OHIO, USA — In 2020 alone, the Ohio Department of Health reported 864 babies had died before their first birthday.
To combat this high infant mortality rate, Ohio state representatives announced the introduction of Senate bill 93 on Wednesday. Senate bill 93 will allow Medicaid to reimburse for doula services.
With the support of a doula, which is a licensed professional who helps families navigate pregnancy and birth known, the state hopes to get more babies past that one-year-old threshold.
"Doulas can provide education before birth so that they can help educate parents about how to take care of their babies, how to keep them safe after they are born," Angie Bauman, director of nursing with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, said. "They give them education about the birth process and hands-on support during the birth process, which is really important for minimizing primary C-section rates and for having good birth outcomes."
Anita Foreman created a network of doulas called The Doula Xperience to combat the high Infant mortality rates in Lucas County.
"To date, we have trained 24 individuals to become full-spectrum doulas in northwest Ohio," Foreman said. "We are the largest Black-owned, woman-owned team of doulas here, so we are really excited about that."
Foreman said her business goes into homes and hospitals advocating for families who are often ignored.
"In the way of advocating, we uplift our client's voice and we empower them to use their voice when they are going to their appointments," she said. "Sometimes we just need an extra layer of support and that's what doulas provide."
Foreman is using her voice at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, alongside state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo.
"Statistically we know that maternal health and infant mortality is at an alarming rate in the state of Ohio," Hicks-Hudson said.
According to the CDC, the infant mortality rate is 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births nationwide. But in Lucas County, that number is 9.5 per 1,000 live births.
The Ohio target is less than or equal to six infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
"There are too many stories of women who have gone into labor and have not come home with their babies because they did not have the help that they needed," Hicks-Hudson said.
Foreman and Hicks-Hudson say it's important for the community to stand together to create improvements in the medical field and they both plan to continue to push for doula services.
"Within some of the agencies, now I do feel like we are being heard and our clients are being supported a lot more," Foreman said. "It's been a road, it's been a fight, and it has been a journey. So, we are excited with where we are at now with our team and with our clients."
