Maliya Rubio-Mills

      Homebirth Midwife | Doula

Welcome to River Blue Birth.

I am Maliya QutawEneq Rubio-Mills.

I am committed to the philosophy that birth is a normal, human experience and shall be held with reverence. It is sacred. It is life’s biggest ceremony. It is yours.

I believe that changing birth culture and reproductive care practices can have tremendous impact within our communities.

I am committed to a living practice that supports community, social justice, and empowered reproductive experiences.

I am always learning.

Currently offering homebirth midwifery and doula services, sibling support, pregnancy loss counseling, postpartum support, and placenta encapsulation across the SF/ Bay area  

 Knowledge held.

So many pathways,

people,

and stories

have led me here.

I was born at home, on my mama’s bed.

There was a lightening storm on a sunny day, as I emerged from my mother’s womb.

They called me Maliya, ten days after I was born. Quntaw Eneq, Lightening Woman, comes from the Chumash language of my ancestors.

Certifications and Trainings

• National Midwifery Institute 2022-2026

• Currently apprenticing with Sue Baelen LM, Sacred Body Midwifery

• Infant and Child CPR and First Aid — Updated annually

• Breech Without Boarders Training 2026

• Resolving Shoulder Distocia w/ Nicole Morales 2026

• Anti-Bias Training — RE+Birth Equity Alliances, 2020

• Advanced Skills Full Spectrum Doula Course — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2020

• Birthing Beyond the Binary — king yaa, 2020

• Supporting Survivors Who Birth — Eri Guajardo Johnson, 2020

• Pregnancy and Infant Loss Advocate Training — Nneka Hall, 2019

• Supporting Trans and Gender Nonconforming Births — Trystan Reese, 2019

• End of Life Doula Training — International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA), 2018

• Childbirth Educator Training and Certification — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2017

• Placenta Specialist Certification — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2017

• Birth Doula Training — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2016

• Postpartum Doula Training — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2016

• Homebirth for Doulas — Cornerstone Doula Trainings, 2016

MORE ABOUT MY STORY…

Growing up, midwives were always considered magical people. My mama talked often about her decision to choose homebirth to welcome me and my siblings into the world. I grew up knowing the names of the women who had been her midwives when the three of us were born. Looking back, I suppose this is where my journey toward midwifery began.

Twenty-four years after my own birth, I attended the homebirth of my niece, Nayeli, in Oakland, CA. I had been a preschool teacher for many years and recently moved to San Francisco when my sister asked me to be her doula. So many things came from that experience, but above all, I walked away with a profound awe for my sister, the birth process, and the sweet tiny baby who had joined our family.

 I was incredibly moved by how held her birth space was, and completely enchanted by the midwives, who seemed to gracefully and yet powerfully arrive at this transition with ease and flow, joy and warmth, deep skill, and a sturdy wisdom. We circled around in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning after Nayeli had arrived, sharing potato chips and stories. 

It was beautiful.

In the days and months that followed, so many thoughts and questions arose in my heart and mind about birth, reproductive care, and the culture surrounding these experiences. This was the beginning of a new pathway being forged. The more that I learned, the more I uncovered the truth that midwifery, and relationship based birth practice was a way toward a future I wanted not just to be a part of, but to help create.

In January of 2017, I began my doula practice. Over the years, I circled around with many more midwives in many more kitchens and birth spaces throughout the Bay Area. It took some time before I was ready to bravely step forward and claim this path of midwifery and I am so glad I did. In the spring of 2023, I began my formal pathway toward becoming a licensed midwife at the National Midwifery Institute, alongside my doula practice.

My midwifery experience includes 15 months apprenticing under CNM Nancy Myrick, at the San Francisco Birth Center. And then 2 years apprenticing in ahomebirth practice with Licensed Midwife Sue Baelen. 

After more than ten years in birthwork and attending hundreds of births, I have completed my formal midwifery education at the National Midwifery Institute, September 2026. 

I continue to be humbled and inspired by the ceremony of birth, sitting with folks in the birth space as their doula, the science and practice of midwifery, and what it means to show up for one another in deep relationship, respect, and care.

I am so glad you’re here! And I look forward to meeting you.