Crystina Hughes is a nurse, certified birth doula, and maternal health advocate dedicated to expanding equitable birth support and reproductive education. As founder of Diamonds for Doulas and Director of Community Outreach at WAWC Healthcare, she works to ensure mothers have access to culturally responsive care, advocacy, and community-based support.
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Her feature runs on pages 14–19 of the March 2026 issue.
What first gave you the conviction that you were meant to lead this work?
My conviction didn't begin in a boardroom. It began with lived experience. Before Diamonds for Doulas was an organization, it was survival, navigating motherhood in ways I never expected to have to. That question of why this happened to me, and how many other women it was happening to quietly, would not leave me alone.
What's a moment from your work that has stayed with you?
I've sat with so many mothers, each with her own story of fear, disappointment, or feeling unseen. And over time, a pattern emerged: their experiences weren't isolated. They weren't so different from my own. That recognition, seeing myself in their stories, became a turning point. It reminded me that this work isn't just about providing support. It's about witnessing and validating what mothers have been carrying alone.
Read the full feature in the March 2026 issue.
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