In ancient Greece, “doula” meant “a woman who serves.” Today, a certified doula is a professional trained to provide women with the emotional, physical, and informational support they need during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Virtua Health recognizes doulas as invaluable members of the maternity care team, advocating for patients and helping them navigate their perinatal journey. Virtua is proud to have launched its doula services, which facilitate connections among community doulas and clinical care teams.

As a maternal health leader in South Jersey, Virtua is the first to develop a model of care seamlessly integrating doulas into the health system by bringing together both employed and community doulas for the benefit of its maternity patients and their care teams. A cohort of nine certified community doulas carefully selected based on predetermined criteria, has been issued Virtua badges, facilitating access to their patients throughout the triage, high-risk, labor and delivery, and mother-baby units at all of Virtua’s birthing hospitals. These community doulas are certified by a recognized certifying body, CPR and First Aid certified, including infant and child CPR, have attended a minimum number of births, have professional liability insurance, and have provided references from previous clients or healthcare providers such as OB-GYNs or midwives.

Patients may now contact Virtua to help pair them with a doula who is best suited for them, based on their birthing preferences and needs.

“Doulas provide incredible support to our laboring and new mothers. Additionally, we know that doula care helps address the disparities in maternal health outcomes, particularly for marginalized communities that face higher rates of complications,” said Dr. Nicole Lamborne, vice president of clinical operations for women’s services at Virtua Health. “We are thrilled to welcome our new doulas and to reinforce Virtua’s commitment to facilitating collaboration to ensure equitable, compassionate, and evidence-based care for our patients.”