This report provides evidence, best practices, and practical strategies for integrating doulas into maternal care, highlighting their role in improving birth outcomes, supporting families throughout the prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods, and advancing equitable maternal health in Louisiana.

This resource outlines key attributes of a doula-friendly hospital, highlighting practices, policies, and partnerships that support doulas as integral members of the care team and enhance the birthing experience for clients.

This resource highlights that public health impact requires more than knowledge and depends on essential “power skills” that turn ideas into action. It focuses on communication, systems thinking, collaboration, strategic use of data, and policy engagement as key to navigating complexity and driving meaningful change. By strengthening these skills, public health practitioners can build stronger partnerships, improve decision making, and create lasting, equitable outcomes for communities.

This report presents analyses of linked maternal and infant health records from The Louisiana Pregnancy Registry. It examines pediatric care adherence, preterm birth, and low birthweight, highlighting differences by sociodemographic and clinical factors and comparing results to national benchmarks. The findings aim to inform maternal and infant health policy and improve care quality across Louisiana.

The report identifies obstacles to care including financial barriers, perceived cost of care, transportation challenges, and provider shortages, and offered recommendations such as strengthening insurance literacy, expanding access models, increasing telehealth capacity, and building workforce pipeline programs.

In 2024, with support from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, the Supporting Pregnant People with Opioid Use Disorder in Louisiana (SUPPORT LA) project was launched by the Louisiana Public Health Institute. The initiative aims to strengthen coordination, identify opportunities, and highlight effective approaches to supporting pregnant people with opioid use disorder across Louisiana. Early insights were gathered through key informant interviews, and this report summarizes findings that will guide SUPPORT LA’s next steps.

Senior Program Manager Stephanie Kennedy, MPS, TTS, shares her thoughts on how integrating doulas into Louisiana’s healthcare system can significantly improve maternal and infant health outcomes, reduce medical interventions, and strengthen family well-being.