Community-based doulas

Community-based doulas are a suggested strategy to improve birth outcomes, particularly among birthing people from racial and ethnic minoritized groups (PN3-Community-based doulas report). Available evidence suggests community-based doulas may reduce low birthweight births (Thomas 2023, Thomas 2017) and preterm birth (Thomas 2017, Kozhimannil 2016a). Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.

Community-based doulas may also increase breastfeeding initiation (Hans 2018, Kozhimannil 2013). Community-based doulas impact on cesarean sections is unclear, with some studies suggesting they may reduce cesareans in some circumstances (Kozhimannil 2013a, Kozhimannil 2016a), while others find no impact (Thomas 2017). A study in an urban safety net hospital suggests that combining community-based doulas with medical legal partnership services had non-significant but positive impacts on cesarean deliveries and exclusive breastfeeding for Black participants (Mottl-Santiago 2023). Community-based doulas as part of a home visiting program appear to improve health-related (Hans 2018) and parenting behaviors (Edwards 2024, Hans 2013), including those related to learning (Edwards 2020) and safety (Hans 2018).

In general, continuous labor support provided by doulas appears to reduce cesarean sections (Cochrane-Bohren 2017). Doula support appears to decrease conditions associated with maternal morbidity (Crawford 2023) and can increase breastfeeding initiation (Acquaye 2021). A study among Medicaid patients suggests doula support decreased cesarean sections and postpartum depression and anxiety (PPD/PPA) (Falconi 2022).

Barriers: Barriers to expanding the use of doulas include lack of awareness among patients and providers about doulas and their services, high out-of-pocket costs due to lack of coverage of services by health insurers, and the limited numbers of doulas available (ASPE-Knocke 2022). Barriers to expanding the community doula workforce and recruiting more culturally congruent doulas from historically underserved populations is often related to cost: the cost of training and certification for individual doulas (Safon 2023, Van Eijk 2022a); finding and maintaining adequate funding (Safon 2023), particularly for smaller training organizations who are more likely to recruit from these populations (Safon 2023); and ineffective payment models (Marshall 2022a) that don’t pay a living wage (Safon 2023). The standard doula fee-per-client compensation model does not provide adequate compensation (Gomez 2021) and leaves many community doulas financially unstable (Kett 2022). Providing services for free or low cost without adequate compensation hurts the long-term sustainability of the workforce (Mallick 2022). Community-based doulas also face the same barriers as their clients, encountering structural and interpersonal discrimination while providing care (Thomas 2023a, Kett 2022). One study suggests doulas usually work in the profession only three to five years, often due to burnout (Brewington 2022). Support and professional networks, such as those found in community-based organizations (Bey 2019) are needed (Kett 2022).

Recommendations: Community-based doulas often spend significant amounts of time providing support outside of direct patient care (Arcara 2023); experts suggest additional compensation should be provided to reflect all aspects of care provided (Safon 2023, Arcara 2023), and organizations employing community doulas should provide higher wages and benefits (Brewington 2022). Experts also suggest community-based doula services be covered by Medicaid (Safon 2023, Bey 2019) and that Medicaid should reduce the complexity of enrollment and reimbursement paperwork where doula services are covered (ASPE-Knocke 2022, Brewington 2022).

Recommendations for Medicaid coverage for all doulas includes diversifying the workforce by recruiting from low-income and rural communities, racial and ethnic minoritized communities, and others facing cultural barriers using fee waivers and scholarships for training (PN3-Community-based doulas report, NHLP-Chen 2020, Bey 2019); providing a living wage and fair compensation for services (PN3-Community-based doulas report, NHLP-Chen 2020, Bey 2019); covering full spectrum doula care that includes multiple pre- and post-natal visits and support for pregnancy loss (NHLP-Chen 2020); and ensuring training requirements are inclusive to the spectrum of doula models (including flexibility around certification) (NHLP-Chen 2020). Additionally, doulas and community organizations should be involved in Medicaid policy development and implementation (NHLP-Chen 2020, Bey 2019), including scope of practice, training, reimbursement (Van Eijk 2022), and funding (NHLP-Chen 2020).

When creating a community-based doula program, experts suggest creating strategic partnerships with birthing sites (Marshall 2022a); using both research evidence and anecdotes to increase buy-in from hospitals and providers during implementation (Gebel 2024); considering what resources will be necessary to support both creating an organization and implementing a program (Marshall 2022a), including beyond implementation (Gebel 2024); and working to encourage an organizational culture committed to health equity (Gebel 2024).

