As state agencies, hospitals, community groups, and other organizations across Arkansas work to address the state’s maternal health crisis, a key focus of these efforts is expanding support for mothers throughout the birthing journey. To improve maternal health outcomes and better provide appropriate support for mothers in rural areas or among culturally diverse populations across the state, community-based birthing companions such as doulas can play an important role.

Doulas are trained to provide physical, educational, and emotional support to pregnant and recently pregnant mothers. Their positive impacts have been found to be greatest for women who face challenges such as low incomes, the absence of a partner, or language and cultural barriers.

“There are many threats along [the birthing] journey, and doulas can help mitigate some of those risks to achieve better outcomes,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said earlier this year. “We need to use every tool to promote the successful outcomes our families deserve and we all desire.”

Studies have found that when the race or ethnicity of patients are aligned with those of their healthcare providers, patient-provider communications and preventive healthcare utilization tend to be improved compared with patient-provider relationships without racial or ethnic alignment. In Arkansas, however, mothers of color are unlikely to deliver with healthcare providers of the same race or ethnicity.