Ana Paula Markel has devoted the past 17 years to expecting and new families. Her passion and expertise has placed her at the forefront of the birth movement not only in Los Angeles, but across California and internationally.
Training & Expertise
Ana Paula became a childbirth educator and birth doula in 2002 after her rich and vastly different personal experiences in childbirth, with two cesareans and two vaginal births (2VBA2C). Coming from a mainstream fashion background, these experiences completely shifted her career path.
Ana Paula is now a certified doula through DONA International, a DONA approved birth doula trainer, a certified childbirth educator and childbirth educator trainer through ICEA (International Childbirth Education Association), and has been a mentor to countless doulas.
Life & Work
Ana Paula currently serves on the board of directors for DONA International as the Past-President, serving as President in 2018. She has served on task forces at Cedars-Sinai hospital to help improve patient satisfaction and bring her experiences as a doula and birth diplomat to this great institution. Some of the accomplishments of the task forces have been: skin-to-skin in the operating room, creating birth plans for hospital patients with a doula's touch, aromatherapy in the hospital, and creation of a doula committee to address patient communication and quality of care. Ana Paula is also responsible for creating, developing, and implementing a very successful hospital-based childbirth education program.
Bringing evidence-based, fun childbirth classes to the masses is one of Ana Paula's passions. She has supported and was featured in both the Ina May Gaskin documentary and The Business of Being Born, and has been a guest on several TV shows and birth documentaries.
She has received countless awards throughout her career, including Childbirth Educator of the Year, Doula Trainer of the Year, Doula Mentor of the Year, and most recently, ICEA's President Award.
Ana Paula lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two of her four kids (two have already left the nest), her mother, and their various dogs.