POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Women in Polk County are training to become doulas to help make pregnancy safer for under-resourced communities.
Mother of two, Breasia Pipkin, didn’t have a positive labor experience while giving birth to her 6-month-old daughter.
“Something is wrong and you're not hearing me. So being unheard that goes into that terrible experience that you later find out that this was a complication, and that complication could very well cause death,” Pipkin said.
Having just completed a free doula training program, she hopes to be a voice for pregnant women.
“Not having that advocacy for myself is disappointing, and I don’t want that for the next mom,” Pipkin said.
Healthy Start Coalition of Hardee, Highlands and Polk Counties provided scholarships to 15 women to train to become doulas. A doula is a non-medical professional trained to give physical, emotional and informational support to mothers before, during and after childbirth.
The goal of the program is to improve maternal health outcomes by addressing factors that contribute to fetal death, infant and maternal mortality.
"Benefits are reduced C-sections, a shorter labor, helping mom advocate for herself, advocating for mom as well if you feel like she's not being heard. Physical support, better birthrates, better birth outcomes," said Amy Beascoechea, Healthy Start Coalition provider liaison, and doula mentor.
There were 63 infant deaths in Polk County in 2021, according to data from Healthy Start.
This is the second year the organization received funding to provide the free course. Newly trained doulas now have the tools to ensure mothers have a safe and rewarding birth experience.
“Birthing a baby is really something beautiful and powerful. So having that beautiful experience is something I really want to do,” Pipkin said.
