Last Updated on March 29, 2024 by BVN
Breanna Reeves
Birthing families now have access to an additional doula directory with the launch of Frontline Doula’s California Black Doula Directory.
Frontline Doulas is a perinatal health program that provides Black families with Black doulas at no cost across Los Angeles County. Co-founded by two community-based doulas in 2019, Dr. Sayida Peprah-Wilson and Khefri Riley, Frontline Doulas offer supportive services for families and training opportunities for community doulas.
“We want to make sure that there’s equitable access for all birthing families to find the care provider that they need and that they deserve, and that has mutual respect and cultural alignment,” Riley said. “So in order to find somebody, it has to be easy to find them.”
The team at Frontline Doulas received multiple requests and questions about how to find doulas in their communities — requests that have increased over the last few years in the wake of a worsening maternal mortality crisis.
Over the last few years as the need for doulas has grown across the nation, several doula directories have been developed by a number of local and national organizations. In 2023, California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, added a new Doula Services Benefit that connects doulas with Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Medi-Cal created a doula directory for doulas who are contracted under Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans or Fee-for-Service.
Similarly, Frontline Doula’s California Black Doula Directory not only allows doulas to report if they are an eligible Medi-Cal provider, but also allows doulas to report otherwise. With 40% of births covered by Medi-Cal, the need for Black doulas will continue to grow as the state addresses disparate gaps in care for Black birthing people.
“It was really important to take our time to find something that, one, could work on a grassroots level, meaning it was affordable for us as an organization, and was also easy for families to use to be able to do a search and find a doula that’s in their area, or maybe has the same faith as them or the same cultural values,” Riley explained.
Another feature of the California Black Doula Directory is that each doula’s profile includes specific tags that give details about their backgrounds and services such as cultural identities and specializations. Creating the directory was a labor of love for the Frontline Doula team who volunteered their time and received community donations to launch the directory.
As the state with the highest number of births per year — more than 400,000 births occurred in 2022 — the California Black Doula Directory recognizes the diverse needs of the population and welcomes doulas who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a person of color to register at no cos.
“We are diverse. We’re progressive. In many instances, at least from a Black liberation standpoint, we’re on the cutting edge of creating new ways to find liberation and we believe that begins at birth,” Riley explained.
This directory is also another resource for doulas who provide services, but have difficulty reaching those in the community who are in need. Jessica and Daniel Miller of Jurupa Valley Doulas are a bilingual doula group based in Riverside County.
The doula group launched in 2022 and has faced challenges navigating Medi-Cal’s Doula Benefit, contracts with health insurance providers and connecting with Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
Jessica Miller said they have had to be resourceful by going out to barbershops and beauty shops to leave flyers for potential clients. Most families they work with found them by word of mouth, Instagram and local searches.
Jurupa Valley Doulas are registered on the Frontline Doulas directory in hopes of connecting with more birthing families in need, specifically those who are Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Jurupa Valley Doulas are listed as providers under Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and Fee-for-Service.
Jessica Miller pointed out that there aren’t many doulas registered yet as providers under Medi-Cal to match the need in the community. Jurupa Valley Doulas work with vulnerable families who are unhoused, asylum seekers and experiencing substance use disorder.
In addition to the directory, Frontline Doulas offers a variety of programs for doulas and birthing people such as Community Doula Champions Program, an initiative that seeks to support doula workforce development, foster community education and awareness.
“We definitely see this as a beneficial resource to the families and doulas in California. A lot of the comments and feedback that we’ve been receiving is how timely this is,” said Frontline Doulas Program Manager DeAnna Carpenter.
“Although there are quite a few directories out there, there’s something to be said about having something that’s very specific to the area or the environment or the community, or the state that you live in.”
Another unique program Frontline Doulas offers is their free Doula Hotline service where birthing and postpartum individuals can speak with a doula. Those who wish to speak with a doula through the hotline can do so by completing a short intake form and then hopping on a call with a trained hotline doula. The hotline operates Monday through Sunday, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time).
Since its launch on March 13, the Frontline Doulas California Black Doula Directory includes more than 80 doulas listed from various ethnic and racial backgrounds with a wide-range of specialties.