What is a Birth Companion?
For immediate release
May 2, 2022
Christiana Care, a large predominantly white institution partnered with another large predominantly white institution University of Delaware College of Health Sciences - Nursing Program to create a student Birth Companion Program. They claim the Birth Companions will "act in a role similar to a doula". This program is a slap in the face to birthing people and community-based Doulas/Birth workers in the State of Delaware. The Black population in Delaware stands at about %23 and the Latinx population stands at around %10. How will students who are likely not from the local Delaware community going to serve almost a third of the Black and brown birthing population without any cultural awareness training? No anti-racist policies in place? Without understanding the inequities and disparities that Black and Brown people face in this state and across the country when it comes to birthing in the U.S. It simply does not add up.
Christiana Care has had the opportunity many times over to partner with Community-based Doulas to serve the people that need it the most, and have chosen not to do so. Countless efforts by many organizations (including Black Mothers in Power) and independent Doulas have attempted to find a middle ground and propose proven solutions to Christiana Care for providing Doula/Birthworker services to every birthing person that would elect to have an independent Doula. An independent Doula is not beholden to harmful Hospital policy and can more freely advocate and provide support to their clients. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. The models for successful community-based volunteer Doula programs exist as well. We have a directory of Black and Brown Doulas representing all three counties in Delaware, Doula Collectives such as the Black and Indigenous Birthworkers of Delaware, and even Full Spectrum Family Healthcare with Ubuntu Black Family Wellness Collective.
The Community-based volunteer Doula program model at the University of Pennsylvania called PALS which stands for Philadelphia Alliance of Labor Support works particularly well. The program has worked independently of UPenn hospital for the sole good of each individual client since 1998. Providing a network of community-based volunteer Doulas/Birthworkers for any birthing person that may need one. This program has been a success. We have presented and proposed this idea and form of partnership to Christiana Care on many occasions and it has been met with a myriad of responses and non-responses such as silence and even staunch objection.
Why? When the model has worked since 1998 in our neighboring Philadelphia can we not have independent Community-based Doulas?
Essentially, Christiana Care is a part of the problem. Hospital oversight of "Birth Companions" when the issue that harms birthing people tends to be the hospital and their policies simply do not make sense for the health and safety of birthing people.
Independent Doulas that are not beholden to outdated hospital rules that are not backed by evidence such as - laying down to give birth, no food during labor, automatically being hooked up to an IV, continuous fetal monitoring, not being able to keep your placenta, among many other inane hospitals "policies" that other developed countries do not practice!
Students are not in a position to advocate independently of their instructors. There is an extreme power imbalance when students cannot speak up for a laboring person because their grades may be at stake. Who does a student listen to? A doctor in a white coat? Or a Mother in agony?
Jennifer Korkosz, assistant professor in the School of Nursing and a large contributor to the Birth Companion program, states in the College of Health Science News article “This program is a large enticement to students and prospective students."
About 70% of students that attend the University of Delaware are from out of state and most students leave Delaware when they graduate from the University. There is little to no pipeline for retaining graduates in the State - so, how will this serve the community long term? There is a reason the ads for the Birth Companion program state the program is accepting clients with due dates in "March, April, and May". After May, the students will return to their respective homes in and out-of-state with no offers of support for new parents in the postpartum period.
The Christiana Care post advertising this new offering says nothing about the inequities and horrific mortality and morbidity rates that affect thousands of Birthing Delawareans every year. Delaware is 16th in the nation for the highest infant mortality and morbidity rates. Why is attracting prospective students to UD the top priority and not increasing the cultural awareness, adhering to evidence-based practices, and frankly just listening to Black Birthing People, not the priority?
The rates of infant mortality and morbidity are at epidemic rates in this country for Black and Brown birthing people. And I can't help but notice that if these rates were high across all demographics there would be a nationwide effort to save our birthing people and babies from undue death and suffering. Instead of birthing people will say they went to Delaware and all they got was shitty birth outcomes. The medicalization and co-opting of birth and birth work must come to an abrupt end. Hire a Doula or find a volunteer Doula if you are pregnant or have just given birth. And as for hospitals - invest in the Doulas/Birthworkers you already have in the waiting room, right from the communities they serve.