The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation recently launched the Advancing Doulas and Perinatal Teams (ADAPT) Toolkit, a resource designed to improve maternal health by strengthening collaboration between doulas and clinical care teams.
Doulas are trained birth coaches who provide continuous emotional support, advocate for and aid informed decision-making during labor and delivery, assist with breastfeeding initiation and support, promote positive maternal mental health, and advocate for culturally sensitive care in clinical and nonclinical settings. The use of doulas has been strongly advocated by the institute and other partners to improve maternal and infant mortality rates across the state. Last year, the state approved measures paving the way for doula services in Arkansas to be reimbursable by Medicaid.
The institute is piloting its toolkit with Mercy Hospital in Northwest Arkansas and has plans to expand the toolkit to other hospitals throughout the state. The comprehensive toolkit provides proven models and tools to integrate doulas into care teams.
Since launching the toolkit earlier this year, 45 clinical staff at Mercy have been trained in doula integration, and the hospital has seen a 47% increase in understanding of doula scope of practice among staff.
“Providers need to be reassured that we are in no way trying to step into their role,” said one doula. “Instead, we are there to help families understand when and why they need to be reaching out for further care with their OB-GYN as well as other providers to optimize their experience and create the best outcomes for everyone.”
Last year, the institute enrolled more than 50 individuals into its comprehensive doula training program, a program facilitated in partnership with Birthing Beyond, LLC, and Ujima Maternity Network. This year, the institute is training an additional 25 doulas across the state with support from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development.