Build a Doula Workforce in Your Neighborhood

A community that trains its own doulas is doing something bigger than filling a health gap. It is creating jobs, building a workforce that stays local, and choosing for itself how its members are cared for. That means honoring the traditions, values, and voices that make each community distinct, with care that comes from within rather than being handed down from outside. That matters deeply in low-income communities where outside systems have too often fallen short. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations, and the burden falls hardest on low-income women. Many of these deaths are preventable. Community doulas provide continuous support before, during, and after birth, and research shows they reduce complications, lower premature birth rates, and improve outcomes for both mother and child. When communities invest in training their own doulas, that care belongs to the neighborhood permanently.

To Get Started:

• Recruit and train community members as doulas: Look for people who are trusted, compassionate, and committed to serving mothers in their community. Connect recruits with recognized doula training organizations that offer scholarships or sliding-scale fees. Prioritize programs with specific training for serving low-income and high-risk populations.

• Build relationships with local hospitals and clinics: Meet with labor and delivery departments and OB-GYN practices early. Establish clear protocols so medical staff understand and welcome trained community doulas as partners in care, not outsiders.

• Create a free or low-cost service model: Many families who need doulas most cannot afford market rates. Build a fund through local donors, health systems, and philanthropic partners to cover or subsidize services for low-income mothers.

• Connect mothers to full prenatal and postpartum care: Doulas are most effective when paired with complete prenatal support. Build a referral network linking clients to WIC, prenatal visits, mental health resources, and postpartum services.

• Track outcomes and share results: Record birth complications, premature birth rates, and postpartum outcomes among the mothers you serve. Share that data to grow community support, attract funding, and expand the program over time.

Best Practices / Innovative Programs:

• Nonprofit Organization

  • Ancient Song Doula Services in Brooklyn provides full-spectrum doula care and trains community members to serve as doulas in underserved neighborhoods. Founded in 2008, their community-training model has certified over 2,000 doulas nationwide and is built on the principle that communities should birth, grieve, and heal on their own terms.

  • HealthConnect One trains community health workers and doulas to provide breastfeeding support, prenatal education, and postpartum care in under-resourced communities across the United States. Their evidence-based training curriculum has been replicated successfully in cities nationwide and consistently shows improved outcomes for low-income mothers.

  • Every Mother Counts works to make maternity care accessible for all women, funding community-based programs that bring trained doulas and skilled maternal support into areas where care is scarce or unaffordable. Their grant-making focuses specifically on programs with documented outcomes.

  • Commonsense Childbirth was founded by midwife Jennie Joseph in Florida and has significantly reduced poor birth outcomes for low-income women through its Simple Care model, which removes access barriers and pairs accessible prenatal care with community doula support. Their published outcomes data provides a compelling and replicable case for other communities to follow.

• Healthcare Company

  • Roots Community Birth Center in Minneapolis is a community-owned birth center that trains local doulas, accepts Medicaid, and provides culturally grounded midwifery care for families in North Minneapolis. Their model demonstrates how a community-owned maternal health institution can close severe outcome gaps and serve as a training ground for neighborhood doulas.

• Philanthropic Organization

  • March of Dimes funds community-based maternal health programs and doula workforce training in communities with the highest maternal mortality rates, bringing decades of research expertise and national funding capacity to the challenge of reducing preventable maternal deaths.

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports community-driven maternal health initiatives and funds research that documents how doula support reduces disparities and improves birth outcomes for low-income women, making a strong evidence base available to communities starting new programs.

• Educational Institution

  • DONA International is the world's largest doula certifying organization, providing training standards, certification pathways, and continuing education that give community-based doula programs a credible and recognized framework to build around. Their certification is widely accepted by hospitals and healthcare providers, making it the most practical credential for community doulas entering clinical settings.