Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Community-Based Doulas Partner with Health Plan

In a new episode of Managed Care Cast’s Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity series, Tica Nickson, founder and director of Birth Root Community Doula in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Sarah Elizabeth Morrow, program director for clinical and community programs for UPMC for You and UPMC for Kids, discuss how their organizations built a structured collaboration around community-based doula care.

What Sets Community-Based Doula Care Apart

Nickson explained that community-based doulas differ from private-pay doulas in both scope and depth of engagement. Doulas at Birth Root support mothers through medical appointments, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) visits, home visits, and prenatal education, connecting families to community resources rather than duplicating existing services. Because many of the challenges affecting pregnancy are rooted in social drivers of health, including food insecurity and housing instability, addressing those needs is central to the model.

Strengthening Maternity Support Through Integrated Doula Care

The partnership grew organically after Nickson connected with UPMC's maternity care management team, evolving from an informal relationship into a formal statement of work. Morrow emphasized that Birth Root's doulas bring lived experience and deep local knowledge that data alone cannot capture, allowing UPMC's care managers to better serve members facing health disparities and other social drivers of health within the Erie community.

Beyond care management, these integrated partnerships are extending into broader wellness initiatives. A collaboration with The Food Trust's produce prescription program has shown encouraging results, including greater engagement with doula services among participating mothers, Morrow said. That kind of outcome arrives as doula care more broadly is increasingly recognized as an evidence-based component of maternity care.

Matched Medicaid cohort data have linked doula support to significantly lower rates of cesarean delivery and preterm birth, and higher rates of postpartum follow-up, and Medicaid coverage for doula services has expanded from 2 states in 2020 to 26 states and Washington, DC, by March 2026.¹

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Reference
1. Grossi G. 5 things to pay attention to during Women’s Health Month. AJMC. May 15, 2026. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/5-things-to-pay-attention-to-during-women-s-health-month