State Medicaid Approaches to Doula Service Benefits

This informative chart details key components and features of states’ Medicaid doula benefits. As maternal mortality rates continue to increase in the United States, with significant racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities, states are using a variety of approaches to provide doula services within their Medicaid programs to address inequities. Doulas provide continuous physical, emotional, and information support to people before, during, and after childbirth with current evidence suggesting that pregnant people who receive doula care are more likely to have a healthy birth outcome and a positive birth experience.