Hello, I'm Karen Walker for Arkansas week.

Arkansas ranks 47th in the nation for free term birth in 2024, 4289 babies were born preterm in Arkansas, according to the 2020 5th March of Dimes Report Card on Maternal and Infant Health.

The state is working to change those statistics by passing maternal health legislation, implementing initiatives and expanding prenatal care services to improve healthy outcomes for mothers and their babies.

One important part of that effort is the work of doulas, trained professionals who provide physical, emotional, and informational support before, during, and after childbirth.

Douglas play a vital role in navigating the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey, and that is our focus today.

We have a panel of three certified doers to talk about the important care services they provide.

Please welcome Nicole Fletcher, co-founder, visionary and executive Director of Eugenia maternity Network.

Sylvia Halliburton, founder and CEO of Arkansas Birthing Partners and Family Power Hub.

And Leah Wasson, co-founder and executive director of Doula Alliance of Arkansas.

Welcome, ladies.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The state is working to improve outcomes, maternal outcomes for moms and their babies.

So tell us, why is this issue important and how is your organization helping to helping with these efforts.

So I'm just going to jump in jump.

Absolutely.

Nicole this whole issue is really important because without thriving mothers, what do we have right.

The next generation when we do not, when our mothers are suffering and not living and thriving well, we lose generations.

We lose children.

We lose families and communities.

So I think it's really important that this conversation be talked about, and we find ways to improve those outcomes so we can improve communities and in communities, we improve our cities and so on and so forth in our state.

And so I just want to pick you back off there because, Nicole, I agree with you on that.

But what we are finding, especially in the Delta, a greater way to we're having actions, but we're not having enough action.

We have people coming into the Delta communities, but then dropping off Band-Aids, so to speak, and they're leaving our leaving the communities.

And when you don't have that sustainability of resources and services, such as doulas, to come in and provide support.

Surprise, Kate and I mean genuinely advocate for these mothers to have adequate housing, to have the mental health services that is needed for mental wellness during the parent period.

Then you're still going to have those.

We're still going to have those issues with moms not being able to thrive living in.

I'm that.

I'm just making it mold and that's not what we want.

We want to see our moms being sustainable, having adequate jobs or inadequate income to support them and their families.

Not just the moms, but the fathers as well.

When you think about the fathers, when we talk about prenatal or prenatal or even perinatal care from birth, from conception to birth, we think about moms all the time, moms or the babies.

We don't think about the fathers.

And it's time for us to start being authentically implementing the fathers in this birth plan.

Because when they don't, when they're not aware of what they need to do, then they just do what they have been told.

And if we shall give them the curriculum, a pattern, a map, a roadmap to be able to sustain their families, that's when we have stronger families, when our fathers are involved and involved with roadmap that leads through love.

That's how I see it.

It's like Sylvia, he came in hot, just like guns blazing, and said, baby, we have something to talk about.

I have a lot to talk about because I love it.

You know what?

Here's the thing.

I've been down those dirt roads.

I'm traveling those dirt roads from state to state, from corner to corner of the state.

And when I go through the fields and I'm thinking, this is an abandoned house, but that's where that is, where a mother and her children live.

Right.

May have one running water.

And we need more than just.

Okay.

A pop in you.

Okay?

I have some Pampers for you.

Let's talk about your birthing plan.

That's not sustainable.

So with that, though, it takes again the community, right?

It takes more than just the role of the doula.

It takes the community health care worker.

It takes the, like, just more than just this one individual.

So I think that's also important.

I think that's a larger statement that you're talking about.

As far as how does the state really bring in support and the various resources?

That's the thing.

It starts with the doula, though.

It starts with communicating with the doula.

And then you have to have that trust.

If you don't have that trust, then there's an issue.

And a lot of women don't trust people coming in from the outside, and they know a person from the inside.

So let me just say just a little bit later.

Yeah.

No, no, we're going to let you get a little bit.

Go ahead.

My dula was an elderly lady in our community who did not know she was a doula.

She would come to my home in the morning with her breakfast and leaving the afternoon.

But she would make sure that I had the support that she for my needs.

That she also made me feel comfortable in going through my journey of being pregnant.

And.

But she didn't know she was a doula either.

And I have to say her name, Nikki Allen.

She was my rock good.

And that's what.

And but she was from the community.

And that's what I like about even though I am with.

I am the founder of Arkansas Birkeland Partners.

Arkansas Birthing Project gave us this start, and that's when I realized that 90 was my dula and she didn't have a title.

There were other doulas out.

There are other doulas in the community.

We just got to recognize them.

Yes, exactly.

What is your organization doing to help with the efforts?

Yeah.

So I wholeheartedly agree with both of the perspectives that have been shared.

And I think really what it comes down to is that the community is necessary that doulas were around before.

