UAMS study finds that Arkansas needs more doulas

A study from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) finds that the state needs more doulas to help with maternity care. Arkansas has fewer than 50 trained doulas, and is one of nine U.S. states that does not offer doula certification, according to UAMS.

Community-based doulas can help mothers better navigate the health care system and provide cultural support, but there are not enough doulas in Arkansas to serve communities, noted the UAMS research.

Doulas are trained birth coaches who provide emotional support, advocate for and aid informed decision-making during labor and delivery, assist with breastfeeding initiation and support, promote positive maternal mental health, and advocate for culturally sensitive care within health care systems.

Doulas who participated in the UAMS study about their experiences assisting immigrant and refugee mothers expressed the need for more community-based doulas to serve more clients and provide relief for the current doulas who are being overworked.

“We need more doulas,” said one participant. “We really tire out the ones we have. I want to give my client 100%, but if I’ve just done a 26-hour birth and then go right into another 29-hour birth, I don’t feel that I can give them 100% even if I have done everything I possibly could. At some point, I do need to sleep.”

The use of a doula can lead to improved birth outcomes for both mothers and infants and has been shown to lead to reduced cesarean births, improved birth weights, increased breastfeeding rates, lower rates of postpartum anxiety and depression, according to UAMS.

“Doulas serve not only as a bridge to social services and health care navigation but also as cultural support by making sure moms feel safe and included during visits and procedures with their maternal health care providers,” said Dr. Britni Ayers, an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Nursing. “All of the doulas in the study were very passionate about their work, but they did express an overwhelming need for more community-based doulas.”

The UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation is working with the Arkansas Doula Alliance, Ujima Maternity Network, Excel by Eight Foundation, the Arkansas Chapter of American Pediatrics and hospitals statewide to train more doulas in Arkansas and to establish a doula association. To learn more about the institute’s mission to improve maternal health outcomes.

“I wish everyone understood the impact a doula can have because they not only provide the support a mother needs when she is in labor, but they also empower women by advocating for their wishes and rights in the delivery room,” said Mary Victor, a nurse educator at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation. “If more people understood the power of a doula, there could be more opportunities to support and expand the current doula workforce in Arkansas.”