This toolkit provides practical approaches to integrating doulas into maternal care teams and fostering team-based care in hospital and health system settings.

Background

Perinatal workforce shortages, as well as ongoing maternal and child health disparities, persist throughout the country. A growing number of states provide Medicaid coverage for doula services and offer certification pathways for doulas. As access to doula care expands, health systems, hospitals, and providers have opportunities to integrate doulas into care teams and clinical workflows. This toolkit provides guidance and resources to support meaningful doula integration and strengthen patient-centered maternity care.

About this Resource

The toolkit is best suited for providers, health systems, doulas, and other stakeholders who aim to understand the role of doulas in maternal care and practical strategies for meaningful integration in hospitals and across health systems. The resource contains five sections: (1) background and context of the evidence base and certification pathways for doulas; (2) assessing readiness for doula integration; (3) examples of doula integration approaches; (4) financial considerations for billing and reimbursement; and (5) additional resources such as data, state examples, and patient-facing materials that can be tailored to fit a specific community’s needs.

Program/Policy Takeaways

Incorporating doulas into care teams can help support patient-centered care and improve maternal health outcomes. Health systems and their providers can use this toolkit to strengthen their capacity to include these trained professionals in important care milestones throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.