Paying attention: Boston hospital helps breastfeeding Black moms, babies thrive

Doulas are becoming a more widely used resource among pregnant people, particularly Black women who historically face racial inequities during pregnancy and childbirth. Groups like The Doula Network and the Southern Birth Justice Network are working to expand doula services by training and connecting pregnant women with certified doulas. Doula care is more holistic and studies show that women using doulas have about a 65% reduction in their odds of developing postpartum depression or anxiety when a doula is present during labor and delivery.

In an effort to combat high rates of maternal mortality and healthcare disparities among pregnant Black women, MLK Community Hospital offers combined care from certified nurse midwives and obstetricians to ensure a safe, healthy birth. Midwifery offers more sensitive and individualized care and is also linked to fewer C-sections and preterm births. At MLK Community Hospital, 14% of its first-time, low-risk births involved a C-section, compared to 23% of such births across the state.

Rootead is a mind-and-body-focused nonprofit that opened the Obodo Perinatal Easy Access Clinic which aims to prioritize the safety of the pregnant and parenting, with a goal of decreasing infant and mother mortality rates that are disproportionately higher for Black women and babies.

LGBTQ+ organizations in the South, like The Campaign for Southern Equality, are raising money to give to families seeking gender-affirming care services for transgender youth. The money is used to cover travel costs to states without care bans, as well as gender-affirming clothing and other supplies. So far, the group has distributed about 350 $500 grants. In addition to funding, the group also works to ensure families have accurate information about gender-affirming care bans in their state, as the legal landscape is confusing and constantly changing.

The Iowa Black Doula Collective trains doulas to help educate and advocate for Black women during pregnancy and childbirth. Research shows women who work with doulas are less likely to have low birth-weight babies and experience birth complications. Since forming in 2020, the Collective has raised over $200,000 and trained 64 Black doulas.

Care Ring, in collaboration with other organizations like the University of North Carolina School of Nursing, launched The Bridge, a community-based healthcare initiative that aims to make preventive care easier to access. The Bridge features a mobile care unit that provides free health screenings, counseling support and connections to community resources. Since December 2022, The Bridge has provided care to more than 100 people, 39% of which didn’t have a regular doctor.

The Health and Social Development Foundation (HESED) aims to increase access to healthcare, specifically among pregnant women and children. HESED works to bring doctors closer to communities that struggle to get care and has also created designated spaces for important care that was previously inaccessible, like OBGYN checkups. Over the last three years, more than 400 people have received checkups from the center, regardless of their insurance status.

The Milk Bank Nigeria provides donor breast milk for sick, low birth weight and premature babies in neonatal ICUs across the country to reduce mortality in preterm babies. The Milk Bank Nigeria launched in August 2022 and as of Decemeber the organization had registered four donors who had supplied 33 liters of breast milk.

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a social health insurance program that provides access to free, quality healthcare services to corps members and civil servants and protects families from the financial hardship of medical bills. The NHIS covers out-patient care, medicine, diagnostic tests, maternity care, eye examinations and dental care, among other services. Since it was launched in February 2022, more than 2,000 corps members have benefited from the NHIS benefits.

Birth in Color, in partnership with Birth Equity Action & Research to Transform Health (BEARTH) Village, is working to address the Black maternal mortality crisis. The community-based organizations use research and cultural wisdom to dismantle inequities Black women face during birth. The groups provide free doula care to provide care and advocate for women in healthcare settings. There are currently 80 available doulas who help about 350 women give birth each year.