With the support of the Burke Foundation, in early 2019 the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey (CHSofNJ) launched AMAR, a community-based doula program, to improve prenatal, labor, and postpartum support for Hispanic women in the City of Trenton. Now, the organization is thrilled to see the first group of trainees graduate from the program.
New Jersey has the fifth highest maternal mortality rate in the country. To address this significant challenge improving birth experiences and outcomes for mothers and babies is one component of the Burke Foundation’s broader mission to invest in early childhood initiatives that build a cycle of opportunity across generations.
Modeled on the evidence-based HealthConnect One initiative, AMAR trains trusted members of the community to become doulas: professional companions trained in pregnancy and childbirth, whose services complement the care that medical practitioners provide. These community professionals focus on the emotional and physical needs of expectant mothers, offering them vital, continuous social and educational assistance throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
Doula care results in:
- Higher scores on the Apgar test, a quick, overall assessment of newborn well-being at birth.
- Reduced likelihood of a mother having a low birth weight baby
- Decreased C-section rates
- Reduced likelihood of costly medical interventions such as epidural pain relief
- Increased connections to community supports and resources
AMAR (Apoyando Madres/Armando Redes—“Supporting Mothers, Creating Networks”) is the first program to employ Spanish-speaking women from the local area, connecting families to bilingual community resources and helping to bridge language and cultural barriers.
In addition to a rigorous 12-session training course, participants shadowed qualified doulas during home visits and attended live births. Through this exposure to a wide range of birthing situations, they developed an understanding of the varying needs of different women and learned how to best be of service to them.
As the inaugural AMAR graduates take their first steps into the field, the Burke Foundation is proud of its partnership with CHSofNJ in support of this much-needed initiative, which aims to make a lasting change and improve maternal health outcomes within the local Trenton community.
