Norbie Arias

Norbie “Khadijah” is a Chicago-based full-spectrum and high-risk certified doula, community birthworker, and founder of Hayaat Wellness Collective. She supports families throughout pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum, and the early months of parenthood with compassionate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed care. Her prenatal support focuses on helping families feel prepared and confident before birth through birth planning, childbirth education, comfort-measure preparation, appointment support, lactation and infant-feeding guidance, resource navigation, and thoughtful conversations about preferences, questions, and concerns. She also provides hands-on labor support, postpartum care, newborn support, and practical assistance for growing families. Her experience includes serving families from many different cultural, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including immigrant, refugee, Medicaid, and underserved communities throughout Chicago.

As a mother of five, Khadijah understands how tender, beautiful, overwhelming, and life-changing the journey into motherhood can be. That lived experience deeply shapes the way she cares for the families she serves. Her approach blends evidence-based information with traditional postpartum wisdom, gentle education, practical support, and a deep respect for each family's values, culture, and personal choices. She believes every parent deserves to feel heard, informed, nurtured, and supported rather than rushed or left to navigate pregnancy and postpartum alone. Whether she is helping a family prepare for birth during pregnancy, providing comfort through labor, helping a new parent understand feeding or newborn care, preparing a nourishing meal, accompanying a family to an appointment, or simply sitting beside a mother who needs reassurance, Khadijah strives to be a steady and caring presence.

At the heart of Khadijah's work is a simple belief: mothers deserve to be cared for, too. She is passionate about “mothering the mother” and creating a village around families during one of the most vulnerable and meaningful seasons of their lives. She especially values serving families who may have limited access to continuous support, culturally sensitive care, or community resources. Outside of birthwork, Khadijah enjoys spending time with her children, homeschooling, cooking and baking, continuing her education, and serving her community. Her work is rooted in warmth, respect, and the hope that every family she supports feels a little more confident, cared for, and less alone.

 I truly care about the families I support and the experience they carry with them through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. My hope is that when you’re in my care, you feel gently supported, listened to without judgment, and reminded that you deserve patience, compassion, and nurturing care as you welcome your baby and grow into this new season of your family’s life.