Doulas providing information about doula care at a National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) Power of Pregnancy Event. Top row: Christine, left, and Sora. Bottom row, from left: Harriet, Denise, and Donna.
Have you heard about doulas? Wondering who doulas are and what they do?
Doulas are trained coaches who provide non-judgmental, educational, emotional, and physical support during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period.
Traditional doulas can provide strategies for self-care during pregnancy and for post-natal healing. They can provide hands-on pain-management techniques (such as breathing, positioning, massage) during birth, and they can assist their clients with communicating their questions, preferences, and values to their health care team. They also assist with strategies for newborn sleeping, breastfeeding, and overall assistance with transitions into parenthood.
Community-based doulas go even further by providing support beyond pregnancy and postpartum care. They connect their clients with additional resources such as food, clothing, baby supplies, mental health services, legal and immigration services, and anything else they may need. These doulas are from the communities they serve. They speak the same languages, and share backgrounds with the clients they serve; this makes it easier for individuals to connect with and access culturally appropriate and culturally competent care.
“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” – John Kennell, MD, noted pediatrician and researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland known for support of doulas
From 2011 to 2018, there has been an alarming rate of pregnancy-related death, which is eight times higher for Black women than white women, and the rate for Hispanic and Asian women is twice that for white women. Additionally, COVID-19 has worsened this crisis, with minority pregnant women becoming infected at a higher rate than white pregnant women and having higher rates of death from COVID-19.
Doula care can help mitigate these health inequalities. Research has shown that having a doula can improve a person’s birthing experience, and increase their ability to initiate and continue breastfeeding. Additionally, doula care can contribute to shortening the length of labor, reduce the need for epidural and analgesics, decrease the incidence of cesarean sections, and reduce the risk of postpartum depression.
The Arnhold Institute for Global Health NYC Partnership is excited to share its efforts to increase doula care through “Helping Promote Birth Equity through Community-Based Doula Care” or HoPE, which is a program that has been developed in partnership between Mount Sinai the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Health, Ancient Song Doula Services, and Caribbean Women’s Health Association.
The HoPE program provides community-based doula care and support free of cost, to anyone who is pregnant, giving birth, or gave birth recently at either Elmhurst Hospital or Queens Hospital. HoPE is made possible by our generous funders which include Robin Hood and the New York Health Foundation.
You may have seen some of our HoPE doulas in the waiting rooms at Elmhurst or Queens hospital, at community baby showers, resources fairs, and other local events focused on maternal health, health education, and health equity.
On average HoPE doulas provide four to eight prenatal visits, are present during the entire duration of labor, and provide 8-18 postpartum visits up to one year after birth. HoPE doulas are from the Queens community and speak many languages including Spanish, Bangla, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Nepali, Haitian Creole, and Twi. HoPE doulas are advocates for the patients they serve. To better serve our Queens community, the HoPE program is working towards providing further specialized doula care and support to birthing persons experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness as well as justice-involvement or incarceration. Our work with homeless individuals and incarcerated birthing people is made possible by our funder, The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
If you are giving birth at Elmhurst Hospital or Queens Hospital and are interested in working with a HoPE doula, request doula services by speaking with your health care team at your next visit or by calling 646-619-6721 and requesting a referral to the HoPE Doula Program.
Kanwal Haq, MS, is the Program Manager for the New York City Partnership at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health and the Department of Global Health and Health System Design at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.