The term doulas was a thing and it was just community.

And so bringing that back, because at the core of it all, people are just deserving of support as a whole.

Especially moms and babies and their most vulnerable state.

So at the Doula Alliance, we're focused.

We're in a different position than the other two organizations represented here because we're actually focused on supporting the dullest.

So we're I say we're dueling the doulas who we're supporting the support people so that then they have a stronger foundation so that they can go out into the communities and be that support for the family.

That's wonderful.

One of the things that we found is this maternal crises disproportionately affect women of color, specifically African American women.

Why is this?

Oh, there's a lot of reasons.

There's so many reasons.

Inadequate services and lack of services in especially rural communities.

Hospitals, you know, hospitals are closing.

I was just in Camden on yesterday.

We were working out some logistics on planning some things in reference to their community, because they no longer will have their hospital.

Just.

And we have to stop working in silos.

We have to stop working in silos.

There's more than enough work for everyone to come to the table to make this a successful state when it comes to maternal health.

In rural communities, we look at the fact that we look at poppy in service just or popcorn service.

You're popping in, you popping out to bring a car seat to gone.

Yeah.

We need more than just the car seat.

We need more than just a pack and play.

You know, we need to be educated, and we need to feel that you are concerned about our communities.

I love that.

One of the things that I think is baffling sometime for people, when they hear the term doula, they associated maybe sometimes with a midwife or OB care.

So someone break that down for us.

What is the difference between a doula, a midwife, or ob gyn?

Three totally different levels of support.

So the midwife and the ob gyn are that medical clinical support.

Doulas are non-clinical support.

So when you think of a midwife, you might think of a home birth, although there are midwives who work in the hospital.

Also, you think of an ob gyn, you're going to be in the hospital.

Doulas we do all of that.

We're we're with you in the hospital.

We're with you at home or with you wherever you need to be your birthing center, wherever you choose to be in your home prenatally for hours.

You know, as Massilia has been talking about, were that non-clinical support offering that emotional, physical, informational labor and then that advocacy.

So we're really helping you understand.

I always tell people that doulas help you align your values with your birth plan, and then bring that to your birth team, that then you can bring your values into this most like intimate moment in your life.

I love it.

So, Nicole, tell us, why did you become a doula?

You know, it's interesting.

I started this because it was cute.

It was fun.

Like, you know, we're going to help somebody have a baby.

Oh, yes.

That's so great.

A friend of mine introduced me to the whole idea of having a birth outside of the hospital, and I was like, you could even do that?

And she was like, yeah.

So just learned a lot about the whole thing.

And it started out as being cute, but what was cute turned into purpose, turned into passion, turned into like literally like my reason for breathing in so many ways, because life begets life and like being alongside a woman and her family to see her transform and become this woman, this new person, like, that's that's life to me.

And I'm a Christian.

And so I'm just going to throw this out here.

One of the things that we see Christ as identified as is doulos, and that's the Greek, means the one who comes to serve.

And so as a doula, I get to link arms with the creator of the universe as a coming to serve, not to be served.

But I get to serve alongside these women in these families to empower them and change the trajectory of life for that family.

That's that's why I'm here.

That's powerful.

Yeah.

That's powerful.

Sylvia, why did you become a doula?

Oh, I have a couple of reasons, but the main one was because when I saw what, 90 brought to the table for me and the service that she provided, I knew that I needed to provide that type of authentic, genuine service to other women.

Being a high risk, having a high risk pregnancy and a lot of women are having have those.

When I worked with Doctor Zenobia Harris with Arkansas Birthing Project, and she gave me the opportunity to be a sister friend, and when I said I need to be more.

She said, well, you can be a branch leader.

I said, okay.

Then I said, but we need to train more women to be sister friends.

And sister friends is not a paid position.

And what that's what I love about that is being starting out as a sister friend.

You're doing all the things as a doula, you're providing that support.

You're making those phone calls to them, you're going for them.

You're going to the doctor with them.

You're providing all this support right from the communities these women are in.

Their communities are being trained to be sister, friend doulas, as I call them.

And that's why I wanted to be a doula, because we need the support.

And a lot of women think it's just, okay, you're giving birth.

It's just the thing that women does do.

But it's not just the thing that women do.

It's it's a gift.

It's a present.

You know?

It's a gift that you need to be cared for, well taken care of, well know how to take care of yourself.

Well, all the things you need to be loved well during that time.

And I know I can show that to women how how you should be taken care of.

And that work really matters.

Leah, why did you become a dealer?

Well, as you can hear, this is hard work.

So I always tell people that nobody becomes a doula because they're looking to become a millionaire.

Because that's not going to be the case.

I became a doula because I became a mom.

Honestly.

In short, that's really what happened.

I had my first pregnancy.

