Health Equity & Impact Project Coordinator HealthConnect One
Community-based doulas (CBDs) provide responsive culturally-reflective physical, emotional, and informational support to birthing families in prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods. CBDs are challenged to balance a broad scope of client needs that are often unpaid or inadequately compensated. CBDs also play a crucial role in combating the discrimination, racism, and loss of autonomy that Black and Brown birthing people experience due to historical disinvestment; which can be traumatic experiences that CBDs may hold simultaneously. These combined constraints to time, compensation, and emotional capacity perpetuate a high burnout rate among CBDs. This session will reflect on these challenges and identify opportunities to strengthen the CBD workforce and protect CBDs from burnout.
