Next month, Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, will expand health insurance coverage nationwide for employees who request the services of a doula, a person trained to help pregnant women.
NEW YORK — Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, next month will expand health insurance coverage nationwide for employees who request the services of trained doulas to help pregnant women.
The coverage was first offered to Walmart employees in Georgia in 2021, and then last year the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter extended similar benefits to employees in Louisiana, Indiana, and Illinois. provided. The exception is Hawaii, which Walmart said has unique health benefits.
Walmart said the program, which launches nationwide on November 1, will address racial inequities in health care and improve the maternal and child health of employees and their infants, especially in communities with limited access to care. He said the aim is to improve. Doulas are trained professionals and must receive a certificate of competency from the National Black Doula Association or DONA International.
“As the situation evolves and we emerge from COVID-19, maternal care may not always be available or additional support may be needed,” said Lisa Woods, vice president of physical and mental health at Walmart. “We continue to see gaps where there is a need.”
Woods declined to say how many Walmart employees have participated in the program so far, noting that the biggest challenge has been educating employees about what doulas actually do. The company plans to further promote the service and include coverage expansion in this year’s annual health insurance enrollment materials.
Expanding doula benefits will help more than 5.6 million women, according to a new report from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating preventable maternal health risks and deaths. indicated that they live in counties with limited or no access to obstetric care. We provide services and inspire families to find new ways to get the care they need. The loss of hospital maternity wards is responsible for decreased access to obstetric care in nearly 1 in 10 counties nationwide, according to the report.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, primarily due to disparities in the quality of health care, underlying chronic conditions, and structural disorders. This is due to speciesism.
According to the National Black Doula Association, hiring doulas as part of the birth team can reduce C-sections by 50%, shorten labor times by 25%, and reduce the need for other medical interventions by more than half.
Employees enrolled in Walmart’s health plan can receive support from a doula for up to $1,000 per pregnancy. The company has already introduced a “Life with Baby” program, which provides free resources such as one-on-one coaching from a nurse, tools to track her daily progress, and gifts for newborns.
Other major U.S. companies, including CVS Health and Microsoft, also offer full or partial doula services for their employees.
Tracy Collins, president and founder of the National Black Doula Association, said Walmart’s move to expand the program nationwide increases the momentum for using doula services to address racial inequities in maternal and child care. pointed out that it could be useful.
“We’re seeing major companies expressing interest in wanting to work with the (National Association of Black Doulas) in terms of supporting Black businesses and Black and brown businesses, and they’re not following through on that,” Collins said. said.
Jillian Bowman, a 28-year-old mother of a 17-month-old boy from Clarksville, Georgia, works as an hourly optician at a Wal-Mart store near Clayton, Georgia, but is dissatisfied with her doula services. , I turned to doula services. Her care at her local obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Bowman has gestational diabetes and was told she would need a Caesarean section, which would require a longer recovery period. During her third trimester, Bowman consulted a doula and was able to receive services through her Walmart insurance plan. A doula guided her through her pregnancy.
She credited her doula with allowing her to give birth naturally at a local hospital.
“I didn’t get a lot of attention from the medical team there,” she said. “But having her there and preparing me for all of that made me feel more confident going into everything.”
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