New Maternal Health Support Program: The Doula Partnership
Introducing The Doula Partnership
Seven Valleys Health Coalition (SVHC) is happy to announce our partnership with The Doula Partnership, a new 4-county program that has been established to promote and provide doula services to pregnant residents who qualify as low-income and/or may have challenges accessing prenatal, birth, and postnatal support.
The Doula Partnership will provide doula support to the Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, and Madison counties and operate on a referral system that provides three prenatal visits, advocacy, empowerment, and support during labor and delivery, and three postpartum visits, all at no cost to the person being referred.
Maternal health rates currently contain some of the biggest negative trends in our Nation’s healthcare and we are excited to build on Cayuga Community Health Network’s Labor and Delivery Doula Program to create a birth doula program that will serve the Cortland area. Evidence shows that birth outcomes for both the birthing person and the baby are improved with the presence of a doula. Positive outcomes of doula support are often seen as shorter duration of labor, decreased adverse maternal/child health outcomes, decreased use of any medications for pain relief, and increased positive experiences during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
Through the Partnership, SVHC has been able to train 16 new local birth doulas to help provide non-clinical, professional support to birthing individuals. These doulas will provide physical, emotional, and informational support to a pregnant person before, during, and after childbirth to achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.
Interested in learning more about The Doula Partnership or want to meet your local birth doulas? Please visit our webpage here.
To connect with the Cortland-area Project Coordinators, please reach out to:
Gabrielle DiDomenico, gabrielle@sevenvalleyshealth.org
Kate Downes, kate@sevenvalleyshealth.org
