Doulas Makes The Difference
Racial and Ethnic Disparities
💔 The Reality of Birth Disparities
Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women—and the risk increases with age. According to the CDC, this disparity is not only persistent, but it widens for women over 30, reaching up to four to five times higher than their white counterparts.
Even in states with the lowest mortality rates, and even among women with higher levels of education, these gaps still exist. This isn’t just a health crisis—it’s a deep-rooted, systemic issue impacting families and communities across the country.
“These disparities are devastating for families and communities and we must work to eliminate them.”
— Dr. Emily Petersen, CDC Division of Reproductive Health
Most of these deaths are preventable.
And one powerful step toward prevention is having a prenatal and postpartum doula.
As your doula, I offer evidence-based, culturally conscious care that centers your voice, respects your body, and supports your healing. Whether you're expecting your first baby or your fifth, you deserve care that protects, empowers, and uplifts.
Doulas save lives.
Let’s change the narrative—together.
🌿 Why Choose a Doula?
Having a doula isn’t just a luxury—it’s a life-changing layer of support that every birthing person deserves.
Whether it’s your first birth or your fifth, the presence of a trained, compassionate support person can dramatically improve your physical, emotional, and even clinical outcomes.
Here’s how a doula can make a difference:
💛 Emotional Support
Your doula is your constant. She offers encouragement, reassurance, and calm throughout your pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery.
✋ Advocacy
In a system that often overlooks or dismisses Black and Brown voices, your doula helps amplify yours—ensuring you’re heard, respected, and informed.
🤱🏾 Physical Comfort
From massage and positioning to breathing techniques, your doula brings tools to help ease pain and promote progress during labor.
📚 Education
We bring more than just presence—we bring knowledge. From birth plans to breastfeeding tips, your doula offers evidence-based information tailored to your journey.
⏳ Better Birth Outcomes
Research shows that doula support is linked to:
- Shorter labors
- Lower C-section rates
- Fewer requests for pain medication
- Higher satisfaction with the birth experience
🧺 Postpartum Help
The support doesn’t stop after the baby arrives. Your doula helps you rest, recover, and adjust—whether that means feeding support, emotional check-ins, or even a helping hand around the house.
You don’t have to do this alone.
When you invite a doula into your birth space, you're saying yes to being held, heard, and honored every step of the way.
My teachers
(Left)Shafia Monroe, President of Shafia Monroe Consulting (SMC) and creator of SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training. (Right) Kratina Champaigne on day four of my training when I received my Provisional Certificate
Shafia Monroe is a renowned midwife, a doula trainer, motivational speaker and a cultural competency trainer, the creator of the SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training. Her work is significant to improving the infant and maternal mortality crisis because she incorporates African birth traditions and southern outreach traditions, aids families in communicating with their health care providers for quality health care, and lectures on multiple systems to reduce maternal mortality.
Chris is the owner and founder of Birthmatters. She has shared her knowledge as a dedicated instructor and advocate for birthing families for more than 20 years. She is Certified as a Childbirth Educator, Doula, Breastfeeding Educator and Happiest Baby on the Block instructor. During those years she has had the privilege of participating in the labors and births of more than 350 babies.
Having taught hospital-based classes for years, Chris felt the need to offer parents more, and decided to start her own birth education organization. Birth Matters offers classes to empower and enable families to make the best choices for themselves for the labor and delivery of their baby.