'Like a weight has been lifted off me'

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts launched a fund in March to provide free access to doula care for pregnant Black women living in Henrico.

A doula is trained in labor support and provides expectant mothers with emotional and physical support during pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum period. Birth in Color RVA and Urban Baby Beginnings are partnering with the RHHD to provide the doula care.

The program will provide free doula care to 133 pregnant women in Henrico, while funding the work of the doulas, said Kenda Sutton-El, executive director of Birth in Color RVA. The Greater Richmond Regional Maternal Child Health Taskforce, which is composed of birthing, parenting, public health and equity experts, made the program possible.

The Greater Richmond Regional Maternal Health Taskforce started meeting in June 2019 to address racial disparities in maternal health in the area, said Whitney Tidwell, public health nurse at VDH.

“In 2019, RHHD were phasing out their clinical maternity services at both locations,” Tidwell said. “And the major MCH program and coalition in the city, Healthy Start, did not have its funding renewed. However, the health department and local leaders remained committed to policies and programs aimed at improving outcomes for birthing persons in the area.

“Just as Black women were dying at higher rates and reporting poor experiences during pregnancy and birth throughout the nation, the same was true in the Richmond region.”

Increasing access to doula care is a way for RHHD to help decrease maternal deaths and eliminate racial disparities in healthcare, Tidwell said.

“RHHD are excited to partner with Birth in Color RVA and Urban Baby Beginnings to provide what for some Black birthing persons in our area, is life-saving and [life-]changing service,” Tidwell said. “In addition to the emotional and physical support doulas provide, they educate and empower their clients and help advocate for them when necessary.”

Birth in Color RVA is a birth, policy and advocacy non-profit organization with a collective of doulas. The organization provides evidence-based information to make sure that parents have proper childbirth education and to help with the development of the children, Sutton-El said.

As one of the founders of Birth in Color RVA, Sutton-El found that a lot of women didn’t know where to find Black doulas, so creating an organization like Birth in Color could help that process become easier, she said.

“Maternal mortality rates are extremely high for Black women,” Sutton-El said, citing data that shows Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. “That’s what provoked us to start Birth in Color and start providing education surrounding birth, pregnancy and thereafter, as well as education around the newborn.”

The Henrico doula fund was established based upon a stakeholder initiative that started about a year ago, said Stephanie Spencer, executive director of Urban Baby Beginnings. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney felt it was important

to support constituents through the emotional and physical support community doulas bring, Spencer said.

Urban Baby Beginnings is a maternal health hub that works with families from pregnancy up until a child’s second birthday. The organization has 20 doulas, Spencer said.

“Support from doulas can reduce the chances of C-sections and reduce pain levels, so many moms who have doulas have better coping mechanisms because they have someone with them,” Spencer said. “They're more apt to breastfeed longer, because they have that community-based support as well.

“Also, from a cultural perspective, when we talk about community doulas and more specifically, Black and African American doulas, we're able to introduce a cultural component that also reduces the risk of bias and trauma in health systems related to racism.”

While the doula fund is not something that is available state-wide, Urban Baby Beginnings recently won a $1-million grant in Norfolk through the Merck for Mothers program, Spencer said. The proposal involved increasing access to community doulas and there are efforts currently being made to try and make community doulas available for Medicaid clients throughout Virginia, she said.

“A doula really integrates into the system and into a person's world very well by bringing a non-biased approach to care that an individual may not necessarily experience,” Spencer said. “So, I want people to know that you may have support set up between your family and your partner, and those are absolutely perfect, but really consider having a doula.”

Courtney, an expectant mother, was referred to the program by a friend who had previously received doula support from Urban Baby Beginnings. She is one of the women who is receiving free access to a doula through Henrico’s new fund.

“Having a doula for me has been an amazing experience,” she said. “I needed to have someone that understood what I was going through and listened. Before I connected with a doula, I felt that I didn’t have the right support.   Even though I loved my midwives, I needed someone that could hear my thoughts and support me outside of the hospital.

“When I connected with Urban Baby Beginnings, my doula helped me to visualize my birth wishes and provided me with resources. I feel so much better, like a weight has been lifted off of me. I could not have made a better decision.”

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To be eligible for Henrico’s doula program, which is funded through a grant sponsored by the Henrico County Office of Emergency Management, the applicant has to be Black, expecting a child and WIC-eligible. Those interested can apply through Henrico County’s website.