Expanding Access to Doulas Helps to Improve Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes
By: Julian Ho
The rate of pregnancy-related deaths is still very high in New York State, especially among Black families. According to the New York State Department of Health, Black, non-Hispanic women had a pregnancy-related mortality ratio five times higher than White, non-Hispanic women (54.7 versus 11.2 deaths per 100,000 live births). Doula services can help to address the statewide crisis of racial and income-based maternal health disparities by providing culturally responsive and comprehensive social, emotional, and physical support to clients during prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods.
[Continued from newsletter]
Back in June 2024, the New York State Commissioner of Health, James V. McDonald, M.D., M.P.H, issued a statewide standing order for doula services, expanding access for all birth parents. A recommendation for doula services is required for a parent to be eligible for Medicaid coverage, and the standing order now serves as that recommendation, making it easier for parents to access doula services. Doulas provide physical, emotional, educational and non-medical support for pregnant and postpartum individuals before, during, and after childbirth.
Stephannie Joseph, journalist with WHAM-TV in Rochester, reported that the Healthy Baby Network started the Black Doula Collaborative in 2019 in response to the troubling data about pregnant Black women and their deliveries. Black doulas from the Rochester area have met for a 12-week training and the network has grown to 35 Black doulas with the program serving over 200 families. Read more here: https://13wham.com/news/black-history-month/rochester-black-doula-collaborative-seeks-to-improve-maternal-health-and-birth-outcomes
In New York City, the Citywide Doula Initiative is part of the New Family Home Visits Initiative, which provides free access to home visitors and doula support for birthing people and parenting families. The initiative highlights that people giving birth with support from a doula are also more likely to: have a shorter labor, initiate breastfeeding earlier and breastfeed for longer, have positive feelings about their birth experience, and have better parent-baby bonding. For more information about the Citywide Doula Initiative, please email CDI@health.nyc.gov or call 1-844-653-6852 (1-844-OK-DOULA). More information here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/citywide-doula-initiative.page
Sources:
Rochester Black Doula Collaborative Seeks to Improve Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes” 13 Wham ABC (https://13wham.com/news/black-history-month/rochester-black-doula-collaborative-seeks-to-improve-maternal-health-and-birth-outcomes)
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-funding-expand-bronx-maternal-health-care-center-and-takes-action