I had my first experience going through what I thought was going to be this life changing, super intimate, you know, beautiful moment.

And there were just some things that happened that shifted my expectations.

And when that happened, I love I value being served.

And so with that, I value being of service.

And so when I saw that need there, as I grew into my own motherhood through my pregnancy, becoming a mom, I knew that I wanted to be that service for other moms.

And it's always I'm full of gratitude.

Anytime family chooses me, they welcome me into their home to work with them and really become like a part of their family.

So I just it's heart led work.

That is hard work, isn't it?

You know, I'm just curious.

Sometimes people may want to take the doula route.

Does insurance cover doulas?

We're working on it.

Some insurances do already cover doulas.

Of course, a lot of people have been looking out for Medicaid because that's huge in this state.

We know that majority of births in the state are covered by Medicaid.

And so we are working on that.

The Doula Alliance of Arkansas worked on the legislation last year that was successfully passed so that Medicaid and private insurance and Arkansas will be required to cover doula services.

There are some private insurance payers like UnitedHealth Group, Umer, and even Tricare has been covering doulas.

But the thing with private insurance is that it's well, insurance in general is just not super straightforward.

So the answer is yes and no.

And when it comes to private insurance, I just had this conversation with somebody yesterday.

The best thing is to, you know, call and really figure out about your benefits, because there's just so many nuances that go with private insurance and insurance in general.

Some of those places, those pieces aren't quite in play yet for women that need the service to have full access to it.

So this is an opportunity to kind of serve and support.

You know, when you're a single mom, you probably need some additional support if you're just dealing with health care disparities, a woman, a person of color, a teenager, there's so many categories that we have like linked into, and we provide thousand dollars scholarships to individuals that apply.

They go through like a little rubric and there's an exchange of like coming and getting connected and building relationships within the community.

And at the same time, your your fee is offset.

So it feels more attainable than like maybe even going through insurance because of the layers of requirements that insurance insurances require.

So it's really nice and it's a great way to kind of link in and support for sure.

It's good information.

You back off what Nicole was just said with her program.

They offer scholarships, but we also look at the fact that Arkansas Birthing Project offer support and at no cost at this time, because we know that women cannot afford to have a doula.

And there they are, trained doulas through the Arkansas Birthing Project, through their curriculum.

And they they're putting these women in from their communities and to remain in their communities, to serve the women in their communities.

I love that so.

And I love that because they love it.

They love it.

And that's what I and it's so authentic.

You're changing lives, aren't you?

Yes.

And I love it.

I love it.

Nicole, your organization actually trains doulas.

Yes.

So if someone is interested in becoming a doula, what steps do they take?

So I'm going to say the first step you need to take is really an assessment.

You know, I feel like right now doulas are super popular.

And the whole idea like, yeah, I want to be a dude.

I want to be a deal.

It's cute.

It's cute and it's fun.

But are you willing to put in the sacrificial work when you get the call at 3 a.m.?

Are you willing to answer your phone?

Are you going to get up?

Are pieces in your life in play for you to really step in and put your life on hold to, then come alongside and serve another person?

So that's the first thing.

It's really taken assessment.

Like it's cute little snap for that though because because as doulas you're real.

Just take a full assessment.

And then, you know, we have open applications.

We've been partnered with UAMs through their dual expansion program.

So we are one of the organizations that provide training at two certification through that particular partnership.

So if somebody is interested in becoming a doula, they can apply through UAMs.

They can also apply directly through if they wanted to train and certified directly through Jema.

That is an option.

And we'll have trainings set for 2027 because we just need a proving period.

We need some time to make sure that you mean what you say, and that this is not just cute so that we can actually expand the workforce.

And that's a big deal.

That is a big deal.

Do you have any encouraging words for expectant mothers right now?

What what would each of you say to them if you were sitting down right now with an expectant mother?

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

It's going to be okay.

Just taking the love.

You're in a compassionate.

You're in a space that sharing their sharing compassion.

Sharing the joy.

This is your moment.

Just receive the service and it's going to be okay.

It's going to be okay.

So would you tell them wise words are kind of I have a baseline passed on to every mom that I meet and that's that.

But the goals stay the same.

And your goal should be a feeling in alignment with your values.

I'm heavy on value, so understand your values so that you can create that goal.

You can create that goal feeling and know that everything else is just a plan to get to that goal, which is a feeling, not something physical, not something that you hold, something tangible, but that feeling that you're seeking.

And start working on that feeling right now.

You can start curating that feeling right now in the pregnancy leading to the birth, and then carry that into the postpartum.

How do they curate that feeling?

It depends on what that feeling is.

It depends.

I've worked with the moms who one that I loved was that this mom wanted to feel liberated.

So how do you work towards feeling liberated?

