What a doula does, and why it matters.

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If you're pregnant and someone offers you a doula, say yes. Here's what a doula actually does, and why that support can change everything.

Doula care through every birth

A doula is your person

A doula is a trained support person who stays with you through pregnancy, birth, and the weeks after. A doula is not a doctor and doesn't deliver your baby. Instead, a doula does something just as important: makes sure you're never alone in the process.

• During pregnancy: answers your questions, helps you get to appointments, and helps you make a plan for the big day.
• During birth: stays by your side, helps you understand what's happening, and speaks up for what you want.
• After birth: checks on you at home, helps with feeding and sleep, and watches for the warning signs that are easy to miss in those exhausting first weeks.

Why it matters in Illinois

The Illinois Department of Public Health found that 91% of pregnancy-related deaths in 2021 to 2022 were potentially preventable, and that Black women in Illinois face twice the pregnancy-related mortality of white women. Behind most of those numbers is the same story: care that started too late, or support that fell away after the baby came.

A doula is one of the simplest ways to close that distance. Someone who knows you, checks on you, and gets you to the right care at the right time.

Where Prism comes in

Prism runs the doula and maternal health program at Cook County Health's Stroger Hospital, the only 24/7 doula team in Illinois. Our community doulas carry that same care into neighborhoods across the state: at WIC offices, community centers, and summer health fairs.

How to connect with us

Come find our maternal health team at any Prism event, where most services are free, and you can just walk up and ask your questions. We speak English and Spanish, and we can arrange other languages.