Las Cruces Doula

07/20/2025

✨Big news from Las Cruces Doula!✨
We’re now accepting both self-pay and insurance clients — because everyone deserves support on their reproductive journey.

We’re currently contracted and ready to serve clients covered by:

✅ Presbyterian (NM Medicaid)
✅ Molina (NM Medicaid)
✅ BCBS (NM Medicaid)
🔜 United Healthcare (coming soon!)

If you’re pregnant, planning, postpartum, or navigating loss — and you’re in Southern NM — we’re here for you. 💛

📲 Ready to connect with a doula? Submit your inquiry here to get started:
👉 https://lascrucesdoula.hbportal.co/public/65218a4167c5140028b7ef04

05/18/2025

Bone Broth: Liquid Gold for Growing and Healing Bodies

There’s something deeply ancestral about simmering a pot of bone broth. In many cultures, it’s the first thing offered to someone who’s recovering, replenishing, or preparing for something big—like birth.

At Las Cruces Doula, we love bone broth for its blood-building, mineral-rich, gut-supportive magic. Whether you’re pregnant, healing postpartum, or just feeling depleted, this simple nourishment can go a long way.

Why we love it:
• It’s rich in collagen and minerals that support joint health, skin elasticity, and red blood cell production.
• Herbs like alfalfa, oat straw, turmeric, and ginger add extra support for iron absorption, inflammation, and calm digestion.
• It’s warm, grounding, and easy on the belly—perfect for those days when your energy is low but your body still needs fuel.

One of our doulas even makes a special version with rainbow chard, radishes, and fresh root vegetables —infused with care and intention for the families we serve.

Pro tip: Sip it warm with a splash of lemon and a pinch of sea salt, or use it as the base for soups, stews, or grain bowls. Your body will thank you.

Want to learn more about postpartum nourishment or how to make your own? We’re happy to share!

04/28/2025

Our founder Melissa Marie Lopez-Sullivan is officially a credentialed doula in New Mexico!!

So excited for what’s ahead — next step: getting our Medicaid provider enrollment completed so we can serve even more families with love and justice. Let’s go!

03/21/2025

✨ Exciting Update from Las Cruces Doula! ✨

I’m back in Las Cruces after a powerful few months supporting the NM legislative session—where I had the honor of educating and advocating for Medicaid coverage of doula services. I’m thrilled to share that the bill passed both chambers unanimously and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature! This is a huge step forward for reproductive and birth justice in New Mexico.

With that momentum, I’m now hard at work getting everything in place to begin contracting doulas again through Las Cruces Doula. If you’ve been waiting to join our collective or are interested in taking clients with us—now is the time! I’ll be scheduling an in-person meeting soon to reconnect and get this next phase moving.

If you’re still interested, please DM or comment below so I can follow up with details. I’m so excited for what’s ahead and grateful to be doing this work in community with all of you. 💜🌿

Mission Las Cruces Doula is a collective of experienced and compassionate birth, postpartum, abortion, full-spectrum, and other specialty doulas. We are committed to providing holistic, culturally sensitive, and full-spectrum support to families during the perinatal period. Our collective is dedicat...

02/11/2025

🚨 Update on Medicaid Coverage for Doula Services in NM 🚨

We’ve been getting lots of questions about Medicaid coverage for doula services, and we want to keep our community informed!

As of now, no doulas in New Mexico have contracted with Medicaid insurance plans yet (this is step 2). This means that if you inquire with your insurance plan they will likely tell you that Las Cruces Doula is “out of network.”

The NM Department of Health just opened credentialing for doulas on February 3rd (step 1) and some doulas have started this process but until both steps have been completed we will come up as “out of network.”

In the meantime, the New Mexico Doula Association and a coalition of organizations are actively working on both the Medicaid enrollment process for doulas and advocating for HB 214 at the legislature—an important bill to support sustainable doula care in our state.

📢 How you can help:
✔️ Visit https://nmdoula.org/doula-bill/ to learn more.
✔️ Contact your legislators and urge them to support HB 214.
✔️ Follow for updates and spread the word!

Together, we can make doula care more accessible for our communities! 💜

Birth Justice Focused

02/02/2025

Updated price list with new services! ✌️🌈❤️

09/23/2024

The postpartum period is a sacred transition for mother/birthing person, baby, and the family. Let us remember and embrace the traditions that brought us this far!

La cuarentena is a birth tradition practiced across several hispanic countries. La cuarententa is a period of 40 days postpartum where the mother abides by certain rules to achieve rest, healing, bonding, and nourishment. Each region or family may practice it differently, but there are some common threads throughout.

For example, during the 40 days mom and baby don’t leave the house and the spouse does not sleep in the same bed as mom and baby. The mother is not supposed to do any cooking or chores so family and community are essential for this practice. Mom is fed soups, oatmeal, and chicken. Cold foods are normally avoided. There are also bathing restrictions. Some regions discourage bathing altogether, while others specify only bathing in warm water. Cold air entering the house is avoided.

Wearing a faja is another common cuarentena practice. A faja is like a wearing a girdle, or what some may refer to as belly binding. It is meant to support and tone the abdomen postpartum.

La cuarentena allows for an optimal postpartum experience and a mother can receive help and guidance from her community.

07/14/2024

07/09/2024

Congratulations to TimandMary McAllister!! Great work!! Babies and families will benefit deeply from your support and experience!!

2024 Certified Breastfeeding Specialist Class
Congratulations on completing the CBS training! Such a large achievement which shows your commitment to helping New Mexican families during such a critical time. Your new skills make a difference in the lives of many families, starting them off healthy and strong.
2024 NMBTF CBS Cohort This Opportunity Was Made possible in Partnership with Presbyterian Health Plan.

06/22/2024

Unfortunately, this is the only photo from today’s in person HypnoBirthing class. And this beautiful setup was prepared by the lovely Michelle Hackney and Mayra Corral; doulas in the Our Earth CBPA. Thank you for your presence, contributions, and help today!

We hosted this class at a lovely casita 🏡 on a beautiful property owned by my friend Kathy Gorum and her husband! We are so thankful to have a place to teach! Thank you for sharing your casita with us! 💜