And that answer is different for everyone.

You know what leads you to feel liberated?

What leads you to feel peace?

What leads you to feel whatever that joy is that you're looking for?

And then you start taking those steps.

But the first step is really understanding what your values are, and being able to align your actions with that state of being that you want to be in.

I love it, and I'll just throw in real quick.

No, you don't have to be at the camera for this.

You deserve to be seen.

You deserve to be heard.

Your story is important.

You matter and your voice matters.

So don't be afraid to claim what is yours.

Because this is your moment.

And the people that are around you are there to serve and support you.

And you deserve that.

Period.

Period.

Yes yes yes yes.

You ladies are changing lives.

Is there something I didn't ask?

That you were just itching to tell our audience before we go to a close.

I'm just going to throw in.

So Jema is a Swahili word and a Kwanzaa principle.

And it means collective work and responsibility.

Making the problems of my brother and sister my own and solving them together.

And in Arkansas, we have a maternal health care crisis.

But like we have hope.

And I always want to lead and end with you.

No hope.

We have lots of problems and we know that.

But there is hope and it requires collaboration, community efforts and like everybody taking what they do best, bringing that to the table and serving.

And in that we change lives, we change the trajectory.

So I just wanted to say that like we are shifting from maternal health crisis to a revolution.

And.

So you ladies are about the business.

So I had this.

Sylvia, give us your last line.

What do you have?

Just do it.

Just let's put those boots on the ground and let's do it.

Oh, what a joy.

It's then to have a conversation with three certified doulas who's changing the lives of women right here in Arkansas?

Thank you.

Ladies.

Thank you, thank you.

Yes.

Yes.

Don't go away because we will continue our conversation on how doulas are being integrated with clinical care teams through an innovative resource to improve maternal health.

We're back.

And joining me to tell us about an initiative to incorporate doulas with hospital teams is Hannah McCarty, senior director of programs at UAMs Institute for Community Health Innovation, and Whitney Tolbert, vice president of women's and children's services at Mercy Hospital in Northwest Arkansas.

Welcome, ladies.

We're so glad to have you on the show today to have some important conversation.

Well, let's get going.

We're going to just dive right in.

You.

Ms.. Community health innovation.

They have launched the toolkits.

That's an exciting new initiative.

Can you tell us about that?

Hannah.

Yeah, absolutely.

So the Arkansas, the doulas and perinatal teams as partners is a toolkit to help hospitals figure out how to better collaborate with and integrate doulas into the community.

And this was really born out of the exciting moment that we're at in healthcare in Arkansas.

There is a watershed moment happening for maternal health, in particular, where we have clinicians.

We have partnerships with Arkansas Department of Health, we have community based organizations, doulas really all hands on deck to try to help figure out how can we improve these maternal health outcomes in Arkansas.

And it's very clear that this is a very multifactorial issue.

And so there's no one silver bullet.

And what that means is that when we can bring people together and create more of that teamwork, we've got a safety net for our moms, because you've got to do it in the community that is able to answer that text at 2 a.m.

from a mom wondering, is this normal?

And she can help that mom get into the doctor.

And so when we have a communication, teamwork and just accessibility between the community health workers, the duelists that are in the community with these moms on the day to day, and the clinical teams that they are seeing for their medical care, we've got better outcomes.

And this toolkit is just a roadmap on how to do that.

Lots of different options and really just support for hospitals so that they can start to increase that collaboration and teamwork.

There's a lot of good collaboration going on and Arkansans are really benefiting from it.

Can you tell me how did Mercy Hospital become the place for pilot for the pilot program?

So Mercy Hospital in we're actually located in Rogers, Arkansas, and we really started to see an increase in the number of patients bringing doulas to the hospital.

And we had a pretty good doula base.

Lots of good collaboration already had had been started.

We had doulas that were involved in some of our education and some of our advising of our processes and policies, and we actually developed a doula policy that was really in as part of an action and strategy when we were working on driving down the NTSB C-section rate.

That was a state collaborative in 2023.

And we just built on that policy with this program.

Wow.

That's good.

So what communities are going to benefit from the toolkits the two kids are serving?

Which communities?

So the tool kit is really designed for any hospital or clinical team to pick up and to start with an assessment of what their strengths are and what their opportunities are for increasing collaboration, and then to build out an action plan that makes sense for them.

So it's really from the smallest hospital that may be doing only 200 deliveries a year to large hospitals that are doing 500 deliveries a month.

They can take this toolkit and learn about the evidence based ways to help increase that collaboration, and just smooth teamwork between clinicians and doulas.

So what's the expectations of the two once communities receive them?

What are your expectations once communities receive the toolkit?

We at UAMs are supporting hospitals, so Mercy Hospital was the first one.

