Feature Article: Black doulas aim to reduce ethnic birth disparities

Why Black maternal mortality is rising – and what Delaware is doing to combat it

Published: August 10, 2022

Adrienne Dawson’s breathing was becoming erratic and panicky as her contractions increased while she labored last month with her first child at Christiana Care.

Doula Ariandra Clark leaned over and rested her hand calmly on Dawson’s chest, and they looked into each other’s eyes.

“Calm down,” Clark said kindly. If Dawson kept breathing like that, she would pass out, Clark told her.

Dawson relaxed a bit, began controlling her breathing better and a little while later welcomed her daughter, Brynn-Leigh.

It may not sound like much, the Dover mom said, but that brief touch illustrates the emotional and physical value of having a doula in the delivery room.