Doulas provide invaluable support to pregnant and birthing people - but doula support is available across a wide variety of experiences, including abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth. This report focuses on what is known as “full-spectrum” doula support, meaning their role within and across the reproductive health care experience, including in labor and birth, in the prenatal and postpartum periods, and in abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths.
The report is informed by in-depth interviews with doulas who work independently or as part of collectives or other formal organizations, as well as health plans and public entities that pay for doula services. From these interviews, it is clear that full-spectrum doulas are engaged in deeply meaningful work that improves the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Nevertheless, there are significant barriers to the provision of, and access to, full-spectrum doula services that must be addressed, and this report includes concrete recommendations to help reach that goal.