We've had a lot of success with that pilot, and now we are supporting other hospitals and utilizing this toolkit to just find the blueprint that works for them and their hospital unit.

So we have support, technical assistance and training support to help all the birthing hospitals across the state and really want to make sure that they have access to this toolkit and that they know this isn't a huge investment and resources.

It's not an investment really, in any money, but the outcome, the benefit is huge because just like we heard about the way that dual support moms, we've got doulas that are in the community and from the community.

And when a mom walks in to the hospital, it's an unfamiliar place, and there's already a lot of fear and a lot of worry and what's going to happen.

And so the doulas help the moms prepare before they ever even walk into that birthing room, for being able to understand what's going on, for being able to advocate for themselves, and really just being a bridge and an interpreter.

And that's what doulas are fantastic at, is that they help the clinical team to better understand where the mom's coming from and what's important to that mom.

They help the the moms to better understand some of the clinical stuff while they're non-medical and nonclinical and they don't give medical advice, they have a deep understanding of what's going on and a lot of the different interventions.

And so they're able to help them understand this may be why your doctor's recommending this and some of the benefits and the risks.

And they help with that whole process.

And then even outside of just the birth, they're in the community building that bridge to resources, to things that are going to address some of those disparities that we see and outcomes and some of the social determinants of health that have a huge impact on the outcomes for moms and babies.

That's good information.

So how long did it take to implement the program?

I would say it was around six months we started.

As Hannah mentioned, we did a good assessment of our baseline.

We looked at what our current policy was to support doulas, and we looked at our staff's baseline knowledge.

And that's nursing and technicians there.

Based knowledge of what does it do do do is have been around for decades.

They've been doing this for a long time.

But a lot of times your health care providers don't necessarily understand their exact role.

They don't understand particulars about the training that they went through and what they can really do to support not only the patient and family, but really those health care providers that are caring for them in the hospital.

So over about six months we went through that baseline period of just an evaluation.

Then we did some training of the nurses and technicians that work in labor and delivery.

And really most of the with that, with that training, we were really sharing the scope of what adult can do.

What I do is not to do and how they can fit in with the health care team as a member, collaborative member of the team, I think that was the key, really, in integrating the Dulas into the patient's care, was making sure everyone was on the same page and understood their roles and understood the benefits of the program, the purpose of the program.

So we've had at this time we started, I think our December of 2025 was kind of when we kicked off.

We had some really great training in January of 2026, and since then we've seen anywhere from 2 to 8 deliveries every month with a with a doula that's been hospital trained.

And when I say hospital trained, I don't mean that the hospital trained.

The dual is on how to be a doula.

They they have that knowledge.

What we what we really trained them on then is the role of the nurses and the physicians and the technicians and Anastasia and all of the different team members that are involved in the hospital.

We trained on orientation to the unit where things are located, how they can get access to the things, the comfort items that patients need, like warm blankets and peanut balls or different things that help with positioning.

So that was the training.

It was hospital specific to kind of orient them to the environment, to orient them to the people and really start building those relationships and connections.

And with that training, they received a badge.

And so we kind of named it our doula badge program.

But they received a badge that had their name, their adult.

And they also indicated to the staff that they've been through the pilot training program.

So what type of resources or staffing is needed to implement the program?

That's a great question.

And honestly, as Hannah referenced a little while ago, it really doesn't take a lot of resources.

Now, I will say at Mercy and Northwest Arkansas, we deliver around 2600 babies a year.

Just for reference on kind of the busyness of the volume.

A smaller hospital is not going to have as much resources.

A larger hospital might have more resources and might need a little more resources for larger there.

So I would say that varies depending on the size of the hospital.

Fortunately, at mercy, we have a childbirth educator who's also a registered nurse with experience in mother baby and in labor and delivery.

Also, she was a doula before she went into nursing, so that made her a key champion for the for the cause.

She was passionate about that.

And I think that if any resource is key, it's that to really have that champion that appreciates the evidence that is telling us that do is make a difference, that appreciates the the role of both a nurse and the doula and has the perspective of both of them.

That might not be every hospital may not have that person.

We were fortunate to have that at mercy.

And I think that's been really key to the success of our program so far.

Yes, helping them to work hand in hand really does affect the experience that mothers had in the hospital and the health of their babies.

You know, Hannah, what are the first steps that a hospital should take when they're using this toolkit?

Yeah, I think Whitney really hit on that just now.

Is that understanding the evidence and the role and the training that doulas have really helps to build the trust that clinicians need.

And so UAMs did a survey of over 100 perinatal health care providers across the state of Arkansas in 2024.

Just to get an understanding of what do you think about doulas and what do you think about where we're at in Arkansas with doula integration?

And what we found is that almost 90% of those providers see the real benefit of doulas and helping to create comfort and a better experience for the patients that they're taking care of.