There are many different organizations that provide doula training and certification. Many emphasize that trainings should include information on structural racism in maternal health (Van Eijk 2022). Community-based doula models can support doulas by providing opportunities for career development, mentorship, and administrative support that may be unavailable to private pay doula models (HealthConnect One-Zainab 2023).

Cost: Limited research in Minnesota and Oregon suggests community-based doula programs can be cost effective and result in cost savings for Medicaid (PN3-Community-based doulas report), and a return-on-investment analysis suggests the Birth Sisters doula program at Boston Medical Center appears to be low cost or cost-saving for Medicaid (Mottl-Santiago 2025). A cost-benefit analysis suggests that providing doulas to Texas Medicaid recipients is cost-beneficial, particularly for Black women (Nehme 2023), and a model built using hospital-based birth data from the Upper Midwest and North Central U.S. also suggests community-based doula care can be cost-effective or even cost-saving (Kozhimannil 2016a). A cost-benefit analysis from the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health and the National Health Law Program estimates that providing doulas to all Medicaid patients could result in over $2 billion in cost savings per year through prevention of unnecessary cesareans and avoided preterm births (Bixby NHLP-Eastburn 2024).

Community-based doulas have the potential to decrease disparities in clinical outcomes and improve care experiences for birthing people who have been underserved and marginalized by the health care system, including people from racial and ethnic minoritized groups (ASPE-Knocke 2022, Bey 2019, PN3-Community-based doulas report), those with low incomes (Bey 2019) and those from LGBTQ+ communities (PN3-Community-based doulas report). However, doula care alone cannot overcome the health inequities in the health care system; there is a need to acknowledge structural racism’s negative impact on maternal health (Van Eijk 2022).

Available evidence suggests that community-based doulas and doulas providing care to at risk populations may reduce low birthweight or preterm birth, including among birthing people who are Black, Hispanic, or who have low incomes (Thomas 2023, Thomas 2017, Kozhimannil 2016a, Gruber 2013). This type of care may also reduce birth complications (Gruber 2013); increase breastfeeding initiation (Hans 2018, Kozhimannil 2013, Gruber 2013); reduce cesarean sections; and decrease postpartum depression and anxiety in some cases (Falconi 2022, Kozhimannil 2013a, Kozhimannil 2016a). Doulas may also increase respectful labor and delivery care for women who are Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, or who receive Medicaid (Mallick 2022)

Medicaid is the most common form of health insurance for people in underserved communities (Crawford 2023). It covers over 40% of births in the U.S., and over 60% of births among populations that are Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (ASPE-Knocke 2022, PN3-Community-based doulas report). Experts suggest providing and increasing Medicaid coverage for doulas could reduce morbidity and mortality among birthing people (Crawford 2023) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) names continuous doula support during labor as a tool to improve maternal care management (ASPE-Knocke 2022). However, some community-based doulas are concerned that Medicaid coverage might change their scope of practice by embedding doula practice within racist and classist structures in the existing medical system, and that reimbursement challenges might discourage individuals from practicing in a community setting (Van Eijk 2022).

Women who are Black or American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), and those living in rural areas have higher rates of severe maternal morbidity and mortality than women who are white or live in urban areas (ASPE-Knocke 2022). Many pregnant people in rural areas, particularly in the Midwest or the South, live in counties with no obstetricians or maternity care centers, severely restricting their access to care (March of Dimes-Brigance 2022). The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country (Tucker 2021), and there are stark disparities in maternal outcomes and maternal mortality between Black and white populations (Tucker 2021, CWF-Hostetter 2019), as well as racial bias and discrimination in maternity care for Black women (Tucker 2021). Preterm birth is approximately 50% higher among Black births than white births, low birthweight is almost double for Black infants, and infant mortality is more than twice as high (Mehra 2017). Pregnancy-related mortality is three times higher for Black women, and two times higher for American Indian and Alaska Native women compared to their white counterparts; maternal death rates and racial disparities increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (KFF-Hill 2022).

While the push for community-based doulas has been strongest for communities with lower incomes, and that are primarily Black or Hispanic, additional groups could benefit, including Indigenous populations, immigrants and refugees, the uninsured (PN3-Community-based doulas report), birthing people affected by substance use disorder (Haerizadeh-Yazdi 2023), women who are incarcerated (Shlafer 2021), and transgender and non-binary patients (Kett 2022).

