At the heart of every birth story is the power of support, connection, and compassionate care. The Delco Doula Collaborative was created to bring families and doulas together in a personal, meaningful, and empowering way.
What is a Doula?
A doula is a trained birth professional that supports expectant moms and their families throughout pregnancy, during birth, and the postpartum period immediately after birth. By having a doula present before, during, and after the birth experience, parents can feel more empowered, confident, and supported throughout their perinatal journey.
Doulas provide information about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, newborn care, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, advocacy, and postpartum adjustment. Families including moms, dads, partners, siblings, and babies can benefit from the emotional, physical, and informational support that that is central to a doula’s role.
While doulas are not medical providers, they do help families navigate the medical system so that they can make more informed choices. Doulas also make referrals for services that families may need outside a doula’s scope of practice.
Who is hosting this directory?
The Delco Doulas Collaborative directory is hosted by Family Village, a program of The Foundation for Delaware County, in collaboration with the Delaware County Health Department (DCHD). It is supported through US Department of Labor funding, received by DCHD, to administer a Perinatal Doula and Birth Companion Program.
Family Village’s long history of working to address critical public health needs in Delaware County has positioned it well as the ideal partner in the Delco Doulas Collaborative Project. Their portfolio of programs has focused on improving the health of mothers and children, and includes services delivered through the Healthy Start Program, the Nurse-Family Partnership Program, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program.
These programs, along with the addition of the Delco Doulas Collaborative Project, align well with the Delaware County Health Department’s mission to prevent injury, illness, disease, and premature death through the promotion of healthy behaviors, protection of the environment, and prevention of the spread of disease and illness. The Delco Doulas Collaborative Project advances this mission by supporting maternal and child health priorities as defined in the Delaware County Community Health Improvement Plan, 2024-2028.