PROVIDENCE – A number of doula groups in the city have been awarded money as part of a city program to support and expand doula services.
Recipients submitted proposals to Providence’s Healthy Communities Office, which asked for applications that would use funding to increase the number of doulas of color, make it easier for people of color in Providence to access doula services and provide business-development guidance to other doulas.
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Recipients of awards up to $4,000 are:
- Quatia Osorio, of Our Journ3i.
- Ada Johnson, of Hawthorn Grief Care.
- Latisha Michael, of Ready Set Latch Go.
- Emerald Ortiz, of Sacred Wombanhood Birth Support Services.
“Black women in the United States experience some of the worst maternal health concerns in the nation, including disproportionately high maternal mortality rates due to complications during childbirth and barriers that prevent access to quality care,” said Providence Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune. “Doulas play a vital role in increasing survival rates amongst mothers and babies.”
“The doula bill and the mayor’s investment are significant strides in ensuring that every mother has access to quality care during childbirth,” she continued. “A mother’s race, socioeconomic background, immigration status or sexual orientation should not be a deterrent of their birth outcome.”
Twelve additional doulas have also received funding from the program to help oversee the development of a statewide doula certification process through the Rhode Island Licensing Board. The lack of such a process keeps doula services from being covered by private or state-funded health insurers, city officials say.