There is additional need for greater gender inclusivity and community doulas for LGBTQ+ birthing people (Shui-yin 2022). LGBTQ+ birthing people face additional barriers and discrimination interfering with adequate care, including provider bias and physicians misunderstanding transgender and queer reproductive health care needs (PN3-Community-based doulas report). Queer and transgender parents are also at higher risk for developing post-partum anxiety and mood disorders (Shui-yin 2022). LGBTQ+ birthing people sometimes avoid care due to bias and mistreatment. Community-based doulas for LGBTQ+ birthing people (sometimes called reproductive justice doulas) practice radical inclusion and nonjudgemental care, and may help by disrupting traditional gender norms and assumptions in reproductive care (Shui-yin 2022).

In 1900, approximately half of children in the U.S. were born with the attendance of midwives (NHLP-Chen 2020), with lay midwives providing care to women who lived in poverty (Dawley 2000). Efforts to medicalize pregnancy and labor (Shui-yin 2022) and misinformation around the safety of midwifery (NHLP-Chen 2020) marginalized community midwives, particularly in communities that were Black or Native American (Shui-yin 2022). By 1930 less than 5% of births were midwife attended (NHLP-Chen 2020). This coincided with efforts to rate and standardize medical programs (Moehling 2020, Barkin 2010), with the 1910 Flexner Report on medical training contributing to decisions to virtually end women’s admission to medical schools and severely restrict Black students' admittance (Barkin 2010, Laws 2021).

During the 1960s and 1970s, midwifery remerged out of the feminist movement’s pushback against the medicalization of birth (Shui-yin 2022, NHLP-Chen 2020), and in the context of other social justice movements, including the growing popularity of community health workers which recognized that community members are best positioned to understand their community, evaluate its needs, and identify solutions (NACHW-Mason 2021). The modern concept of the doula as a labor support emerged in 1969 from the natural birth movement, but the role did not become “professionalized” until the founding of DONA, the first doula training and certifying organization, in 1992 (NHLP-Chen 2020).

In the U.S., doula care is not usually covered by health insurance; this exclusion and the need to pay out of pocket for services means doula care use has been largely limited to those with the ability to pay (i.e. women with middle- to high-incomes, who are disproportionately white) (ASPE-Knocke 2022), leaving those from low-income communities without access to doula care (Bey 2019). Additionally, doulas have most often been women who are white and have higher incomes (ASPE-Knocke 2022), and not reflective of the populations who need them most (Bey 2019). The push against patriarchal medicine which founded modern midwifery and doula work also brought with it gender essentialism in its training and language, which has made it un-inclusive of birthing people who are queer and their families (Shui-yin 2022).

• What disparities in birth and maternal outcomes exist in your community?
• What resources are available for prenatal, birth support, and postpartum care in your community? Are certain groups less able to access the care and services available?
• What are the barriers to high quality, linguistically and culturally appropriate care?

Community-based doulas programs exist across the country. Some are part of public health departments, such as the Community Doula Support Program in Philadelphia (Philadelphia DPH-Doula), NYC Health’s Healthy Start Brooklyn (NYC Health-Healthy Start Brooklyn), and the Citywide Doula Initiative (NYC Health-Doula initiative). Others are private nonprofit organizations, like the SisterWeb San Francisco Community Doula Network (SisterWeb) or the Diversifying Doulas Initiative of PatientsRWaiting in Lancaster, Harrisburg, and York, Pennsylvania (PRW-DDI). The Minnesota Doula Prison Project provides doula support to incarcerated women (MnPDP).

As of June 2024, 15 states and Washington, D.C. actively reimburse for doula care through Medicaid, and others are in process of implementation; several also require private insurance coverage of doula care (NHLP-Doula Medicaid). Coverage and reimbursement vary by state. Nevada’s 2023 legislation, led by community doulas, reimburses $1500 to cover three prenatal care visits, labor attendance, and three postnatal care visits in urban counties, with an incentive payment bringing reimbursement to $1650 for rural counties (NHLP-Doula Medicaid). The 2021 California “Momnibus” also includes coverage of doula services in pregnancies that do not end with a live birth, including coverage of miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion (ASPE-Knocke 2022).

