding, encouraging and caring. Highly recommend!"

    -Adele and James

  • "We are beyond grateful we found Maria and added her to our family! We truly don't know what we would have done without her sage advice, wonderful humor and loving guidance. It was so much easier to laugh through the pain and fatigue, smile through the strange smells, and embrace the joy of life through her unique perspective. Thank you Maria for taking such good care of our family. From the bottom of our hearts, we love you!"

    Anastasia and Michael

  • "She is so knowledgeable and really makes you feel comfortable with everything from crazy mommy hormones to meal prepping to swaddling and helping with breastfeeding. Having her in our home was such a relief and really helped take the edge off the first few weeks as new parents."

    Katie

  • "NYC Birth Village connected us with Maria, who was an amazing resource during our first postpartum weeks. Maria was there for us every step of the way. She visited us before the baby came to ensure that we had everything we needed and once the baby was here, she was always available for support and guidance, even taking a late night FaceTime call from the hospital from us. Maria made us more confident parents and we really loved how open, kind and knowledgeable she was in every interaction. We highly recommend working with her!"

    Christine