Sentara strengthens relationship with community birth workers to improve maternal health

At 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning, laughter filled the entrance to the Raleigh Building at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. 

Sentara Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Amber Price was reenacting a comedic experience she had as a certified nurse midwife for a group of students and teachers from the Doula Association of Virginia. 

“She is a breath of fresh air. She gets what we’re going through. She could finish my sentences,” said Nataki Hill, president and founder of the Doula Association of Virginia. 

Price, Hill, and others had gathered for “Uniting for Maternal Health: Clinical and Community Collaboration,” a conference hosted by the American Heart Association.

Seventy-five community leaders, doulas, and physicians came together to speak about hypertension, postpartum care, and maternal health advocacy, with the goal of tackling one of Virginia’s most urgent health crises: maternal mortality.  

Community leaders, birth workers, and clinicians joined together for an important conversation about maternal health.

The conference aimed to strengthen collaboration between doulas and medical staff. Doulas are birth workers who provide emotional, non-medical support to moms before, during, and after pregnancy. They also build essential trust between moms and hospital staff.

“There are so many things that can happen during pregnancy. There’s hypertensive disorder, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes,” said Briana Ricks, community impact director with American Heart Association – Hampton Roads. “We are arming people with the knowledge they need to take more preventative measures before they get pregnant as well as during their pregnancy.” 

According to a Virginia state report on maternal mortality, the Hampton Roads region has the second highest rate of maternal mortality in the state, with 33% of the deaths occurring between 43 days and 365 days after the end of the pregnancy. In Virginia, heart disease is the #1 killer of new moms.

Though only 6% of United States births involved doula services, research has found that doula-involved births lead to better maternal and infant health outcomes, including reduced cesarean rates and improved breastfeeding. 

Price, a former doula herself, gave doula students a tour of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital’s family maternity center, which is comprised of antepartum, labor and delivery, postpartum, and post-anesthesia care units. 

“Being able to show them the spaces is a big deal. When the doulas come here with their clients, we want them to feel part of the team,” said Teresita Hammond, patient experience and community outreach coordinator at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. “We all have the same goal and that’s to have a healthy mom and baby.” 

Price (sitting), Hammond (left of Price), and Hill (blue shirt) tour the family maternity center.

Price explained there can often be miscommunication between doulas and medical staff because their level of involvement is so different. As part of the conference, Price joined a panel of experts who discussed how to improve our current health system. 

“A hospital clinician sees a mom for 72 hours out of her two-year journey of pregnancy, whereas a doula is by the side of the mother throughout,” said Price, who has over 38 years’ experience in women’s health. 

“We have to open our doors to everyone so doulas can better understand the acute-care setting and what our clinicians experience, and our clinicians can understand the trust and emotional bond that doulas form with the mom.”

Hill, who founded the Doula Association of Virginia at the start of the year, said in her 19 years of being a community birth worker, she’s never experienced anything like this. 

“For us to have direct access to Sentara’s chief nursing officer is incredible. We felt comfortable with her because she’s a doula, we could tell her about our experiences, good and bad, and she listened,” said Hill.  

Price (left), shows Hill (middle), and Davida Davis-Hill, certified community health worker, an excerpt from a book she co-authored called ‘Simkin’s Labor Progress Handbook.’

Dana Weston Graves, senior vice president and acute care market president for Sentara’s Southeast Market-Norfolk, said bold, out-of-the-box, collaborations like this move the needle.

“All members of the care team have to be seen as vitally important if we are going to make a meaningful impact on maternal mortality. For many, the idea of a doula becoming a system chief nursing officer is still unheard of,” said Weston Graves.

“The fact that we have someone like Amber laughing and connecting with community health workers builds invaluable trust. And trust is the first building block to saving lives.” 

In 2024, when Price was president of Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, she started a Birth Doula Training Program. It’s a day-long course during which doulas talk with anesthesiologists, learn the layout of the labor and delivery unit, and undergo training. At the end of the course, they get a Sentara badge that identifies them as a doula.

“They are certified to attend births in the operating room, stay during spinal and epidural placement, and work as part of our team,” said Price. “We currently have this at Sentara Williamsburg and will be rolling it out to the other Sentara hospitals.” 

Click here to learn more about Sentara’s maternity services and watch coverage of the maternal health conference.