An initiative to improve birth outcomes for Black women by increasing their access to trained Black doulas has received the C. Felix Harvey Award to Advance Institutional Priorities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Venus Standard, assistant clinical professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine, will lead the pilot doula training program that was selected for the award. Doulas are trained professionals who guide mothers and families before, during and after childbirth. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has recommended that families receive care from doulas to improve birth outcomes, and Standard’s program aims to create a pipeline of Black doulas to attend births of Black families in North Carolina.