What IS a community doula?

[Falling Leaves]

Well, the title says it all ;-)

[DoulaMegz]

That's a loaded question huh? I would say that in terms of this forum we're talking about doulas who work within a program in the community, for a non-profit doula program, or as a volunteer (like with OSD or even individually).

How would you other ladies describe a community doula?

[raeben]

i think you basically covered it megz. maybe this is more specific to my community but i would say that there are doulas in community doula programs more than there are community doulas. they volunteer with the community or hospital program but might also take private clients.

[DoulaCBE]

We have a 501c3 nonprofit and have been hit really hard by the economy. Grant funding just isn't out there right now, and what little there was for our type of doula services has dried up pretty quickly. In fact a community grant that funded a local birth center ran out of money in the 3rd quarder

Our doulas agree to volunteer at least one birth a year over and above whatever funded doula services we can provide to those in need. We also provide student doulas to those who might not be able to afford doula services otherwise. In addition we have three price levels for doula services that give virtually everyone a chance at doula services as self pay.

[doulajamie]

I think a "Community Doula" is defined as a doula who works within a specific community --be that a neighborhood, therapeutic community, or specific population-- that provides intensive, personalized services. Most often the programs are funded and targeted to vulnerable populations-- the goal is to improve maternal/child health outcomes. In my case, we connect to the women as soon as they come into the program, call our clients weekly, meet with them face-to-face at least bi-weekly, may attend medical appointments (prenatal OB, mental health, triage, dental, etc), help them create a birth plan, work with their treatment team to help improve sobriety rates, work with the counselors to discuss issues such as previous trauma or relational issues that could impact the birth process, attent the labor and birth, provide postpartum assistance, provide breastfeeding help and guidance, screen for postpartum mood disorders, encourage bonding, screen for bonding and refer to community services. Some programs utilize doulas who come from the community they are seeking to serve, others do not have this requirement. It is a more intense relationship than the standard doula-client relationship and the intent is to improve the outcomes for these vulnerable moms who often disengage or disappear from the programs seeking to serve them. For our program, initial (unverified) results indicate that women are returning to treatment postpartum which is HUGE and allows us to provide mental health services when needed.