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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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