Families being matched with new graduates of the Flourish Alachua Doula training initiative, which trains birth and postpartum doulas to support new mothers through birth and the physical and emotional challenges of life after childbirth, span a wide range of circumstances.
Gainesville’s transient population of students and young couples without nearby family often turns to doulas to fill a gap once filled by grandmothers, neighbors or close friends.
“There’s a lack of community,” said Brittany Fadiora, director and co-founder of Doulio, a Texas-based company that founded Alachua’s program and builds doula workforce infrastructure across the country. “And that really shows up when someone’s pregnant.” The program is funded by the Alachua County Children’s Trust.
Fadiora, who attended midwifery school in Gainesville, has trained more than 1,000 doulas nationwide and supported more than 500 births. She said doula support is linked to better outcomes for mothers and babies, including lower C-section rates, stronger bonding, higher breastfeeding rates and, in some cases, the prevention of maternal death.
“Doula support is an easy entry to be able to make a difference in such a complex medical system,” she said. “Eighty percent of maternal deaths are preventable, and doulas really focus on those things that are preventable — education, access, awareness. They are someone that’s trusted that clients can talk to. Asking, ‘Do you feel seen? Do you feel heard?’ providing those comfort measures and being a coordinator and an advocate for that client.”
It can be challenging to make sure doulas reflect the communities they serve, Fadiora continued. The Alachua doula training cohorts have included Spanish and Haitian Creole speakers, and the program actively recruits doulas from diverse backgrounds.
Since launching, the program has trained close to 30 doulas in Alachua County.
The training includes an intensive weekend of coursework covering postpartum physical recovery, newborn care, infant feeding and emotional support, followed by four months of mentorship and hands-on client work. Trainees finish with at least one client and a mentor available for ongoing support.
Katie Heard, a NICU nurse and lactation consultant, completed the first cohort in 2024 and returned as a co-trainer for the program’s third cohort. She saw becoming a doula as a way to support women outside the hospital setting and to deepen her understanding of the birthing process. After a positive experience as a trainee, she wanted to remain involved as the program grew.
“Being a good trainer is not just sitting there reading slides all day,” she said. “It’s incorporating life experiences, it’s creating activities that are meaningful.”
As a mother of two young children, postpartum doula work fits her schedule. She now mentors three doulas from the most recent cohort and runs her own postpartum doula practice on the side. Some months she sees eight or nine clients; others, just two or three. Each family’s needs are different.
“I think what I like the most about doula work is just the simple human connection of it,” Heard said, “being able to support a woman as she enters that role of a mother, whether it’s her first child or her third.”
Stephanie Norman, a pre-K teacher and academic advisor, also completed the Flourish program in 2024 shortly after the birth of her second child. When she learned that Fadiora was recruiting trainers for the next cohort, she applied.
“I think in nature, I’m a teacher, and I’m drawn to people so specifically. You know, the birth culture is really where my jam has been at lately,” she said.
Norman said the impact on her community has been the most rewarding part of the work. She considers advocacy for families, for the profession and for doulas themselves the core lesson of the training.
Medicaid covers the cost of doula services in some states. In Florida, coverage falls under the optional benefits that Medicaid managed care plans may choose to offer and it isn’t guaranteed statewide. Whether a beneficiary has access depends on their specific plan, which also sets its own reimbursement rates.
The Flourish Alachua Doula training initiative partners with local health organizations Healthy Families and Healthy Start to administer the program.
The next postpartum doula training is expected to start in the fall.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: County program trains postpartum doulas to fill gap in maternal support
Reporting by Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
