Inspiring Conversations with Jessica Johnson of Seven Hearts Doula

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Johnson.

Hi Jessica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always been very maternal, always knowing that I myself wanted to be a mom and being referred to as the “mom” of my friend group for as long as I can remember. I have always felt a longing to care for others, a love for babies and a strong calling to birth work. This led me to a career in nursing, with a particular interest in obstetrics. I was blessed that my first nursing job out of college was in Labor and Delivery, where I got to serve families as a nurse for over 9 years before transitioning to a more routine OBGYN office position. There I was trained to see labor and birth more as a “diagnosis” that required medical solutions and interventions. After now having spent more than a decade in the birthing world, both in and out of the delivery room, helping assist and support birthers and their partners in a variety of ways, I have come to realize that it is so much more than that. Pregnancy, labor and birth are a beautiful, natural process, that from time to time may require medical solutions and interventions. However, when birthers are given the adequate time, support and education to advocate for their body, their baby and their birth, many of them end up with an incredibly positive birth experience! I have also discovered over the years that the journey both to and through parenthood (“motherhood” in particular), especially in today’s society comes with its own challenges and expectations. Many that generations before us did not have to face. This has led me to being extremely passionate about maternal mental health and maternal emotional support both during and after pregnancy. Sometimes just having a “real” conversation with a postpartum mom about wearing mesh panties and a diaper, makes them realize that they are not alone! (IYKYK) I have big dreams for where I want to be in the next 5-10 years, as I truly love helping others and believe that raising children really does take a village!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been as smooth as I would like it to be. I have so much passion and ambition for what I want my “business” to be. I honestly have trouble even calling it a business. I know realistically I need it to grow into something that can support myself and my family financially, or at least that is the hope. As of now, I am still building and growing it and working my regular “9-5” as they say. Which does not allow as much time to focus on my doula business as I would like. Ideally, I want to be able to provide my services to those who otherwise would not have them due to social, financial or other potential barriers. I have this longing to create something new, something unique, that will truly make a difference in the lives of the families I serve! I see such a disparity in the care and support that so many birthers receive during their pregnancies, labors, births and postpartum periods that I yearn to remedy through compassion, education and advocacy!

Honestly, there have been personal struggles as well that have made the process a little bumpier than anticipated. Everything else doesn’t just stop while you’re trying to start a business, especially when you’re a mom! I still have little people who depend on me for help with homework and carpooling to sports, doctor’s appointments, constructing last-minute spirit day outfits and everything in between! Then there are the other everyday responsibilities that come with adulthood, relationships and friendships. I am still trying to master the flow and organization of it all!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Seven Hearts Doula?
I am a birth doula! I am currently in the process of becoming certified through DONA International.

DONA International defines a doula as “a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and shortly after childbirth to help them achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.” I specialize with helping birthing persons during the labor and birth portion, whereas some doulas focus more on supporting families during their postpartum phase.

Prior to starting my doula journey, I spent almost a decade inside the delivery room as a labor and delivery nurse. I am still an active RN in an OBGYN office, am familiar with many of the providers and policies that dictate maternity care in the NE Ohio area and hope to someday be able to combine these two roles to provide even better education, care, support and advocacy to my clients!

I believe that my previous experience as a labor and delivery nurse has exposed me to almost every birth scenario, making it much easier for me to remain calm and help educate and support birthers during certain situations that may arise during labor and birth. I have supported countless families on the absolute best day of their lives as well as many on the worst. There is no birth, or birther, that is any less deserving of support than another. Whether at 4 weeks, 42 weeks or somewhere in between- they ALL deserve love and recognition, no matter the situation!

Many people often wonder how my business got its name. It took me some time to figure out what I was going to name my business. I knew I didn’t want to just go by my name, as it is such a popular name, I knew it would never stand out. I wanted the name of my business to hold significance, both to my clients and to myself. “Seven Hearts” is significant to me as I have carried a total of seven hearts within my body during my lifetime. (Ironically, seven has also always been my favorite number!) Besides my own, the other six belonging to those of the babies I have carried, my 3 living children and the 3 that I have lost to miscarriage. I want other pregnant/birthing persons and their families to know that they are not alone and that their babies, births and stories matter. Whether the heart of their baby beats on for years and years to come, or whether they never had the opportunity to see/hear it beat at all, they matter and always will. I also know the heartache of pregnancy loss firsthand and am able to relate to those birthers who may have a history of loss or are currently experiencing pregnancy or fetal loss.

