Black History Month is a time to celebrate legacy, resilience, and those actively building a better future. In the maternal health space, that means lifting up the Black birthworkers, doulas advocates who show up every day — in delivery rooms, in homes, on the phone — doing the work that our healthcare system has failed to do.
Because the data is undeniable: Black mothers in America are in crisis.
Black women are more than three times likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. [Policycentermmh] Black women lead in nearly every measure of pregnancy complications the CDC tracks — 22 out of 25 indicators of severe maternal morbidity. [PubMed Central] Black women with college degrees face higher maternal mortality rates than White women who never finished high school. [KFF] This isn’t about socioeconomics. It is rooted in systemic racism, in a healthcare system that has historically dismissed Black women’s pain, ignored their concerns, and failed to see them fully.
This is a collective crisis. And it demands a collective response.
Enter: Frontline Doulas
Based right here in Los Angeles, Frontline Doulas is a perinatal health program connecting Black families with Black doulas — and they are changing outcomes one birth at a time.
Co-founded by Dr. Sayida Peprah and Khefri Riley, Frontline Doulas was built on a simple but radical truth: when Black birthing people are supported by someone who looks like them, knows their community, and understands the specific pressures they face, everything changes.
Their team of community doulas provides no-cost prenatal, birth, and postpartum support to Black families across LA County — regardless of age, income, or insurance. Their services go beyond the delivery room: prenatal education, emotional support, lactation guidance, advocacy within medical settings, and connections to community resources. They run a Doula Hotline for anyone who is pregnant or postpartum and needs to talk to someone right now. They’ve launched a Black Doula Directory to expand access to culturally competent care. And they’re working at the policy level through the LA County Medi-Cal Doula Hub and the CA Doula Access Workgroup to ensure doula care becomes a standard, covered benefit — not a luxury.
As Frontline Doula Felicia Francis-Edwards puts it:
“Being a Black Doula is to be the champion of brown babies and their moms. We are a safe harbor in places where racism impacts their birth outcome.”
We are proud to stand alongside organizations like theirs in this movement. Because postpartum care is a collective responsibility — and when one community is left behind, we all have work to do.
Black History Month ends. The work doesn’t. Learn more about Frontline Doulas at frontlinedoulas.com and share their work to amplify the Black voices that have always been on the frontline of birth justice.
