ABSTRACT:
In June 2023 the State of Connecticut passed public act 23-147-“An Act Protecting Maternal Health” which includes among other things a pathway for direct Medicaid reimbursement for childbirth doula services through certification and training. It also supports postpartum home health checks, and created several state level committees as one example of many community- based support solutions to the maternal health crisis in CT. About 60 % of birthing people are on Medicaid in the US, many black and brown birthing people suffer the inequities of lack of quality access. A recent study showed that many black women are afraid to communicate with their practitioners during their pregnancy. There are successful community-based solutions being implemented throughout the US to improve and support maternal health and advance health equity. Online databases were used to search for community-driven maternal health solutions and literature on the creation of collectives and maternal health. This research was embarked upon in order to assist influential black doulas that desired to create a Black Doula Collective in CT. The presenter will describe the initial steps that were taken to build the collective in relation to the models of collaboration, the three pre-conditions and the five phases of collective impact work described in the literature in relation to the work being done in real time. Valuable solutions in the literature that are not always disseminated to a broader community and lay audiences such as grassroots community organizers, academics, and healthcare professionals desiring to recreate potential solutions in their community.