Community Doula Week
Join us in celebration of Community Doula Week March 29th-April 5th!
We warmly welcome you to this collaborative initiative led by a group of community-based organizations engaging in the vital work of perinatal doula support.
Our objective for this week is to connect community doula organizations with allies, supporters, and families in celebration of community-based doulas, and to increase public awareness of community-based doula services throughout the U.S. and beyond.
We have provided a social media toolkit to get you started:
Why do we need CDW? Why Community Doulas?
There is already a World Doula Week, so why do we need a Community Doula Week?
How are community-based doulas unique?
- Like their independent counterparts, community-based doulas provide continuous support to birthing people during labor and delivery, helping them cope with the physical and mental demands of giving birth.
- Drawing on their specialized training and lived experience to guide birthing persons through labor and delivery, community-based doulas provide emotional support and physical comfort that enhance the childbirth experience for the entire family.
- They also work with medical staff, including doctors, midwives, and nurses, to provide informational support to all birthing people they serve and help transition to parenthood.
- They are respected partners of local hospitals and health agencies, who refer families to their organization for support.
- Community-based doulas have at least one commonality with the birthing person, which improves outcomes for underserved communities.
- Community-based doulas remove barriers to services by meeting families where they are at physically and emotionally before, during, and after birth. In addition, community-based doulas address maternal health disparities, helping to create positive childbirth experiences and working towards improved birth and infant health outcomes.
- Community-based doula services are long-term, starting in early pregnancy and often continuing until six months postpartum or longer.
- The pay source is also often different for community-based doulas. Funders invest in organizations that pay community-based doulas for the services. In some states, doula reimbursement covers the cost of community-based doula services.
Across the United States, maternal health inequities and mortality rates continue to increase, particularly for Black and Brown birthing people and infants. This is a national health crisis that must be addressed immediately. We believe that community-based doulas are a lifeline for these families and the missing link to addressing this critical issue.