Cook County Health is tackling those disparities head-on through a growing doula program designed to support mothers throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
Cook County Health says it's not asking expectant mothers to find their own doulas. It's bringing doulas inside the hospital. By hiring them as part of the medical team, leaders say they're rebuilding trust, improving birth outcomes and helping rewrite the story for moms of color.
There was a time Brittany Morris worried she might never hear her now 4-year-old son Zarre laugh.
"My husband had actually kept a video running around his birth because he was concerned that something might happen where it would be our word against theirs," Morris said.
When Morris delivered her first child, a doula was out of reach, costing anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500.
But for her most recent pregnancy, she had something she never had before: a doula by her side at no cost.
"It just felt like a team," Morris said. "It felt like we had already coordinated things, even though she was just meeting me. So that felt amazing."
Two years ago, Cook County Health invested $1 million to launch its free doula program.
Ten doulas have helped more than 340 patients navigate pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum support.
"One of the moms was very adamant that she was going to do a home birth," Cook County Health Program Director Christina Urbina said.
Urbina said the program changed her mind because she delivered at the hospital instead.
"We know that it reduces anxiety and stress," Urbina said.
And for many, it helps rebuild trust in a healthcare system that hasn't always earned it.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes during childbirth and six times more likely to die in the year after giving birth. Many more walk away carrying the trauma of the experience.
"I had a terminated pregnancy," Cook County Health doula Nefertiti Ferguson said. "I did feel very much so alone. When I got the opportunity to become a doula, it was like no questions asked."
For Ferguson, the job is about more than advocating for patients. It's about bridging the gap between patients and providers.
"I can tell when the nurse is tired. I can tell when the anesthesiologist is anxious," Ferguson said. "I'm able to try to put the pieces together so that doesn't fall back on the patient."
Visit https://cookcountyhealth.org/ for more information.