maeve Sundstrom, lm cpm

Redwood Midwifery Founder & Primary Midwife

When I learned about midwifery as a young woman, I felt like I had stumbled upon a secret hidden in plain sight. Midwifery had clearly been there all along, carrying on the ancient traditions of women caring for women, community members sharing knowledge and supporting each other, and the powerful initiation of birth being held and acknowledged. Yet, like many of us, I was so steeped in our modern cultural beliefs and stories about pregnancy and birth that I had disconnected from the idea that there was another way.

Discovering the gentler, wiser, more embodied and empowered values and practices of midwifery was one of the great awakenings of my life. It validated what I instinctively knew to be true about childbearing: that becoming pregnant, carrying a baby, giving birth, and transitioning into parenthood are rich, pivotal life experiences, deserving of care and attention to all their many facets; that giving birth is about so much more than clinical measurements and medical data; that receiving healthcare can be a satisfying, connected process; and that I wanted my own maternity care to reflect an awareness of these things. I suddenly saw, or remembered really, that I could take my body and my healthcare back into my own hands. And I saw the glimmer of possibility that I could guide others to do the same. The dream of becoming a midwife was born.

A few years later, I birthed my daughter at home, surrounded by the loving support of midwives and family members. Soon afterward, I began volunteering at my midwife’s office, attending births as a doula, and working to become a midwife myself.

I am now a California Licensed Midwife in good standing, and a Certified Professional Midwife through the North American Registry of Midwives. I graduated from National College of Midwifery in 2017 with a degree in Midwifery. My clinical midwifery training spanned more than seven years and included apprenticeship with three Bay Area midwives as well as various supplemental classes and trainings. I have attended over 400 births in the home, hospital, and birth center settings.

I am a Professional Trainer with Birthing From Within, leading workshops and trainings for birth professionals. You can visit my Mentor Profile here and my Facilitator/Trainer Profile here.

I am an Integrative Pelvic Health Facilitator, and I offer Women’s Health & Sexuality Coaching. This work is founded in recognition of the incredible fullness of sexual expression and creative power that exists within each one of us, for increasing health, pleasure, vitality, and joy. Over many years of working with birth, bodies, deep initiation and change, I have gotten intimate with the many ways sexual, life-force energy brings life, growth and possibility when we allow it to touch and permeate our lives.

I am a Certified Craniosacral Therapist, Certified Massage Therapist, and Spinning Babies Aware Practitioner. I began practicing bodywork professionally in 2000, and I specialize in pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care.

bea tinoco, LM

Assistant Midwife

Bea is a licensed midwife dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. She believes every family deserves to feel heard, respected, and empowered to make informed decisions that honor their unique needs, values, and choices.

A magna cum laude graduate of Midwives College of Utah, Bea has supported over 200 births. Before becoming a midwife, she spent over five years as a labor and postpartum doula, developing a strong foundation in advocacy, active listening, and compassionate support. She has also completed specialized training in perinatal mood disorders through Postpartum Support International.

As a bilingual Latina midwife, Bea is passionate about creating a welcoming, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed space where families feel safe being themselves, asking questions, and making informed decisions about their care. She values building trusting relationships grounded in dignity, respect, and genuine compassion.

For Bea, birth is more than a physical experience; it is a deeply personal and meaningful transition. She is especially devoted to supporting families through the often-overlooked “fourth trimester,” believing the postpartum period deserves as much care and attention as birth itself. She strives to ensure families have the guidance, emotional support, and resources they need to navigate this transition with confidence and autonomy. Bea feels privileged to walk alongside families as they discover their own strength, navigate the unexpected, and welcome their babies into the world.

Ruth Núñez, Student Midwife

I’m a mother of three girls and second year midwifery student. I'm very passionate about supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. With 7 years of experience as a birth and postpartum doula, I bring compassionate, hands-on care to every journey. When I'm not studying or supporting clients, you'll find me sewing, crafting, or playing mermaids with my girls. 

Sonia Lizama, student midwife

Sonia began her birthwork journey in 2017 as a community doula, and shortly after attending births in this role, she felt called to pursue midwifery. She is currently enrolled at Midwives College of Utah and is in the primary phase. Her passion for midwifery care comes from the traditions carried by the women in her family, who for generations have offered support to pregnant and postpartum people in their communities. Sonia is honored to support birthing parents throughout the perinatal period, which she believes is a sacred and transformative time. Committed to providing informed, quality care, Sonia brings a calm, intuitive, and attentive presence to every family she supports. 

Redwood midwifery practice philosophy

Pregnancy and birth are normal life processes as well as rites of passage. Birth is part of sexuality, and can be seen as part of the continuum of creative life-force energy expressed through healthy sexuality. All people are deserving of respect, dignity and agency in their healthcare. My focus is on wellness, preventative care, and a holistic approach, which recognizes that in addition to being normal physiological processes, pregnancy and birth are social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual processes as well. I follow the Midwifery Model of Care and am committed to caring for the whole person, minimizing intervention, placing parents in control of their care as much as possible, and supporting physiologic birth as I understand it. I also recognize that there are a broad range of situations and experiences which can arise during pregnancy, birth, or postpartum that require a higher level of medical care. It is my belief that accessing medical care in those situations is appropriate and welcome, in the interest of assuring the ongoing health and safety of my clients and their families. My goal is to support families through whatever it takes for them to birth their baby. I love watching parents, as well as babies, be born, grow, and spread their wings!

Redwood Midwifery is committed to accurate, appropriate, inclusive life cycle healthcare for all people. We come to midwifery with a focus on supporting the process of relocating power and solutions within the communities they are intended to serve. I warmly welcome and celebrate all people wishing to receive my care, and I am pleased to help parents connect with culturally matched care providers whenever possible as desired.