A new initiative on Chicago’s South Side will offer free doula services to expectant families who are uninsured or rely on Medicaid. The program is a collaboration between the South Side Healthy Community Organization, a nonprofit supported by state funding, and the Chicago Birthworks Collective, which specializes in doula care.
The services provided include three prenatal visits, two postpartum visits, birth preparation and education, support during labor and delivery, as well as postpartum education and wellness resources. The program has 80 available slots for families to enroll.
Keyonna Tompkins, maternal health program manager at South Side Healthy Community Organization, explained that the organization was established in 2021 through Illinois’ Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives with the goal of addressing chronic health disparities in the area. Tompkins said their mission is to connect uninsured patients or those covered by Medicaid with essential health centers and community resources.
The partnership with Chicago Birthworks Collective began in May and aims to close gaps in pregnancy and postpartum care access for parents on the South Side. Data from an Illinois Maternal Mortality Data Report released by the state’s Department of Public Health shows that between 2021 and 2022, Black women were more than twice as likely to die from any pregnancy-related condition compared to white women. They also faced a higher rate of death from pregnancy-related medical conditions than other racial groups during this period.
Tompkins stated: “It’s important that we tackle this system of bias and systemic racism in our health care centers. This collaboration has been important to ensure that we are providing preventive measures and support services before these disparities are happening.”
Tayo Oyafemi Mbande, co-founder of Chicago Birthworks Collective, highlighted challenges encountered when caring for pregnant people: “you’re going to be made aware of the gaps in care quickly.” She described the partnership as fitting together pieces “to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and present a more whole picture of what maternal health care can look like.”
Mbande emphasized that while doulas’ work often goes uncompensated by insurance companies, it remains valuable: “The cost is high because people’s time is valuable, and the hard work of doula work is often overlooked, but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be able to access it.”
She added: “The community-based program will provide ‘the same high-quality doula support that we expect for every pregnant person, regardless of whether they’re invested financially in their care or not.’”
Mbande also spoke about her personal reliance on doulas as a mother of five: “lives and depends on her doulas,” she said. Doulas assist her with daily family needs such as getting children ready for school or supporting breastfeeding.
Reflecting on the broader impact of this initiative she noted: “The idea of 80 families having someone to walk with them through their pregnancy, be with them during the birth, check on them postpartum and be a part of a community when their children start walking, that’s what’s exciting,” she said.
She concluded: “This partnership says that we see what people’s unique needs are, and we’re coming together to make sure we can meet those needs long term. We are not trying to strike a match and light a fire really quickly. We are thinking strategically about the resources, the people, the programs and the models that can exist for a long time to hopefully eliminate some of the disparity that we see in our South Side birthing outcomes.”
More information about enrolling in free doula services can be found at southsidehealthycommunity.com or by calling 872-274-4688.
