This toolkit supports hospitals in developing policies and practices to support integration of doulas into maternity care teams.

Background

Doulas are trained specialists who support individuals and their families throughout and following pregnancy and contribute to greater patient satisfaction and maternal health outcomes through their support, encouragement, and advocacy. However, many doulas face challenges when supporting their clients during hospital births. This toolkit provides best practices and resources for hospitals to help improve knowledge of doula services and build doula-friendly policies to support the workforce in this care setting.

Findings

This toolkit provides evidence on the benefits of doula care, discussion prompts, and resources to support hospital maternity teams and staff with building a doula-friendly birth and care environment. Guidance is organized by four components of a doula-friendly hospital: (1) staff knowledge of doula support; (2) doulas as a part of the birthing team; (3) increasing awareness of doulas among patients; and (4) doula policy. Each hallmark includes areas to address, data sources to track anticipated outcomes, and related templates, training, and assessments to support planning discussions and implementation.

Program/Policy Takeaways

Interest in integrating doulas into maternity care teams is growing as health care systems seek to improve birth and postpartum outcomes. Providers, health care administrators, and community doulas can use this tool to identify current gaps in existing processes, draft clear effective policies, and track impact to expand access to doula care in hospital settings.