Expanding access to doula care
Our History
The Pennsylvania Doula Commission is a non-profit organization dedicated to the recognition, promotion and protection of the doula profession.
The Pennsylvania Doula Commission emerged as an organization in 2021 as Doulas and stakeholders attempted to meet with hopes of collaborating to expand doula access. In this process leaders rose to the surface to help advance Doulas efforts to provide equitable access to Doula Support, while protecting the interest of both families and Doulas across the commonwealth.
The persons that now form the Pennsylvania Doula Commission continue to act as both leaders and liaisons in collaboration with stakeholders and Government agencies who have a shared interest in uplifting the work of Doulas in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and improving the declining Maternal and Infant health rates in this state.
Our Goals
For fiscal year 2022-2023
- Financing and reimbursement policies for Doula services
- Workforce development which includes employing supportive administrative staff for the PADC
- Voluntary Statewide Certification
- Increased access to doula support
Why Us?
It takes expertise in the areas of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum support to effectively represent the needs of the diverse community of families served and Doulas alike. Agencies and organizations at times make decisions for vulnerable communities and professions without having a complete understanding of what needs to be addressed, and how. The Pennsylvania Doula Commission 's answer to this problem is to place equity at its center. We accomplish this by disrupting the status quo of simply seeking highly credentialed executives to make the core team while only tapping community members as necessary to hear their thoughts with no compensation. Instead, the Pennsylvania Doula Commission leaders honors its mission by engaging individuals who have first-hand encounters either at the provider and being a birthing person in the Commonwealth, recognizing that at times these experiences overlap making us fully equipped to accomplish our mission. The Pennsylvania Doula Commission is the first of its kind , and is poised to be a long standing beacon for Maternal and Infant Health and the Doula profession for Pennsylvania and the United States of America as the PADC work closely with State Legislators, Doctors, Nurses and Midwives who share our vision along with advising the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services to advance Maternal Health Supportive Services