But most of them didn't really know what was the training, what what's involved in a certification, and they didn't know how much evidence there is that doula, just as an intervention can make a huge difference.

And so that's a big piece that we first enter with.

The doula toolkit is providing a literature review and tons of evidence and ways to just speak about it so that we can go from maybe our beliefs about doulas, that maybe just from like a couple of interactions to this mountain of peer reviewed, you know, meta analysis, really strong data that is showing that doulas can do everything from increasing the breastfeeding rates, decreasing the length of labor decrease in the Korean section.

I mean, there's a whole litany of things that are improvements with really minimal to no risks.

And so when we look at that as an intervention, as clinicians, things started to click when we were able to present that of like, oh, right.

If this was an intervention, a medication, it would really be unethical to not provide every mama doula because you have all these benefits with minimal to no risk.

And so that helped kind of change the thinking of like, yeah, we can partner with these people.

They're not coming in to be obstructive.

They're not trying to make things more difficult, but they really know the moms.

They're helping to advocate for the moms.

And by working together and opening those lines of communication, that's really a crucial part.

Like Whitney pointed out with the doula liaison, she's kind of fielding that feedback that's coming from doulas, that's coming from the clinical team and helping to connect everybody together and align, because we all know that everyone has the same goals.

We all want healthier moms and healthier babies that feel supported and that we're getting better outcomes.

Yes.

When?

What type of positive feedback are you hearing about the program?

We've received positive feedback from the doulas themselves.

Also, the patients, the nurses I was going to mention and I'm glad Hannah brought it up.

Part of the training for the doulas and the nurses as well, was on how and when to provide that feedback.

We set up some really great processes for how the do list can provide feedback.

The nurses and physicians and anyone really in the environment can provide feedback on the experience.

We've seen doulas provide feedback from their patients, and it's not always positive.

Sometimes there are opportunities that are identified.

And I think that's the beauty of this program is that before this, we may not have known about that.

You know, we may not have received the feedback, and that's a missed opportunity for us to do something different, look at something from a different perspective, and really understand the perspective of the patient better, because that's what I do is really great at doing, is advocating for their patient and really helping them have a voice.

As Hannah mentioned, patients come into labor and delivery from a variety of backgrounds.

Several have previous poor experiences, even traumatic experiences, and trauma.

Informed care is not something a lot of nurses were trained on in nursing school.

It's something we're doing a lot more of because it's very important to understand that patients, they really need to be heard, they need to be listened, listen to, and if they have an advocate with them, it's very important for clinicians to acknowledge that, advocate and listen to what they're saying as well.

I think that's a barrier that was pretty common.

That we've seen in practice is when patients don't feel like they can speak up and their doula tries to kind of step in, and sometimes clinicians want to really hear from the patient.

And so that's really been part of learning is how do we improve that communication and acknowledge that this doula has established a trusting relationship throughout the pregnancy and that they really understand the patient's wishes, they understand the patient's background that the patient might not be comfortable talking about, and they can really add to the value of the discussion.

And so I think that's a that's a huge win is when we can really acknowledge that and and hear from the patient, even when the patient doesn't feel comfortable speaking.

Right.

And that only that feedback only helps the program get better and better.

So I want to think about so how do you see hospital doula partnerships evolving over the next five years?

Yeah, I mean, the thing with maternity care is that it's constantly evolving, right?

So Whitney has been in maternity care for years.

I worked as a nurse in labor and delivery for many years before being in this role.

And so we're used to new evidence and change that comes along with this.

But that doesn't mean change is easy, and it sometimes can take time and have a little bit of friction.

And so that's the toolkits process.

And the support.

And implementing the toolkit is helping to anticipate and smooth some of that change tension that can happen so that we're able to quickly get to a place where we've got all these new doulas being trained across the state, and we want them to feel welcome to be part of the clinical team so that we can all work together to improve those outcomes.

And so that's what this toolkit is just a catalyst to make that happen quicker.

And we know that this is absolutely possible for Arkansas hospitals to lead the way in this innovative solution towards maternal health.

And it's it's so good when Arkansas is leading the way in and behind.

So ladies, what are your last words that you'd like to leave the audience with today?

Yeah, I would just say that, you know, for moms reach out and get the support that you need.

And don't be afraid to bring your questions and your concerns to your clinical team.

And a doula can really be a great way to help you figure out what do I need to ask?

How do I digest this information?

It may not.

It may be medical jargon that I don't understand.

And so with the expansion of access to doulas, more doulas in Arkansas, more coverage for doulas coming in.

I just encourage moms to do that research in their community and see if a doula is right for you and can really help you along this journey, whether it's your first baby or your fifth baby.

There's so many benefits.

Love it.

