Mothers are dying in Tarrant County. They don’t have to.
Tarrant County’s maternal mortality rate is significantly higher than the national average. Our public health area has the second-highest maternal mortality rate among Black women in Texas, and the 76104 ZIP code has the worst health disparities and lowest life expectancy in the state. Yet many of these deaths are preventable.
Many factors contribute to this, including mothers in low-income communities not having access to culturally appropriate medical care or the failure to establish trust between medical providers and the mothers. The pandemic made this problem even worse, but we’re working to change that.
We’re training hospital staff and community-based maternal health doulas to ensure the most at-risk moms are seen, heard and supported. This program is supported with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds administered by Tarrant County.
We’re training 120 community-based women and 30 hospital staff to be doulas. These doulas, already embedded in the community, will have similar shared life experiences with the mothers they serve. Doula services include educating expectant mothers during pregnancy, coaching them through labor and providing a helping hand at home postpartum. Our partner in this project is Trust Her.
Our maternal health doula program:
- Serves women from early pregnancy to the months following childbirth
- Focuses on women and families of color in ZIP code 76104
- Builds trust between the community and medical providers within hospital systems
- Leads to healthier outcomes for the mothers and their babies
