More support for Medicaid recipients during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period

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Low-income Californians with health insurance through the state’s Medicaid program will have access to new support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

Medi-Cal has added doulas as a covered benefit, effective Jan. 1, though it could take several months to get the program up and running.

Doulas are non-medical birth workers who provide educational, advocacy, and emotional support to birthing people and their families.

The continuous support doulas provide is increasingly seen as part of the solution for the high rate of U.S. mothers and babies who die each year compared with other developed countries. Maternal mortality in California has declined in recent years, but there are still stark racial disparities. For instance: Black babies are twice as likely to die compared with the state’s average infant mortality rate.

Doula use has been tied to fewer preterm births, cesarean sections, and higher rates of breastfeeding.

“Communities that are more marginalized or that do not have access are the ones that are in most need,” Riley said. “We can start to even the playing field with healthy birth outcomes.”

California is one of six states expanding access to doulas through Medicaid, according to the National Health Law Program.