Hi there, I’m Lex Londino. I’ve been working with families since 1999 as a doula, childbirth educator, registered nurse, certified nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner.

I gave birth to my first child, Paloma, in 1997 at a birth center in upstate New York. Even though I had been reading about birth for several years, I was still shocked by the raw power of the experience and I realized I wanted to be involved with helping expectant parents and their families experience birth in a loving and nurtured way. Out of this realization grew my desire to help empower parents and families through personalized midwifery care, education, and emotional support.

In 1999, I was present at the birth of my sister’s first child. This was the first birth I attended besides my own, and again I was incredibly inspired by the strength and power of labor and birth. I learned about doulas, and in 2001 I completed the requirements to become a certified doula through Doulas of North America (DONA). I attended many births as a doula, and as rewarding as it was to help birthing parents as a labor support person, I always had my eye on the midwife or doctor, watching and observing everything they did. I learned a great deal during those years, especially about hospital maternity care. I realized that much needed to change, and I wanted to be a part of the movement to improve maternity care.

My second child, Samson, was born in May of 2000 at home after a precipitous two-hour labor. My midwife was present, but she acknowledged that I was doing fine, and stayed quietly available in the corner of the room. I learned from this experience that midwives fill many different roles, and sometimes doing less is more.

In 2002, I attended a Birthing From Within mentor training workshop with Pam England, and began teaching birthing classes. I expanded my doula business to include classes, and was busy for several years teaching classes, attending births, and offering postpartum and lactation support.

My formal education includes an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing in 2006 from Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York, a Master of Science in Nursing/Midwifery in 2011 from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Kentucky, and a Master of Science in Public Health in 2020 from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. My clinical training as a midwife took place in a variety of settings, including home, birth center, and hospital. I am a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality (GLMA). I hold New York, Maryland, DC, and Colorado midwifery and nursing licenses and am nationally certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB).

In 2013, I started my own homebirth practice and provided holistic homebirth services and gynecological care for over five years. At Johns Hopkins, I was in the Social & Behavioral Interventions program in the International Health Department. Currently, I wear several professional hats, in addition to operating this course: senior advisor of capacity building at International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) and clinician providing gender affirming hormonal therapy at Folx Health.

After all these years working with families having many different types of births, I’ve seen a little of everything and can give you information from multiple perspectives and angles. I am committed to providing care that is compassionate, respectful, and acknowledges the inherent beauty and strength of all types of families.