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"Whether a birthing person decides to have a hospital birth or home birth, or a birth at a birthing center like I did, having the extra support of a doula who looks like you and the support of the people around you, makes all the difference." – Amin
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As part of our commitment to help close the gap in care and improve health outcomes – for Black expectant mothers, birthing individuals, and their babies – we have started the Black Birth Equity Fund. We hope to help open up access to doula services as lifesaving care. If you’re an expectant Black mom or birthing individual, or want to apply for a Black birthing person in your life, apply for a grant.
On our mission to catalyze systemic change, we’re also collaborating with leading advocacy groups like Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA). Together, we can advance superior care – with and for Black moms and birthing people.
Did you know
- Black women are 3-5x more likely to die of pregnancy related causes than white women1
- 60% (or more) of pregnancy related deaths could have been prevented 2
- Black babies are 2x more likely to die a premature death compared to white babies3
Today, the US has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the developing world. Black women are more likely than White, Asian or Latina women to die from pregnancy-related complications, no matter their income or education level. There are so many factors that come into play, but one reason is that a number of Black moms and birthing individuals do not have the same access to or quality of care. And the heartbreaking truth? Many of these deaths could’ve been prevented.
That’s why doulas are so important – to help close the Black maternal care gap, and in turn help to reduce Black maternal mortality. A birth doula is trained to give physical, spiritual, and emotional support during the birthing process. And after birth, a postpartum doula continues this non-medical support. A certified doula is a communicator: from helping moms and birthing individuals express any concerns or feelings to flagging conditions that might usually go unchecked in a child birthing situation. This is where a doula is so vital for Black moms and birthing individuals – making sure no issue goes unnoticed. The benefits of a doula can be endless, and lifesaving.
Looking for help in navigating your perinatal journey?
Seeking Doula Care and the Black Doula Directory
To help provide further access to qualified doulas during the birthing journey, we have partnered with Sista Midwife Productions, a national birth advocacy, training and consulting agency to launch a new Black Doula Directory of over 1,000 doulas nationwide. Visit the Black Doula Directory, powered by Baby Dove and Sista Midwife Productions, created for Black birthing families to identify and connect with Black doulas across the country.
If you are a Black expectant mom or a Black doula looking to be a part, visit the Black Doula Directory here.
How the Black Birth Equity Fund is helping close the Maternal Care Gap
Our fund is designed to give hundreds of Black expectant mothers and birthing individuals access to lifesaving support through doula services. It’s an initial step in our efforts to close the Maternal Care Gap. To kickstart our efforts, we initially pledged $250K USD in 2021, and are now proud that we have committed over $770K USD to date into the Black Birth Equity Fund.
We’re honored to partner with leading advocates such as the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) to help progress superior care and ignite more structural change. The Black women-led organization is on a mission to shift culture around Black maternal health, rights, and justice for the better.
Get Involved
Follow @BabyDoveCare and visit to apply for our grant if you are a Black expectant mom or birthing individual. And if you have baby showers coming up, choose our gift set to care for your new mom and their little one, and support Black maternal health across the US.
Sources
- Petersen EE, Davis NL, Goodman D, et al. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related Deaths — United States, 2007–2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:762–765. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6835a3external icon
- Gruber, K. J., Cupito, S. H., & Dobson, C. F. (2013). Impact of doulas on healthy birth outcomes. The Journal of Perinatal Education.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647727/ - IBID
The inspiring stories of Baby Dove’s Black Birth Equity Fund grant recipients and their doulas
Baby Dove Black Birth Equity Fund FAQs
About the Black Birth Equity Fund (The “Fund”)
The Black Birth Equity Fund is a Baby Dove initiative (launched in August 2021), to provide financial grants of $1,300 towards doula services for expecting Black moms and birthing individuals.
The Fund is a fund managed and fiscally sponsored by Players Philanthropy Fund, a 501(c)3 public charity based in Towson, MD.
Baby Dove started the Black Birth Equity Fund because we know Black expectant mothers face significant disparities in care leading up to, during and after childbirth. This results in creating a world where Black women are dying at 3-5x the rate of white women – with 60% of these deaths being preventable. We believe that all families deserve equitable care, including Black expectant mothers, and acknowledge that significant gaps also exist in other communities. The journey to address the Maternal Care gap continues and we look forward to exploring more ways to support expectant mothers and families.
The Black Birth Equity Fund is intended to meet the immediate needs of expectant Black mothers and birthing individuals by providing access to doulas. Doulas are incredibly effective advocates throughout the birthing journey – providing vital physical, emotional, and relational support. Research shows that with the support of a doula, moms are two times less likely to experience birth complications, four times less likely to have a low-birth-weight baby and are more likely to experience overall positive health outcomes during the birthing journey .
Doulas also often work in partnership with health care providers, helping mothers and birthing individuals to have a safe, healthy, and positive labor experience.
The Black Birth Equity Fund provides access to doulas for Black mothers and birthing people. Birthing people is a gender neutral and inclusive term when talking about pregnancy and giving birth.
