Once a luxury for moms, doula care is going mainstream

Shanille Bowens, a doula, smiles at Isaiah Stewart during an appointment on Feb. 28, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Kristin M.

Hall) 2026-03-28T11:35:22Z MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Shaquoiya Stewart held one of her 6-month-old twins on her lap while Shanille Bowens held the other.

As the women caught up and the babies stared at each other quietly, Bowens came around to the key question she asks all the mothers she works for: “Do you think there’s anything you need more support with?” Bowens is a doula , a provider of physical and emotional support before, during and after birth — care that used to be seen as a luxury and was available only to those who could afford it.

But doulas are becoming mainstream.

The country’s once-reluctant medical establishment is increasingly welcoming the way doulas complement doctors and nurses, and with insurance coverage growing fast, parents from across the economic spectrum can now take advantage.

More than 30 states reimburse doulas through Medicaid or are in the process of implementing such coverage, up from 14 in late 2022, according to the nonprofit National Health Law Program.

Private insurers are starting to do the same, with industry giant UnitedHealthcare launching a new benefit this year.

Without insurance, costs vary widely but can exceed $2,000.

The changes are being driven by mounting research that shows these trained, non-medical professionals can significantly improve the health of moms and babies.

Expanding doula care, experts say, is a relatively inexpensive way to help reduce maternal mortality, which kills Black mothers like Stewart at a rate more than three times higher than white women. “Doulas can benefit everybody,” said Sierra Hill, maternal care access coordinator for Minnesota’s health department. “And that’s especially true for our communities that are facing a lot of inequities and health disparities.” Stewart, who has Tennessee Medicaid, said Bowens shepherded her through the jitters of early pregnancy with her twin sons, blood pressure issues during delivery, a C-section and baby blues after birth. “I felt safe.

It didn’t feel like I was just by myself,” said Stewart, a 35-year-old single mother of four. “She was like my homegirl.” Awareness of doulas has grown In 2006, 3% of women in the U.S. got care from a doula during labor, according to a survey conducted for the nonprofit Childbirth Connection, now a program of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

That figure has double

原文链接: AP News