States and local governments can also support doulas beyond Medicaid funding and join with nonprofit groups to provide other support. The New Jersey Department of Public Health partnered with HealthConnect One to create the NJ Doula Learning Collaborative, which provides doulas with billing support, education, training and development opportunities (NJDLC). New York publishes a Medicaid fee-for-service Doula Directory (NYS DOH-Doula Directory). Similarly, the Community Doula Program in Oregon recruits and trains doulas from communities that have been underserved, matches doulas and clients, and manages the billing and reimbursement for its members; it is funded by the InterCommunity Health Network, the State of Oregon, and other organizations (CDP). The LA County Medi-Cal Doula Hub, a joint project of Frontline Doulas, Diversity Uplifts, Inc., and the LA County Department of Public Health, provides workforce development and technical assistance for doulas, as well as raises public awareness of doula services (LACMCDH).

Baby Dove’s Black Birth equity fund provides private philanthropy funding to increase access to community-based doulas (Dove-Black Birth Equity Fund).

‡ Resources with a focus on equity.

Bixby NHLP-Eastburn 2024 - Eastburn, A., Hubbard, E., Mitchell, Ashley, & Chen, Amy. (2024). A cost-benefit analysis of doula care from a public health framework. National Health Law Program.

HealthConnect One^‡ - HealthConnect One. Leading the nation in community birth worker training research and advocacy.

HealthConnect One-Zainab 2023 - Zainab S, Mullins M. Getting doulas paid: Advancing community-based doula models in Medicaid reimbursement conversations. Policy brief. HealthConnect One. 2023.

Lesser 2020 - Lesser A, Nogales R, Weiss A. Bringing community-based doula care to New Jersey. Health Affairs Forefront. 2020.

NHLP-Doula Medicaid - The National Health Law Program (NHLP). Doula Medicaid project.

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

Acquaye 2021 - Acquaye SN, Spatz DL. An integrative review: The role of the doula in breastfeeding initiation and duration. The Journal of Perinatal Education. 2021;30(1):29-47.

Arcara 2023 - Arcara J, Cuentos A, Abdallah O, et al. What, when, and how long? Doula time use in a community doula program in San Francisco, California. Women’s Health. 2023;19.

ASPE-Knocke 2022 - Knocke K, Chappel A, Sugar S, De Lew N, Sommers BD. Doula care and maternal health: An evidence review. Issue Brief no. HP-2022-24. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2022.

Barkin 2010* - Barkin SL, Fuentes-Afflick E, Brosco JP, Tuchman AM. Unintended consequences of the Flexner Report: Women in pediatrics. Pediatrics. 2010;126(6):1055-1057.

Bey 2019 - Bey A, Brill A, Porchia-Albert C, Gradilla M, Strauss N. Advancing birth justice: Community-based doula models as a standard of care for ending racial disparities. 2019.

Bixby NHLP-Eastburn 2024 - Eastburn, A., Hubbard, E., Mitchell, Ashley, & Chen, Amy. (2024). A cost-benefit analysis of doula care from a public health framework. National Health Law Program.

Brewington 2022 - Brewington T, Nogales R, Weiss A. Sustainably growing the community doula workforce in New Jersey. Health Affairs Forefront. 2022.

CDP - Community Doula Program (CDP). (n.d.). Doulas. Retrieved June 25, 2025.

Cochrane-Bohren 2017 - Bohren MA, Hofmeyr GJ, Sakala C, Fukuzawa RK, Cuthbert A. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;7:CD003766.

Crawford 2023* - Crawford AD, Carder EC, Lopez E, McGlothen-Bell K. Doula support and pregnancy-related complications and death among childbearing women in the United States: A scoping review. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2024;69(1):118-126.

CWF-Hostetter 2019 - Hostetter M, Klein S. Improving health for women by better supporting them through pregnancy and beyond. New York: The Commonwealth Fund (CWF); 2019.

Dawley 2000* - Dawley K. The campaign to eliminate the midwife. The American Journal of Nursing. 2000;100(10):50-56.

Dove-Black Birth Equity Fund - Baby Dove. Black Birth Equity Fund: Action for Black maternal health.

Edwards 2020* - Edwards, R. C., Vieyra, Y., & Hans, S. L. (2020). Maternal support for infant learning: Findings from a randomized controlled trial of doula home visiting services for young mothers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 26–38.

Edwards 2024 - Edwards RC, Hans SL. Young mother risk-taking moderates doula home visiting impacts on parenting and toddler social-emotional development. Development and Psychopathology. 2024;36(1):236-254.

