About the Doula
about the doula
About the Doula | Benefits of a Labor Doula | Doula Services | Contact
Hi! I am Lisa Johnston, and I am a labor doula in the South West Houston and Sugar Land, Texas area.
I’ve been married to my husband since 2001, and we have three children. Although we’ve lived all over the Houston and Central Texas areas, we have found Sugar Land, Texas to be our home. We are avid Houston Astros fans, and we are very much into natural and attachment parenting.
Our first two children were hospital inductions with an OB, and although they were pretty uneventful pregnancies, labor, and deliveries, I knew that there was more to giving birth than having my mother tell me when my next contraction was coming.
With the birth of my daughter, there was no lactation consultant at the hospital, so with no help, I had no idea how to breastfeed her. Looking back, I very much regret not taking the time to educate myself during the pregnancy about my options as a new mom.
With the birth of our first son, although there was a lactation consultant on staff, I was informed by everyone on the staff at the hospital, that because he was severely jaundice, I was to supplement, because “he wasn’t getting enough colostrum” to stay hydrated because my milk had not come in. In hindsight, again, I know that this is a common misconception among many hospital staff members across the nation.
After the birth of our first two children, my husband and I decided that we were going to start taking the more natural and attachment parenting route. We began cloth diapering our son, we delayed and select vaccinated, we became more informed on all aspects of parenting, and we decided that we were no longer going to let anyone else get in the way of how we were naturally intended to parent.
When we found out we were pregnant with our third child (second son), it was an easy decision! We were going to give birth naturally with a midwife. Skeptical about a home birth, my husband agreed to a birthing center birth. It wasn’t until about 31 or 32 weeks that someone introduced me to a doula in training. I could not believe that having a doula at my son’s birth never crossed my mind!
You would have never guessed that my doula was in training. I felt like a queen during the entire labor and birth process, and I could not have pictured my birth going any better than it did. I firmly believe that having a doula by my side made a world of difference in the way I labored and gave birth to our son. I was confident, empowered, happy, fun-loving, not stressed, excited, certain, relieved, over joyed, calm, and on and on and on, mostly because I had a wonderful doula who helped me be strong and helped me enjoy my birthing experience! Not only was it a great overall experience, my children were able to be there, and with the help of my midwife and doula, my son latched on immediately, and he nursed like a champ.
After that, I decided that I had found my calling. It is a great feeling to help empower and support women through one of the most important and joyous rite of passages in their life.
After taking required Child Birth Education class with one of the best Doulas in the Houston area, I was so stoked about becoming a doula that I decided that I’d start offering my services while I was still in training!
I am extremely honored to be able support mothers during this special time, and I feel that every mother, no matter her circumstance should have the gift of the presence of a doula for her pregnancy, labor, and postpartum adventures.