Empowering Support for All Phases of Reproductive Health
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Empowering Support for All Phases of Reproductive Health *
Meet jessica— the doula
I’m Jessica (she/her/ella), a DTI trained, full-spectrum doula and a mom, offering education, advocacy, and support for all phases of reproductive health. I believe that everyone deserves access to compassionate, evidence-based reproductive care. I practice doula work through the lens of reproductive justice— which asserts that “all people have the right to bodily autonomy, the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to parent children in safe, sustainable communities.”*
My professional background is in education. I began my career as a classroom teacher and Teach for America corps member. I spent over a decade providing bilingual instruction to students, support to families in advocating for their students’ needs, and professional development for teachers striving to give their students access to greater opportunities.
I’m a self-proclaimed nerd and admittedly soothe my anxiety with research, so I learned A LOT about women’s health, pregnancy, and birth, for my own purposes before embarking on my journey to become a doula. When I became pregnant with my son I knew I wanted a different style of care than the standard offered by many OBGYNs and hospitals. My past medical experiences with reproductive health left me feeling invalidated and disempowered, I knew that was not how I wanted to feel throughout my pregnancy and birth. Nor was that the start to life I wanted to give my son. So I got really intentional about preparing and advocating for myself and I assembled a tremendous team that enthusiastically supported my choices.
*The term reproductive justice and its definition are credited to Loretta J. Ross who began using the phrase in her work with other BIPOC women in the mid 90’s to address the intersection of social justice and reproductive rights.
The two most impactful decisions I made were choosing a birth place that encouraged informed participation in my care and selecting a supportive doula whom I trusted immensely. My midwifery team at Holy Family Services and incredible doula also connected me to other resources that rounded out the care team I needed— a chiropractor for prenatal & postpartum care, an experienced lactation consultant who helped tremendously with some unique breastfeeding challenges, a surgeon who repaired an unusual and problematic birth injury, and a pelvic floor physical therapist all of whom made a wonderfully positive impact on my journey into motherhood. Even having exceptional support from a team I carefully cultivated, and that I’m aware many women don’t have access to, I found motherhood could be incredibly challenging and isolating. I became increasingly interested in spreading awareness about the options available to families navigating reproductive care processes and decisions. And I became determined to find a way to help other women build the supportive communities they need surrounding reproductive health care.
Through 3 Lunas Doula, I am proud to support people of all ethnicities, cultures, sexualities, and gender identities in accessing high-quality, affirming information and care. 3 Lunas Doula is based in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and offers in-person support to families in my local community. I’m also happy to adapt many of my services to a virtual format to support clients beyond the RGV community.
about 3 Lunas Doula
What does 3 Lunas mean?
Throughout many cultures the moon and its phases represent the lifecycle and women’s fertility. The waxing, full, and waning moons are often associated with the concepts of the maiden (youth, puberty, fertility), the mother (pregnancy, birth, motherhood) and the crone (aging, wisdom, maturity). As a full spectrum doula, I aim to support all phases of women’s reproductive health and I’ve always felt a sense of awe at the night sky as well as the incredible power I see in well-informed women. The 3 lunas felt like the perfect symbol for my work caring for women throughout all phases of their reproductive health journey in a bilingual community.
Mission
I work to empower women to confidently advocate for themselves and their families by providing knowledge, resources, and nurturing. 3 Lunas Doula’s services are developed with a reproductive justice perspective to intentionally support individuals and families throughout the full spectrum of reproductive health. I provide education and connection to the resources needed to achieve bodily autonomy and build safe, sustainable communities in which all families have the opportunity to thrive.
Vision
When women are adequately supported to make well-informed decisions about their health and wellness, it leads to magical transformation for them, their families, and in turn their communities. Individuals will have access to the critical education and resources they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. This knowledge and access to resources radiates, moving reproductive justice to the forefront of community awareness, which in turn transforms bodily autonomy into an expectation rather than an exception. It fosters an environment in which women are regarded as the experts in their own lived experience, who are respected participants in their own care. It makes the right to build and maintain a family in a safe, sustainable community a cultural norm in our society rather than a privilege afforded only to an elite few.