Trained community doulas to improve maternal, infant health in Fort Worth
NORTH TEXAS – A group of 120 trained doulas will soon be sent into the community to help save the lives of moms and babies in the area of Fort Worth with the worst health disparities.
Adriana Sanchez is one of them.
"Women are so amazingly powerful," said Sanchez, a mom of three girls. She knows how beautiful pregnancy and childbirth can be, and how scary and traumatic.
"On my third child, there were a lot of things that were done to me [medical interventions] that didn't necessarily have to happen," she said. "It just really impacted me, and eventually I started researching a little bit further, and I wanted to help others not go through what I went through."
That's why she's been studying to become a community doula, to support and advocate for women during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
"I'm there to empower you, to give you that strength, to educate you, to help you go through this, and pretty much to guide you through labor," said Sanchez.
She will graduate from the United Way of Tarrant County's training program this weekend. It's part of an initiative to improve maternal and infant health.
Mothers in Tarrant County are dying at a significantly higher rate than the national average, according to the United Way of Tarrant County.
Studies show the presence of a doula reduces premature delivery, c-section frequency, and low birth weights – helping both mom and baby go on to thrive.
"When we have a healthy family, we have a healthy workforce, we have a healthy business model, we have healthy young people entering into pre-K and kindergarten," said Regina R. Williams, United Way of Tarrant County's interim CEO and chief impact officer. "And so this is an opportunity that I believe that we can all get behind because ultimately it is going to make a better Tarrant County, a better Fort Worth."
There's no cost for those who want to train to become doulas or for those who want to use their services.
Right now, the doula program targets Fort Worth's 76104 ZIP code, which has the worst health disparities and lowest life expectancy in the state. United Way hopes to expand to all of Tarrant County in the future.
"I recently had my first delivery, about three weeks ago at JPS," Sanchez said. "It has left a lifelong impact on me. I get teary just talking about it because it really made such a big impact on them as well. I received a long message from the mom, just saying how amazing it was to have me there."
Sanchez says she can't wait to continue helping moms navigate this transformational experience.
"If we can create a better birth experience than what is happening out there right now, then why not?" she said.
Funding for the maternal health initiative comes from the American Rescue Plan Act. The grant ends Dec. 31, but UWTC is looking for partners to invest in taking the program countywide.