I would say, as we continue to try to roll out the toolkit to other birthing hospitals across the state clinicians, nurses, birth workers, they don't have to wait on the toolkit.

It is available online.

They can look at it, download it and get this information.

Really reach out.

I would say for doulas, reach out to hospitals and start the conversation.

For nurses and labor and delivery units.

Reach out to doulas and start the conversation.

We can start doing this, you know, as we continue to roll out formally these toolkits throughout the state.

But we can start on this work today.

Everyone has a very important skill to bring to the table, and we are only stronger when we work together.

And so I think it's really important that we all take ownership in improving maternal and infant outcomes and really work to collaborate.

Starting.

Starting today.

Agreed?

Agreed.

What a great conversation, ladies.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you, Hannah and Whitney, for joining us for this important conversation.

Please stay tuned.

Coming up, we'll hear from a group of sister friends helping to build support systems for expectant mothers and families across the state.

Welcome back.

Joining me are three ladies that are connecting mothers and families with the necessary resources to assist and guide them on their maternity journey and path to motherhood.

Please welcome Felicia Fletcher, a sister friend of Russellville, Arkansas.

Stacy Armstrong, branch manager of the Russellville Hub for the Arkansas Birthing Project.

And back with us is Sylvia Halliburton, founder and CEO of Arkansas Birthing Partners and Family Power Hub, which serves under the umbrella of the Arkansas Birthing Project.

Welcome, ladies.

It is so good to have you on the panel today.

Cynthia, I'm going to Sylvia, I'm going to start with you.

Tell me a little bit more about the Arkansas Birthing Project and how it's helping in the communities, in our rural communities.

So Arkansas Birthing Project, I'm going to give you a little history.

It started over 30 years ago with doctor, doctor Catherine Tullio Hall.

But it's in this day.

It's led by Doctor Zenobia Harris.

And Doctor Zenobia Harris is leading us very well.

Not only is she training sister friends, which are the big sisters to the Little Sisters and the little sisters, our pregnant moms, we go to the homes and make the phone calls to make sure that they are being taken care of.

They're having they have the necessities that that is needed throughout their pregnancy.

If they need someone to go to their doctor, visit with them.

If they need to assist with transportation.

We don't provide money, but we do provide quality service and Arkansas Birthing Project.

I tell doctors this all the time and doctor Z is Doctor Zenobia Harris.

I tell her all the time the service that we give that is given through the Arkansas Birthing Project.

It cannot be.

There's not a price you can put on it, because these are women who are coming in, working from their heart with compassion.

Yes.

So tell us about your role though as branch manager.

So Stacy is a branch manager and doctor Z has put me in charge a bunch leader.

And what I do is create a birthing projects across the across the state in different counties.

So Stacy was my latest, and I knew she would be perfect for the project because she's an outgoing person, she's a loving mother, a loving wife, and she support other women and she enjoys doing it.

So now we have created we have birthing projects in multiple counties.

We have birthing projects in Woodruff, Monroe, Lee, all throughout the Delta.

And we're building even more birthing projects because it's needed.

And we use women and families and volunteers within our communities.

So you're pulling everybody?

Yes, everybody.

It takes the village police are just said it takes a village, and it does so.

Stacy, tell us about your role.

You're a branch leader there in Polk County, I believe.

And so what does all that entail?

Yes, Polk County, Yale County and Johnson County.

Wow.

I do a lot of facilitating through my sister friends.

Let's say lady comes in and she has a client that is having a baby and she needs assistance for it.

As the assistance goes through, she gets a sister friend.

We connect her to somebody that has the passion and the love that she probably needs at that time.

This hits home really for me, considering what is going on in the world today.

We need someone to always facilitate what people need.

Where are the leading posts?

Sometime?

The dual moms are just a godsend when we look at that.

Because there for the moms.

Sometime when the mother goes to the doctor with the sister friends, they don't have a voice at times, they don't have a way to really communicate with the doctors, and no sister friends are allowed to take them to doctor's appointments and help.

As a branch manager, I facilitate some of that when they called me, I just connect them to where they need to be.

Sometimes it's a great fit and sometimes the puzzle doesn't fit.

And so we try to make sure that puzzle is together and help the mom.

And that's so important, isn't it?

So can you tell me, Felicia, what is the sister friend network?

What?

What do you guys do to support mothers and families?

We are the boots on the ground, so to speak.

We are the ones who go into the homes and do the work.

We support the mothers in whatever they need, whether it's help with paperwork, whether it is just someone to listen, sit with the baby, get supplies, diapers.

I go to the branch manager and Kate, if we need to go to doctor's appointments, really anything that they need to to be successful.

And we're there to make sure that they are seen in.

They are heard.

Yes.

Powerful.

Now, Stacy, you're also a realtor, am I correct?

No.

I used to own a salon.

