We have vital collaborators and funders

Every Mother Counts (EMC) has been providing general operating support grants to contribute to Accompany’s efforts to address inequities in pregnancy and childbirth by providing culturally concordant doula support. In addition to grant support, we work to uplift their successful model of training and integrating community-based doulas into the health care system. Accompany and EMC collaborate as thought leaders around issues related to equitable reimbursement of doula support and engage in advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national level that seek to address barriers to community-based doula models becoming a standard of care.

Wagner Foundation proudly supports Accompany Doula Care through a multi-year grant, reflecting our joint dedication to ensuring every individual's right to a safe and empowering pregnancy and birth experience. Accompany’s work embodies the vision of a just and robust community where everyone is valued equally and has the ability to imagine, shape, pursue, and sustain the lives they wish to lead.

Stewardship Health Care Network has partnered with Accompany Doula Care since 2019 to provide high quality community-based doula care to Stewardship Health Choice MassHealth ACO birthing families as part of Stewardship’s Healthy Beginnings Program.

Accompany Doula Care is proud to partner with the MOTHER Lab and the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts School of Medicine, led by Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha and her team. Accompany is the community partner on several Community Adivsory Boards for projects, grants, and research, and has served as part of the research team for grants awarded by the NIMHD, the Massachusetts Attorney General, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") has collaborated with Accompany Doula Care to launch a pilot program aiming to help improve maternity and birthing care in the state by pairing Blue Cross eligible members with a birth doula.  Blue Cross care advocates will invite eligible, pregnant members in Worcester, Brockton, and Greater Boston to join the program. Identification for the pilot is determined by Blue Cross who will make direct outreach to those who qualify.

In the US, rates of Severe Maternal Morbidity (SMM) vary widely between different racial and cultural groups. As listed in the Blue Cross publicly available Health Equity Report, Black women are disproportionately affected by SMM, having a higher percentage of childbirths with potentially life-threatening complications compared to other populations.

The goal of the pilot will be to gain actionable learnings that can be helpful in addressing racial inequities and improving maternal health outcomes.

Mass General Brigham has collaborated with Accompany Doula Care to deliver accessible, community-based-doula care to birthing families within its health system as part of its United Against Racism initiative. United Against Racism is a Mass General Brigham statement addressing the impact of racism on its patients, staff and community. Recognizing that structural racism directly affects the health outcomes of birthing people in the prenatal period, during labor and birth and in the postpartum period, Mass General Brigham is proud to collaborate with Accompany Doula Care to dismantle systemic racism, uplift the communities they serve and improve the overall health of birthing people, their families and their communities.

In 2020, through the BRIDGE Promising Partnership program, CCHERS had the privilege to support Accompany Doula Care’s outstanding research project, Supporting the Birth Experience that Experience Deserves, led by Christina Gebel, Dr. Elysia Larson, and Caroline Ezekwesili. This research was a collaborative work involving doulas and community members, aiming to understand the community’s preferences surrounding doula care and reduce the disparities in maternal health outcomes and patient experience through doulas. Throughout the project period, CCHERS also worked closely with Mrs. Gebel and Dr. Larson in developing a research ethics training toolkit and webinars for community members.

Accompany Doula Care was the community partner on an Interdisciplinary Research Leaders team from 2020-2023. Interdisciplinary Research Leaders is a leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study explored how the growing awareness of the maternal mortality crisis influences Black women’s perceptions of their risk for maternal mortality, maternal care choices, and sense of empowerment. For more information, please visit the MOTHER Lab at Tufts Univerisity.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation was a proud supporter of Accompany Doula Care through its Special Initiatives grant program.

March of Dimes was thrilled to be able to award Accompany Doula Care a grant. March of Dimes supports the availability of doula care services during the prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum periods, in accordance with the needs and wishes of the mother. March of Dimes also recognizes the importance of increased training, support and capacity development for doulas, including doulas from racially, ethnically, socioeconomically and culturally diverse communities.

Accompany Doula Care received a grant from The Saint Cecilia Nonprofit Partnership Committee. This internal committee of parishoners was formed to provide a process to give back to the Boston community with intentionality. Saint Cecilia Parish formed direct partnerships with eight local organizations.

Accompany Doula Care partnered with Tufts Health Plan, a Point32Health company, to provide community doula support to its members, including prenatal/postpartum visits and continuous labor support.