{"id":29240,"date":"2024-02-28T10:47:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T05:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-trend-of-black-women-using-doulas-to-overcome-maternal-death-rates\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T10:47:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T05:17:03","slug":"the-trend-of-black-women-using-doulas-to-overcome-maternal-death-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-trend-of-black-women-using-doulas-to-overcome-maternal-death-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"The trend of Black women using doulas to overcome maternal death rates"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Black women having babies are at an increased risk of death, according to the CDC. That maternal mortality has a growing number of Black women turning to doulas.<\/p>\n

More Black women are using doulas to overcome disparities in health care.<\/p>\n

Natasha Brereton is a busy mom of 15-month-old twins. When her girls arrived early, a group of doulas stood by her side during labor and delivery.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Maternal death rates are highest among Black women, study says<\/span><\/p>\n

“Hiring a doula is not just a thing like you just pay someone and move on,” Brereton said. “She’s forever in my life.”<\/p>\n

Doulas are not medical professionals. Instead, they provide physical and emotional support before, during and after childbirth.<\/p>\n

According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than any other group.<\/p>\n

“We have to have some policy change,” Brandie Bishop said.<\/p>\n

Bishop is with the National Black Doulas Association. She said birth disparities are system-wide.<\/p>\n

“At the baseline, it has to do with racism,” she said. “The system that we have treats Black and Brown bodies the same way that it always has.”<\/p>\n

Bishop said solutions include awareness and education plus, “We need people to really make change on a government level when it comes to how Black and Brown women are treated inside of these hospitals.”<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Virtua Hospital addresses issues of maternal mortality for Black women<\/span><\/p>\n

Brereton considers herself lucky. When the twins arrived, her doula stayed with her in the hospital for three days.<\/p>\n

“It’s really rewarding to me in my heart that I’m able to be in these spaces,” Raashnay Hundley, a birth and postpartum doula, said.<\/p>\n

“I wish there were more Black women who understood that there’s other things you could do to not just allow the status quo to make you another statistic,” Brereton said.<\/p>\n

She encourages them to do their research.<\/p>\n

Most health insurance companies do not cover doula services because they are not considered essential care. Payment usually comes out of pocket.<\/p>\n

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