No, no, I used to own a salon and had a day spa in Russellville, Arkansas.

Okay, okay, so dealing with the public I saw when I became a, I was first a sister friend, and then I became a branch manager.

Doctor Z, she called one day and said, I think that I need you.

And I said, I, I love what I'm doing.

I don't want to leave my sister friend and till she has the baby.

And then I connected her with Sylvia with the doodle program, and we started just branching out.

And that's how I decided to ask Felicia one day at church, would she be a part of this?

Because I needed more sister friends.

I was getting more babies than I had sister friends.

And so I called doctors Z that we called her doctor Z. I called her and I said, listen, I think I'm getting more babies than I'm getting sisters.

I have to start going out to recruit.

And so she came to Russellville and visit with us, and we just got on board like she said, boots on the ground.

And we have just been helping mothers.

We have a new thing in Russellville now that we have a Spanish speaking, yes, a Spanish speaking interpreter.

And we are very excited about that because now we can go.

When Johnson, when you had Johnson County, I had young ladies calling me, and I would have to translate it over on my phone.

And so now this is took that away that she helps with a lot of that.

So we're just helping all the way that we can with the mother.

From car seats to pack in place to breast pumps, we're trying to facilitate anything a mother needs.

And you know, when we look at the mothers out in the community, they are a gift to us.

When they start having babies, that is going to be our community later on that we can look at and say, hey, we poured into them.

We give them something that they need.

We love on them.

We love on the mom.

We have a new program now for the men.

See if you can.

You can you back off for something that you said they said about all the items?

It's not about all the items that we also provide for the moms.

We also educate them with different, different classes.

And that helps moms as well.

And we involve our moms in things not just strictly based on the needs of going through your pregnancy, but what are some of the things you like?

Do you like crafting?

Do you like painting?

What are some of the things that you like?

And we hold those cackling conversations over crafting, making purses or knitting, crocheting or whatever we're doing because that brings that trust level closer.

And that's what we want.

We want to know that we're not only care about you understanding how to take care of yourself and your baby, but we want you to know that we care about the things that you love to do as well.

We also let, as Stacey was saying about the Fatherhood Initiative, we have two organizations that we're working with.

One is with Calvin.

Yes, we work with him and Winds of Kings, Kings of Kings.

And we're working with also Bridging the Gap with Pastor Stanley Barnes.

And he he was like, well, you have me traveling everywhere.

And I was like, well, you got to go.

So I love that because we need to connect our young men to these type of programs, because everything that we were taught when we were young, it wasn't the bad, it wasn't some of it wasn't the best.

It just allowed us to just make do.

And now we want to do better than just make do.

We want our young men to understand that pregnancy is not just about mom, it's about you as well.

So what are some of the biggest needs?

Oh well, education basically is the biggest need of and being authentic with that, being non-judgmental.

You know, your action speaks before you even open your mouth.

And a lot of times we look when we look at when people come into the communities and they're they're not used to.

It's not that they're judging, but they're not used to seeing traveling a dirt road into a field with an older home.

They're not used to seeing that.

And as a mom, translate that as you think you're better than.

So just being compassionate and understanding to the communities that you're serving.

And as I spoke with Candace Candace Williams of Rural Community Alliance, she stated, she said, Sylvia, if we could just get somebody to come to our community and I said, we'll be there, we will be there.

And so with Arkansas Birthing Project and Arkansas Power Hub Arkansas partners, we go in and we take care of our moms.

And not only do we teach them how to take care of themselves, we provide the equipment for as blood pressure.

We're trying to prevent pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, so we provide them with blood pressure cuffs.

We provide them with healthy meals.

And I'm so excited to say our newest partner is Sunlight Farms, who provide healthy meals and not just helped the meals, but education classes.

And they'll also be providing different things for our moms, teaching them how to cook healthier meals the way they like them, how they like them season, and things like that.

So real quickly, how can one become a sister friend?

Oh, just go on to the website.

Arkansas birthing Partners.

Go on to the web.

I mean, sorry, Arkansas Birthing Project and sign up to be a sister friend.

You have them all across.

I know the delta of Arkansas.

You have them in Russellville.

We're we're promoting them to be across the state because we know the impact that it makes on a family that it has on a family.

Here's the thing that I love, and I know we got to go real quick.

Yes.

The thing that I love about being a sister friend, it's all done out of love.

When you show up is speaks volumes.

And these women, the families, the ministers, they are showing up.

Thank you so much.

Once again, it has been a joy having you on the panel.

I believe our audience are able they're able to take in what we've been talking about.

And who knows, you may get some new sister friends we love.

Yes.

Well, thanks to all of our guests for sharing their expertise and for the work they do to support mothers, babies and families.

Thanks for watching Arkansas Week and I'll see you next time.