Falconi 2022 - Falconi AM, Bromfield SG, Tang T, et al. Doula care across the maternity care continuum and impact on maternal health: Evaluation of doula programs across three states using propensity score matching. eClinicalMedicine. 2022;50:101531.

Gebel 2024* - Gebel C, Larson E, Olden HA, et al. A qualitative study of hospitals and payers implementing community doula support. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2024

Gomez 2021 - Gomez AM, Arteaga S, Arcara J, et al. “My 9 to 5 job is birth work”: A case study of two compensation approaches for community doula care. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(20):10817.

Gruber 2013 - Gruber KJ, Cupito SH, Dobson CF. Impact of doulas on healthy birth outcomes. The Journal of Perinatal Education. 2013;22(1):49-58.

Haerizadeh-Yazdi 2023 - Haerizadeh-Yazdi N, Huynh MP, Narva A. et al. Philadelphia department of health doula support program: Early successes and challenges of a program serving birthing people affected by substance use disorder. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2023;27(suppl 1):52-57.

Hans 2013* - Hans SL, Thullen M, Henson LG, et al. Promoting positive mother–infant relationships: A randomized trial of community doula support for young mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal. 2013;34(5):446-457.

Hans 2018 - Hans, S. L., Edwards, R. C., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Randomized Controlled Trial of Doula-Home-Visiting Services: Impact on Maternal and Infant Health. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(S1), 105–113.

Harambee Village - Harambee Village. Community care for all pregnancy experiences.

HealthConnect One-Zainab 2023 - Zainab S, Mullins M. Getting doulas paid: Advancing community-based doula models in Medicaid reimbursement conversations. Policy brief. HealthConnect One. 2023.

Ireland 2019* - Ireland S, Montgomery-Andersen R, Geraghty S. Indigenous doulas: A literature review exploring their role and practice in western maternity care. Midwifery. 2019;75:52-58.

Kett 2022* - Kett PM, van Eijk MS, Guenther GA, Skillman SM. "This work that we're doing is bigger than ourselves": A qualitative study with community-based birth doulas in the United States. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2022;54(3):99-108.

KFF-Hill 2022 - Hill L, Artiga S, Ranji U. Racial disparities in maternal and infant health: Current status and efforts to address them. KFF. 2022.

Kozhimannil 2013 - Kozhimannil KB, Attanasio LB, Hardeman RR, O'Brien M. Doula care supports near-universal breastfeeding initiation among diverse, low-income women. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2013;58(4):378-82.

Kozhimannil 2013a - Kozhimannil KB, Hardeman RR, Attanasio LB, Blauer-Peterson C, O'Brien M. Doula care, birth outcomes, and costs among Medicaid beneficiaries. American Journal of Public Health. 2013;103(4):e113-21.

Kozhimannil 2016a - Kozhimannil KB, Hardeman RR, Alarid-Escudero F, et al. Modeling the cost-effectiveness of doula care associated with reductions in preterm birth and cesarean delivery. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care. 2016;43(1):20-27.

LACMCDH - Los Angeles County Medi-Cal Doula Hub (LACMCDH). (n.d.). Frontline doulas. Retrieved June 25, 2025.

Laws 2021 - Laws T. How should we respond to racist legacies in health professions education originating in the Flexner Report? AMA Journal of Ethics. 2021;23(3):E271-275.

Mallick 2022 - Mallick LM, Thoma ME, Shenassa ED. The role of doulas in respectful care for communities of color and Medicaid recipients. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care. 2022;49(4):823-832.

March of Dimes-Brigance 2022 - Brigance C, Lucas R, Jones E, et al. Nowhere to go: Maternity care deserts across the U.S. (Report No. 3). March of Dimes; 2022.

Marshall 2022a - Marshall C, Arteaga S, Arcara J. et al. Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a community doula program for Black and Pacific Islander pregnant people in San Francisco: Findings from a partnered process evaluation. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2022;26:872-881.

Mehra 2017* - Mehra R, Boyd LM, Ickovics JR. Racial segregation and adverse birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 2017;191:237-250.

MnPDP - The Minnesota Prison Doula Project (MnPDP). Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Moehling 2020 - Moehling CM, Niemesh GT, Thomasson MA, Treber J. Medical education reforms and the origins of the rural physician shortage. Cliometrica. 2020;14:181-225.

