Doula programs offer support for expectant parents

or many expecting parents, doulas – professionals trained to provide emotional, physical and informational support to birthing people – play an important role before, during, and after childbirth. While doulas have always been welcome when invited by patients on our Labor and Delivery units, two initiatives offering doula services more broadly to patients have seen early success.

Through a grant from the New York City Department of Health as part of the Maternity Hospital Quality Improvement Network, a pilot program launched in October 2021 in collaboration with Uptown Village Cooperative to provide doula-led virtual prenatal education to patients delivering at NYP/CUIMC and NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital.

So far, more than 600 participants have been enrolled in the course. One hundred and twenty patients have also participated in the one-hour support session with a doula, and many felt that the resources and support offered were helpful during the transition to becoming parents.

With the support of NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia plans to continue the program and is working to secure further grant funding to expand our efforts.

In addition to the doula-led prenatal education pilot program, NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia also now offer the EMBRACE program to expectant parents. Launched in July 2020, originally as a pilot program at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen, EMBRACE provides free postpartum doulas in the weeks after childbirth. The program is now available at three additional sites, including NYP/CUIMC, and is offered to patients who are income-eligible for Medicaid insurance. EMBRACE plans to serve 1,050 mothers from across New York City this year.

The doulas work primarily with community-based organizations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the Caribbean Women’s Health Association and the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, who then work with EMBRACE to offer the doula’s services to patients at our hospitals.

Devon Rupley, MD, an assistant professor of Ob/Gyn at NYP/CUIMC and a clinical lead of EMBRACE, says the doulas play an important role in helping mothers navigate the postpartum period.

“This program creates community support that’s focused on the mom’s needs as they transition through this critical period into their new role as a parent of a newborn,” Dr. Rupley said.