Episode 177: The Role of Doulas

Dan Bulger: All of this is important right on the surface. But when you dig deeper into the true picture of maternal health in this country, the role of the doula begins to reveal itself as critical.

Latham Thomas: I think that’s really critical as we think about the times that we’re navigating, where, you know, we have birth disparities in the United States that impact African American women disproportionately. And so, when we think about their needs, more specifically, then we understand that we have to look at this through the lens of care for the most marginalized communities. And so, there’s deep listening involved, there’s advocating involved, there’s really understanding some of the unique barriers to care. And so, doulas are really wonderful in being able to surface those needs, tend to those needs, and also enlist the care team, what I like to call the birth village, in providing adequate support, through walls.

Latham Thomas: When thinking about hiring a doula. We want to make sure that we find the right person for our family. It really comes down to trusting your instincts about their energy. So much of what you’ll encounter is people sharing their backgrounds, their stories, or histories or accolades, and all of that stuff is really important… but it really comes down to how does that person make you feel. If that person makes you feel amazing, if it felt like you were talking to your best friend.

Latham Thomas: So, a couple of ways you can go about it. And number one is by recommendation. So, you can talk to people. Chat with a couple folks that your friends with and say, “Hey, I want to hear about your experience with your doulas. Can you share anything about them?” That’s one pathway. A second pathway is going the agency route. So, trying a reputable organization. Mama Glow, for instance, provides a doula matching service, including for private pay clients, for insurance, as well as for pro bono clients on the Mama Glow Foundation side. So, you can get matched with somebody who meets your preferences that way, and then you just put it in the hands of the experts, and they look at what your needs are, and then they help you match that way. And then another way is through working in Nurse-Family Partnership, or working with your own doctor or your own midwife and talking to them and saying, “Are there people that you work with more specifically?” And typically, a doctor might have a doula that they work with, or a midwife might have a cadre of doulas that they work with more frequently.