After first offering doulas to employees in Georgia last year, the nation’s largest retailer said Wednesday that it will expand the same benefit to its employees in Louisiana, Indiana and Illinois.
Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, largely due to differences in the quality of health care, underlying chronic conditions and structural racism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Employing a doula as a part of a birthing team decreases C-sections by 50%, shortens the time of labor by 25% and decreases the need for other medical interventions by more than 50%, according to the National Black Doulas Association.
Walmart said it chose to extend coverage to Louisiana, Indiana and Illinois because of the potential for instant impact for employees who live in those three states. The company said that in Louisiana, the mortality rate is five times higher for Black mothers than it is for white mothers. Walmart said that in Indiana, 33 counties don’t have OB-GYN services.