everyone deserves doula care.

A common misconception and criticism about doula care is that it is very expensive and thus only accessible for those with disposable income. Doula care is essential for just, empowered reproductive healthcare and should be accessible to everyone regardless of financial means. There are numerous birthworkers and organizations striving to remedy this inequity and provide services for everyone.

Birthwork is sacred work and doulas deserve to be justly compensated for their work. However, this expense need not always be paid for by the family receiving the services. If you or someone you know is looking for affordable or free-of-cost doula services, please contact me and/or see the organizations below.

free-of-cost* community doula care

  • The Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program (DAFGP) provides grants to increase access to full spectrum doula services for Indigenous families residing in BC (on and off reserve).

    Doulas can provide support to people during the full spectrum of pregnancy and beyond – from conception, to miscarriages, stillbirths, abortion, births, the postnatal period, and everything in between.

    The grant program provides Indigenous families living in BC up to $1,200.00 (maximum) of coverage for full spectrum doula support with each pregnancy.

    To apply for the doula grant, please complete the Family application form by first entering in your doula’s email address and your own, where prompted. If you do not have a doula, you will need to find one before starting on the application.

    Other resources provided by BCAAFC can be found here.

  • The Birth Doula Program (short term) currently serves Immigrant, Refugee or African American/Black (non-immigrant or refugee) communities. 

    REQUIRED CRITERIA (MUST MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS):

    • 29 weeks or 7 months of pregnancy or more

    • Medicaid, WIC, Public Health Nursing (PHN) or DSHS benefits recipient

    • King County or Peirce County Resident

    • Immigrant or Refugee or African American/Black (non-immigrant or refugee)

    • Willing to commit to be in the program from about the third trimester till two months postpartum

    ADDITIONAL CRITERIA (DOES NOT HAVE TO MEET ALL):

    • High-risk pregnancy

    • Domestic Violence victims

    • Limited to No additional family support

    • Attempting to have a Vaginal birth after cesarean

    WHAT LANGUAGE(S) ARE AVAILABLE?

    • Somali

    • Amharic

    • Tigrinya

    • Arabic

    • Oromo

    • Spanish

    • Dari

    • Farsi

    • Pashto

    • English

    How are Birth Doulas matched?
    Pregnant individuals will be matched based on language, religious, ethnic and/or personal preferences.

    How long are services for the Birth Doula program?
    Birth Doulas will provide a total 7 visits. This includes 2 Prenatal visits, 1 Labor & Birth support visit, 2 Postpartum visits and 2 Internal GPS Visits (Childbirth Education Class and Lactation Support).

     Where will visits take place?

    GPS Birth doulas are providing prenatal and postnatal visits virtually (call or video sharing) until further notice due to COVID-19. However, Birth Doulas will be with you in person for Labor & Birth support.

     How much does it cost?
    All doula services are free of charge to those who meet the required criteria. Medicaid information (ex. Provider One # and/or Member ID #) will be collected but GPS will NOT bill or charge your insurance.

     If you are able to make a donation to support our GPS, we would greatly appreciate it!

    TO REQUEST A DOULA OR INQUIRE ABOUT OUR BIRTH DOULA PROGRAM:

    The Community-Based Doula program (long term) currently serves the Somali Community.

     REQUIRED CRITERIA (MUST MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS):

    • 28 weeks or 6 months of pregnancy or less

    • Medicaid, WIC, Public Health Nursing (PHN) or DSHS benefits recipient

    • King County Resident

    • Somali

    • Willing to commit to be in the program for up to a year after the birth with monthly communication with doula

     ADDITIONAL CRITERIA (DOES NOT HAVE TO MEET ALL):

    • High-risk pregnancy

    • Domestic Violence victims

    • Limited to No additional family support

    • Attempting to have a Vaginal birth after cesarean

    WHAT LANGUAGE(S) ARE AVAILABLE?

    Our two Community-Based Doulas currently serves the Somali speaking community.

     Where will visits take place?

    GPS Birth doulas are providing prenatal and postnatal visits virtually (call or video sharing) until further notice due to COVID-19. However, Community-Based Doulas will be with you in person for Labor & Birth support.

     How long are services for the Community-Based Doulas program?
    Community-Based Doulas will provide a 2 monthly visits with the client up until a year of birth.

     How much does it cost?
    All doula services are free of charge to those who meet the required criteria. Medicaid information (ex. Provider One # and/or Member ID #) will be collected but GPS will NOT bill or charge your insurance.

     If you are able to make a donation to support our GPS, we would greatly appreciate it!

     TO REQUEST A DOULA OR INQUIRE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY- BASED DOULA PROGRAM:

  • Hummingbird Indigenous BirthKeepers is a culturally responsive, full spectrum, Indigenous doula program providing free-of-cost services to pregnant people who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AI/AN/NH/PI) living in King County.

    We also provide family planning support and perinatal education through culturally relevant doula care, thereby reducing the personal, cultural, and systemic barriers that disproportionately affect Indigenous parents while strengthening the bond between parents and connections to the community.