Mottl-Santiago 2023 - Mottl-Santiago J, Dukhovny D, Cabral H, et al. Effectiveness of an enhanced community doula intervention in a safety net setting: A randomized controlled trial. Health Equity. 2023;7(1):466-476.

Mottl-Santiago 2025* - Mottl‐Santiago, J., Dukhovny, D., Feinberg, E., Moore, J., Parker, V., Cabral, H., Bowser, D., & Declercq, G. (2025). Return‐on‐investment analysis of an enhanced community doula program: Pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 considerations. Birth, 52(2), 299–307.

NACHW-Mason 2021 - Mason TH, Rush CH, Sugarman MK. Statewide training approaches for community health workers. Boston: National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW); 2021.

Nehme 2023* - Nehme EK, Wilson KJ, McGowan R, et al. Providing doula support to publicly insured women in central Texas: A financial cost-benefit analysis. Birth: Issues In Perinatal Care. 2024;51(1):63-70.

NHLP-Chen 2020 - Chen A, Robles-Fradet A, Arega H. Building a successful program for Medi-Cal coverage for doula care: Findings from a survey of doulas in California. The National Health Law Program (NHLP); 2020.

NHLP-Doula Medicaid - The National Health Law Program (NHLP). Doula Medicaid project.

NJDLC - New Jersey Doula Learning Collaborative (NJDLC).

NYC Health-Doula initiative - The City of New York, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health). The Citywide Doula Initiative.

NYC Health-Healthy Start Brooklyn - The City of New York, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health). Healthy Start Brooklyn: Pregnancy and prenatal support and classes.

Philadelphia DPH-Doula - Philadelphia Department of Public Health (DPH). The Community Doula Support Program.

PN3-Community-based doulas report - Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN3). Policy clearinghouse: Community-based doulas.

PN3-Doulas - Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN3 Policy). Policy Roadmap: Community-based doulas.

PRW-DDI - PatientsRWaiting (PRW). Diversifying Doulas Initiative (DDI).

Safon 2023* - Safon CB, McCloskey L, Gordon SH, Cole MB, Clark J. Medicaid reimbursement for doula care: Policy considerations from a scoping review. Medical Care Research and Review. 2024;81(4):311-326.

Shlafer 2021* - Shlafer R, Davis L, Hindt L, Pendleton V. The benefits of doula support for women who are pregnant in prison and their newborns. In: Poehlmann-Tynan, J., Dallaire, D. (eds) Children with Incarcerated Mothers. Springer Briefs in Psychology. Springer, Cham; 2021.

Shui-yin 2022* - Shui-yin Y, Fixmer-Oraiz N. Against gender essentialism: Reproductive justice doulas and gender inclusivity in pregnancy and birth discourse. Women’s Studies in Communication. 2022;46(1):1-22.

SisterWeb - SisterWeb San Francisco Community Doula Network.

Steele 2015* - Steel A, Frawley J, Adams J, Diezel H. Trained or professional doulas in the support and care of pregnant and birthing women: A critical integrative review. Health and Social Care in the Community. 2015;23(3):225-241.

Thomas 2017 - Thomas MP, Ammann G, Brazier E, Noyes P, Maybank A. Doula services within a healthy start program: Increasing access for an underserved population. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2017;21(suppl 1):59-64.

Thomas 2023 - Thomas MP, Ammann G, Onyebeke C, et al. Birth equity on the front lines: Impact of a community-based doula program in Brooklyn, NY. Birth: Issues In Perinatal Care. 2023;50(1):138-150.

Thomas 2023a - Thomas K, Quist S, Peprah S, et al The experiences of Black community-based doulas as they mitigate systems of racism: A qualitative study. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2023;68(4):466-472.

Tucker 2021* - Tucker CM, Felder TM, Dail RB, Lyndon A, Allen K-C. Group prenatal care and maternal outcomes: A scoping review. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing. 2021;46(6):314-322.

Van Eijk 2022 - Van Eijk MS, Guenther GA, Kett PM, et al. Addressing systemic racism in birth doula services to reduce health inequities in the United States. Health Equity. 2022;6(1):98-105.

Van Eijk 2022a - Van Eijk MS, Guenther GA, Jopson AD, Skillman SM, Frogner BK. Health workforce challenges impact the development of robust doula services for underserved and marginalized populations in the United States. The Journal of Perinatal Education. 2022;31(3):133-141.

WIDOC - Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective (WIDOC).