Connecticut webinar spotlights racial disparities in maternal health and policy levers to expand doula care

Elena Truworthy, deputy commissioner at the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, convened a webinar titled “Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do you care?” that brought community leaders, clinicians and advocates together to discuss racial disparities in maternal health.

Keynote speaker Ayesha Clark, executive director of Health Equity Solutions, recounted a personal birth experience in which she said staff initially doubted she was in active labor until she insisted she belonged in the hospital. Clark used the story to argue that Black women are often not heard or seen in clinical settings and to frame maternal outcomes as a racial-justice issue.

Clark and panelists pointed to data and concrete policy levers. Clark noted that Medicaid covers “two-thirds of births among Black and Indigenous people in the United States” and said only about 6 percent of birthing people receive doula care nationally. She described Health Equity Solutions’ role as convening the Black Maternal Health Initiative and working with partners — including community doula groups — to expand doula access, strengthen the local birthing workforce and inform state policy.

Panelists described recent work to integrate doulas into Connecticut’s Medicaid maternity programs. Clark said HES partnered with Husky Health and a ‘primary maternity care’ team to run six focus groups (about 72 participants including clinicians and doulas) to help include doula services in the Husky maternity bundle. Clark also said HES is participating on a Department of Public Health review committee monitoring a still-in-development doula certification process.

Clinicians on the panel urged a two-part approach: treat the medical conditions that cause maternal mortality (cardiovascular disease, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, hemorrhage, infection) while also addressing structural drivers such as chronic stress, lack of access to healthy food and under-resourced neighborhoods. “Stress impacts how severe your heart disease is going to be,” said Dr. Leonora Williams, describing how lifelong exposures worsen outcomes.

Speakers recommended targeted, data-driven policy responses rather than a colorblind approach. “The facts are the facts,” said Jennifer Wilder, an OEC prevention-services coordinator who has worked to pilot doula services in home-visiting programs. Panelists argued that recognizing which groups face higher risk allows for tailored solutions — for example, reimbursement policies that would make doula work financially sustainable and expand a diverse perinatal workforce.

The webinar closed with a call for continued community engagement, monitoring of policy implementation, and sustained work to make perinatal care culturally responsive. Truworthy urged attendees to take action locally and to use the resources and networks discussed to amplify Black families’ perinatal needs.

The session included references to research partnerships funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and collaboration with state agencies; officials said participants and community voices must remain central as policies proceed. The webinar recording and supporting materials (slides, a perinatal bill of rights) were made available by organizers.