Rising Stars: Meet Maria Pasquarelli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Pasquarelli.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always said having kids wouldn’t change me. Turns out, what I meant, is that it wouldn’t change my drive, but there’s no way having children won’t actually change a person. It was having children that lead me to the birth world and, eventually, to becoming a postpartum doula. Becoming a parent, especially the second time around, made me realize how much help parents and families really need – especially in our modern world and in a city like Los Angeles where so many people who live here aren’t, originally, from here and don’t have family locally.

Once I took my postpartum doula training in the fall of 2019, I ended up jumping into the work sooner than I expected and haven’t stopped! I did Newborn Care Specialist training, additional lactation training to become a Certified Lactation Educator, and am about to start my clinical hours toward becoming an IBCLC.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel very lucky to have had consistent work – Los Angeles has a very active doula community and there is a great need for postpartum doulas/support here. However, there are always bumps along the road. When Covid first popped up and started shutting things down, I lost a few clients who just didn’t feel comfortable having someone in their homes. I completely understood, but it was hard. In addition, any time you’re working for yourself, it’s a bumpy ride. I never know when or where my next client will be and I try to book far enough in advance, but it’s not always possible. It can also be very difficult for birth workers who have young children to juggle odd hours (like working overnight). This is, especially, difficult for women since they are often the ones who take on more of the caretaking burden. I am so happy to have a life partner who supports my work, schedule and future goals.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The more I do this work, the more I feel like the biggest part of my job is helping parents to stay calm, not stressed and trust themselves as new parents. There is so much misinformation and fear-mongering out there when it comes to parents and parenting. Most of the time, parents are doing a great job and their baby is perfectly fine, but then they start to google things and freak out! So, for me, it’s really about being super practical and helping parents to realize that babies, like all people, are all different. Babies do not conform to the numbers and averages and “shoulds” of the internet.

What makes you happy?
Traveling, being outside, and having new experiences with my family is what make me the absolute happiest.

But, I must say, watching parents relax, find a groove, trust themselves and come into their own as parents is a huge second! As sad as it is to say goodbye to any family I’ve been working with, there is joy in me leaving a family because I know the parents are at a point where they are thinking, “we’ve got this!” and they’re right!

I also really love getting pics of babies as they grow. It doesn’t always happen, but every once in a while I’ll get a photo of a toddler that I worked with as a newborn and it makes my heart soar!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/mariapdoula
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariapdoula/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariapdoula

Image Credits
Michael Evans Lopez