Maternal mortality is a silent public health crisis in the United States. The CDC has determined that four in five pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable. Reducing these shameful rates requires a reduction in health disparities and access to high quality care. While there is a plethora of health disparities experienced at the national, state, and local levels, there is simultaneously reliable research showing that community-based doula and midwifery care is a high-value care model that improves childbirth outcomes, increases care quality, and holds the potential to achieve cost savings in all perinatal care.

Community based care recognizes that doulas and midwives can shift the birthing experience in ways that qualitatively and quantitatively improve health outcomes by interrupting the structures and too common procedures that under-resource and harm. The project goal is to conduct applied community engaged research in partnership with community-based organizations to assess the impact of a mobile and household-centered care model for improving maternal health outcomes and experiences in Miami, FL.