LYNCHBURG, Va. – Four Black women were inducted as community doulas Friday morning on the steps of Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg.
These trained professionals provide support for expecting moms. However, they’re in short supply for one group of women.
It’s why people like Miosha McDaniel are stepping up to the plate. McDaniel was 36 weeks into her first pregnancy when she decided it wasn’t something she wanted to do alone.
“I have two kids of my own. I utilized doulas for both of my births,” McDaniel said. “I forged really great relationships with them.”
It was then she knew she wanted to be that for other expecting moms. Doulas advocate, educate and affirm families during one of the most special times in their lives.
“My doulas weren’t women of color. They still made sure that I felt safe as a woman of color,” McDaniel said. “I feel like it’s so important for Black women to have an advocate that understands the trials and stipulations we’ve walked through, especially in the hospital.”
McDaniel wasn’t the only one who struggled to find a doula of color during her pregnancies. Currently, there are only nine doulas of color in Lynchburg’s program.
“A lot of people kept saying that they could not find Black doulas, or doulas who even looked like them,” executive director for Birth in Color, Kenda Sutton-El, said.
After 15 years as a doula herself, Sutton-El started Birth in Color for this reason. They have doulas of color in Richmond, and now Lynchburg. She also plans to bring the program to Roanoke this summer.
“Black women are three times more likely to die than their counterparts,” she said. “People don’t realize how birth preparation can help your outcome.”
Doulas of color provide free services to any women of color to make sure expecting moms have the best experience possible.