The statistics are alarming: In the United States, Black women are nearly three times as likely to die from pregnancy related issues when compared to white women. Black women are also more likely to have c-sections and stillbirths. Why does this happen — and could doulas help address some of these issues?
Last week the New York Times published an article about a St. Louis doula program that is part of a $1.7 trillion budget bill looking for solutions. Tara Ervin, a certified doula, and Donna Givens, another doula and manager of community partnerships of Parents as Teachers, were both featured in the Times article. They joined KMOX to talk about how their work can support Black women during and after pregnancy.
"So as a doula, we're trained professionals, we support the birthing parent emotionally. We support them physically, as well as we give them informational support," Ervin said. "And we're just there to help them prenatally during labor and delivery process as well as postpartum. And we're there to try to give them a positive birth outcome."
Ervin's reason for becoming a doula was personal. Her sister Kelly died in childbirth when, at 34 weeks pregnant, she went to the emergency room with swollen feet and was sent home after being told she had a bladder infection.
"Within 48 hours, she began to vomit profusely. Also, she was just in very bad shape. So we decided to take her back to the hospital to see what was going on. And with a blood test that was ran, it was found out that she had toxemia," Ervin said. "She was rushed to get an emergency c-section because they couldn't help her without removing the baby, having an emergency c-section. So unfortunately, my sister didn't make it through the Cesarean section."
Her baby was placed in the NICU and is now healthy. The New York Times wrote, "Friends showed up at Kelly's baby shower the next day, only to learn she was gone." Ervin decided she would not let her sister's death be in vain.
Parents as Teachers is a St. Louis organization that helps support young moms. Givens told KMOX their program is called Show Me Strong Doulas. "We feel that any mom that wants to have a doula should have a doula," she said.
"A lot of these young moms have no one to support them. And we felt that having doulas to support them would really help that positive birth outcome because a lot of them told us that when they go to the doctor's office that they were being ignored there. They were being forced into different procedures that they felt that they were unsure about," Givens said.
Ervin said she wants to help moms to the best of her ability, and wants to help advocate for them when they don't feel like they have a voice.
"One of the things that I don't want is for my sister's death to go in vain. I want everyone to learn from this," she said. "Something like that never should have happened then and it should not be happening now. So I just want to be a big support for my moms. You know, when they talk to me about their concerns, I make sure that I'm listening and I tell them ways that they can advocate and give them different resources as well."
Copyright 2023 KMOX (Audacy). All Rights Reserved.
Follow KMOX | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Listen on the free Audacy app.
Tell your smart speaker to play K M O X.