    Indigenous BirthKeeper Full Spectrum Services: Prenatal, postpartum, pregnancy loss, and abortion care

    • Prenatal Care

    • Labor and Birth Support

    • Postpartum Care

    • Indigenous Lactation Counseling

    • Choice Counseling, Abortion Care, Pregnancy Loss and Family Planning

    • Perinatal Peer Counseling Support

  • Indigenous Women Rising is committed to honoring Native & Indigenous People’s inherent right to equitable and culturally safe health options through accessible health education, resources and advocacy.

    Emergence Fund

    Midwives and doulas are traditional.

    The time is now- too often, Indigenous people are not provided adequate, quality, or culturally sensitive care in a hospital setting. We know midwives and doulas provide quality care but can be out of reach for many of our relatives, and we are able to help pregnant Indigenous people pay for their midwifery care while also helping sustain providers.​

    Our Emergence Fund is open to all Native and Indigenous people in the United States who are pregnant and seeking funding for the following to support their pregnancy or birth journey: midwifery or doula services, breast/chest feeding support, supplies for your growing family, placenta encapsulation, herbal support or traditional medicine.

    Apply here

  • JustBirth Space offers free virtual perinatal support to individuals worldwide over the course of pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum, and beyond. We are committed to providing a free, virtual space during pregnancy, labor and birth, and postpartum, lactation and infant feeding support. Our services are rooted in reproductive justice and aim to center the experiences of BIPOC individuals, affirm LGBTQIA2+ communities, and support all women, birthing people, and families on their journeys.

    JustBirth Space specialists are available for support and respond to your messages between 8am and 10pm EST. Depending on how many people we are supporting, it may take us time to get back to you, but we hope to connect with you as quickly as possible.

    Ask us questions about:

    Labor and birth (we offer free text support in real-time)

    Connecting with other pregnant people, new families, and community support

    Resources on your rights during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum

    COVID-19 (impact on pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and long COVID management)

    Navigating insurance and Medicaid

    Access to local social services (WIC, SNAP, employment, housing, community resources)

    Resources on maternal mental health, postpartum blues, and anxiety

    Birth setting and provider options (midwives, birth centers, home births)

    Finding providers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and LGBTQIA+ inclusive and affirming

    We provide 3 Circles of Care:

    TextConnect

    Immediate answers to any questions you might have about maternity care.

    For examples of the types of questions you can ask, see below.

    WeConnect

    Phone or video support for in-depth prenatal and postpartum care.

    If you would like more in-depth care, we can connect you to a phone or video session with one of our JustBirth Space Connectors. Text to set up a WeConnect session.

    CommunityConnect

    Ongoing weekly group prenatal, postpartum, and parenting/perinatal mental health support groups.

    Join a class or a peer support group to learn and build community. Text us to sign up.

    Find a schedule of upcoming CommunityConnect sessions and to register, please visit our Support Groups and Classes page.

    To connect with us, text 646-681-1648.

    By texting us, you agree to the following terms of service: (1) JustBirth Space is NOT a medical service and does NOT offer any kind of diagnosis or treatment. If you are concerned about your health, please call your healthcare provider or seek emergency medical services. (2) Your responses are completely confidential.

  • Open Arms Perinatal Services supports Birthing People through Pregnancy, Birth, the Postnatal Period, and Early Childhood. Free of Cost.

    Open Arms’ doulas are trusted members of the communities they serve and are intermediaries between the health care and social services systems, helping to ensure that services are provided in a culturally appropriate way. Our ethnically diverse and multilingual doulas receive extensive training through established local training and certification programs.

  • Doula services at Swedish are tailored to meet your needs whether you are an expecting or new parent. To start the process of hiring a doula or to find out more information, please fill out our intake form, or call our office at 206-215-6106 and our coordinator will be in touch with you shortly.

    We are able to provide free doula support to a limited number of low income birthing people each month. Active enrollment in Medicaid/Molina/Apple Health is required to be eligible. To inquire about free doula care, please complete our request form.

Doulas For All Coalition (WA)

Doulas For All is a Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (QTBIPOC) led coalition by Surge Reproductive Justice toward Medicaid reimbursements for birth doulas. During the 2022 Washington State legislative session, the coalition wrote, lobbied, and passed ESHB 1881 - a bill to establish birth doulas as a profession in Washington state, making the reimbursements possible.

The 2024 Washington State budget has set the reimbursement rate for state-certified doulas providing services to pregnant people enrolled in Medicaid at $3,500, the highest in the nation. The budget also included an additional $200,000 to create a doula hub and referral system to support the roll-out throughout the state.

Washington is now on its way to joining twelve other states and Washington, D.C., in actively providing coverage for doula services through public health insurance. In 2022, Washington passed HB 1881, which created a new profession for doulas within the State’s Department of Health (DOH).

With a tentative start date of January 2025, doula care will be more accessible to families. I am in the process of earning my Washington State Doula Certification so that I can offer my services through this program. Stay tuned for more updates as next year approaches!