Acadiana Doula Initiative

The Acadiana Doula Initiative focuses on helping pregnant women meet their reproduction needs with the lowest maternal and infant mortality rates on the territory of the Acadiana region of Louisiana by training and deploying culturally responsive doulas. This initiative is critical in alleviating the health care disparities that underserved and more often rural populations can experience, especially considering that the rates of preterm birth and the resulting mortality rates are significantly out of control in this community. The certification of local doulas by the program under the state standards will allow providing the community members with the necessary skills to provide ongoing emotional, physical, and informational support throughout pregnancy, labour, and postpartum. Partnership between doulas and hospitals, clinics, and doctors will include doulas in the team of mother care and provide a holistic approach to mother-baby healthcare. The initiative follows recent policy developments in Louisiana, such as enacting the Louisiana Doula Registry, enabling Medicaid and private insurance to reimburse doula care. This progress allows the program to be operationally sustainable and scalable. Besides training, doulas will be a part of a Community of Practice model, which means that they will be continuing to learn and will work with clinical providers to enhance the practice of care coordination. This model not only results in improved health outcomes, like fewer cesareans and more breastfeeding, but also leads to enhanced maternal satisfaction as well as mental health. With strategic outreach, data gathering and monitoring of essential effectiveness data, the Acadiana Doula Initiative has the opportunity to produce lasting change in birth outcomes and establish stronger and healthier supported families in the area.