In a bid to tackle the significant disparities in maternal care for Black mothers, Baby Dove has teamed up with Sista Midwife Productions to establish the Black Doula Directory. The new resource provides expectant mothers and birthing individuals with access to a growing network of over 1,000 Black doulas across the United States, as well as international doulas from countries such as Canada, Australia, England and Germany. The directory's organizers aim to double the number of qualified doulas listed by April 2024.
The benefits of doula support for Black people during childbirth are backed by research showing a substantial improvement in overall health outcomes: doula-assisted mothers are two times less likely to experience complications involving themselves or their baby, and four times less likely to have a baby with a low birth weight.
Baby Dove's collaboration with Sista Midwife Productions addresses the urgent need to tackle the Black maternal care gap, which has resulted in Black women being three to five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