Not at all. Doulas work to complement health care providers in helping mothers and families have a safe, healthy, and positive labor experience. As they are on the frontlines with expectant moms, they can help advocate for better care throughout pregnancy, at the birthing moment, and in the Fourth Trimester. Research tells us that, with doula support, people are two times less likely to experience birth complications and four times less likely to have a low-birth-weight baby.
Addressing the Maternal Care Gap that exists for Black mothers is an ongoing journey for Baby Dove. We aim to continue the Black Birth Equity Fund and are taking time to continue to learn more before developing a long-term plan.
Fund Implementation
In order to apply for a grant through the Black Birth Equity Fund, applicants must:
- Be Black/African-American
- Be expecting a child/children, and be in their first - third trimester of pregnancy at the time of application submission
- Reside in the United States
- Be seeking Doula services for your birthing journey – the award cannot be used for other services beyond Doula support and care.
Eligible applicants can apply for grants up to $1,300 to assist with costs for doula services. The costs of doula services can range depending on location, service, and other factors but can range from about $600-$2000+, so it was determined that $1,300 will cover the average cost for individuals, including taxes that would be later deducted. Applicants will be selected once per month.
Applications are drawn and then reviewed by Don Jagoda Associates, one of Unilever’s lead marketing services and sales promotions agencies. Their team is highly equipped to run brand promotions, such as the Black Birth Equity Fund, and has run hundreds of promotions, grant programs, and contests/sweepstakes for Unilever brands.
Through the randomized drawing process (without personal identifiable information attached), Don Jagoda Associates reviews the subset of selected applicants to ensure they meet the baseline eligibility criteria. Once there is a subset of selected applicants and in order to avoid potential bias, Don Jagoda receives the respective personal identifiable information from Unilever privacy and website agency (Epsilon) in order to conduct applicant vetting. Don Jagoda then conducts applicant vetting to ensure the identity of the applicants. Once those individuals are confirmed, Don Jagoda Associates reaches out to confirm applicants who have 72-hour window to respond to accept/reject the grant offer.
We believe that no person’s individual story should be judged over another story given the experiences that Black birthing individuals and families particularly face. By having external parties review the initially drawn application and manage the reviews, we aim to ensure the process is devoid of any potential biases from the brand/Unilever -- i.e. if a brand team member knows an applicant, etc. We want to ensure the process can be as fair as possible.
Don Jagoda Associates conducts follow up outreach to initially selected applicants. If an applicant is unresponsive after outreach and follow up, they will move on to another candidate. The original candidate can still be considered for future rounds.
After the final selected list of recipients is vetted then confirmed by Don Jagoda Associates, they send that list to fiscal sponsor Players Philanthropy Fund. Players Philanthropy Fund then remits payment to individuals via ACH or paper checks (at the preference of the final recipients), to reach their accounts within 1-2 days (if via ACH and depending on their receiving bank); or by overnight mail (if they select paper mail).
No, Don Jagoda Associates and Players Philanthropy Fund are back-end administrators and fiscal sponsors of the Fund, respectively. They are not included in external/consumer-facing communications about the initiative.
During its launch, Baby Dove put $250,000 into the Black Birth Equity Fund. To date, Baby Dove has invested over $770,000 towards the Fund.
No, there is no maximum number of people who can apply. The Black Maternal Health Crisis is a complex issue that impacts women across income brackets and education; household income or means is not an eligibility factor to apply. However, the application does include a question to gauge household income range for those who are comfortable providing that information so that we can better understand the scope and scale of the issue – and how we can best support moving forward.
Through investments to the Fund, we have provided grants for over 500 Black birthing people and aim to have impacted nearly 600 Black birthing people by end of 2024.
At this time, eligible applicants can apply for a grant beginning January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
Application ‘rounds’ are on a month-by-month basis, where applicants are considered monthly. If an individual is not selected in a particular round, they can be automatically rolled over into a following round for future consideration within the calendar year.
At this time, these are one-time grants as we are focusing on impacting as many Black expectant moms and birthing individuals as possible. We encourage if an individual is selected that they do not re-apply within the same calendar year.
Looking Ahead
The initial window of the application goes until the end of 2024, but we will be evaluating reach and outcomes prior to the window closing to help determine potential application window extensions and ways to keep continuing direct support to Black birthing individuals and issues surrounding Black maternal health -- furthering the overall commitments of the brand.
We are currently in year 4 of the Black Birth Equity Fund. At this time, the Black Birth Equity Fund will have applications open until the end of 2024. Throughout this window, reach and outcomes of the fund will be evaluated to help determine how/what potential continued investment can look like – and other efforts to build on the brand’s commitments to further Black maternal health and reinforce the importance of accessing doula care. This includes our Black Doula Directory, powered by Baby Dove and Sista Midwife Productions, a directory of over 1,000 Black doulas across the country, designed as a resource for Black birthing families seeking vital doula care by those who understand their needs and experiences.