Once pregnant and especially as birth approaches, I have found that the journey to parenthood can often be eased by having the right support and the right people in your circle. Many people, unfortunately, do not receive this support or even know where to look for it. Over the years I have discovered ways to help provide this support to many pregnant people and those in their inner most circle. Although, the birthing person is my main focus, I know that they often worry about how those closest to them are going to handle labor, birth, and life with a new baby. Therefore, I think it is really important to include whoever the birther plans to have as part of their support team, from the very beginning! I am not there as a replacement of the partner or main support, which I think is often a misconception. I am there in addition to! I work throughout the pregnancy with both the birther and their partner or support team to establish a plan, coping skills and build upon their ability to self-advocate! As a doula, I will not speak for the birther, however, I will help educate them and help them strengthen their voice so that when the time comes, they are able to use their voice, loud and proud, to advocate for the birth experience that they want!

At this time, I currently offer birth doula support services for any type of hospital-based birth in the Cleveland and Akron area hospitals, including vaginal birth, c-section, VBAC, induction, miscarriage, fetal loss, etc. My second “home” (hospital) is Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights.

As a doula, I am very passionate about helping to support the building of families in whatever way that may look! Whether a birther is a cis-gender straight couple, a pregnant member of the LGBTQ+ community, a couple who is adopting, a birther who is choosing adoption for their child, an interracial couple, an intercultural couple, a single mom/birther, persons using a surrogate, someone who is different abled, someone who is neurodiverse, or someone who identifies in a way not above mentioned; I would love the opportunity to be a member of their support team! I truly believe that EVERY birther can benefit from the added support that a doula can offer!

I am also extremely passionate about providing Bereavement Doula services to those birthers and their partner(s), who may be faced with circumstances requiring additional support, during an unimaginably difficult time. Whether it be miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, fetal anomalies, etc. I have a “Bereavement” link on my website for more information regarding these services, and work with clients on a situation specific basis to determine the support services that are best suited for them.

I try to be as transparent as possible about my packages, pricing and what a client can expect, on my website:

sevenheartsdoula.com

I hate visiting a website to try to gather information and there is barely anything there, and they require that you fill in your whole life’s story just for a simple quote or to ask a simple question. Nobody has time for that! I want potential clients to be able to look at my website and get as much information as they think they may need to make an informed choice as to whether I may be a good fit for them! If not, they get to move about their day without the stress of waiting for a response. If they like what they see, then they are able to reach out, and it cuts down on the number of questions they feel they need to ask and we are able to get to the fun part of getting to know one another quicker and planning their ideal birth! I also understand, now more than ever, that times are tough and money is tight for many, so I want my clients to know that I am flexible, offer payment plans and also have gift certificates available to help make paying for services more convenient!

I would also like to offer any new client that books services with me and mentions VoyageOhio magazine, 10% off their services!

I do have plans to complete additional trainings to be able to offer additional services in the future. As of now I have completed the initial birth doula training course through DONA, as well as a DONA led course in lactation. I have also completed continuing education via the Safe Zone Project as an Ally for the LGBTQA+ community and a bereavement course. I am currently a member of The Evidence Based Birth Academy, where I have been taking additional continuing education courses. I am BLS/ACLS certified through the American Heart Association.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
At the end of the day, I really just want to be able to use my knowledge, experience, empathy, and compassion to help support other birthers/mothers/parents thrive.

I truly believe that by helping to educate, support, and advocate for birthers, particularly those who are often overlooked, I can have a positive impact on their experience, their health (both physical and mental), and in turn it will begin to change the way that society views pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Ideally, this would then lead to more birthers/mothers supporting one another and creating those “villages” that we desperately need to prosper. The infant and maternal mortality rates in our country are much too high. I think by creating birthers that are more involved in their birth experience, more educated about the process, more comfortable with using their voice to express their wishes and concerns and more connected to others in their community, we would be able to help decrease those rates. There are still many other factors, that I unfortunately have no control over, but this is the one way that I can help make a difference. Even if I educate just one birther enough that they do not become a statistic, it will have all been worth it.

I want birthers/mothers/parents to know that I really do care and:

They are stronger than they have ever imagined; they are not alone, even on the hardest of days; it’s ok if they need to lay baby in the safety of their crib while they rock out to death metal in the closet for a few minutes and sob, so that they can be “ok”; Even though EVERYONE says it, they really will be amazed at how fast time flies; believe it or not but chances are high that they will smell and even possibly lick (due to lack of sleep) a brown smear to determine if its poop, chocolate, or gravy; and despite what they say during pregnancy or at the time they give birth, chances are that they will forget the challenges and complaints of pregnancy and do it all over again!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sevenheartsdoula.com
• Instagram: sevenheartdoula
• Facebook: seven hearts doula