“I want Black women to live for their children’s first birthdays, and every other birthday after that. It’s not enough to not die. I want us to birth with joy. I want us to have magical experiences.”
— Jazmin Rivera, managing director, BRICK Education Network
South Ward Healthy Beginnings (SWHB) in Newark, NJ, provides high-quality maternity care, helps families prepare their children for kindergarten, and creates career pathways in maternal health. This innovative organization, part of the South Ward Promise Neighborhood, aims to train and increase the number of community doulas in Newark’s South Ward.
Recognizing that many doula training programs don’t adequately prepare their graduates to support Black and Brown parents, SWHB developed a custom, enhanced doula training. It includes such community health worker components as instruction on lactation, childbirth education, and other public health concepts. Graduates earn a multidisciplinary Community Perinatal Health Associate (CPHA) credential.
The program will put into the community more maternity care providers and other perinatal health workers who offer culturally aligned support to parents, helping families navigate complex systems and improving the health of mothers and babies.
SWHB also is exploring increased reimbursement for doulas to reflect the quality of care they provide and their newly gained skills and expertise. Higher wages help doulas remain in their profession, increasing the availability of care in the community.
The need
Health disparities inequitably affect mothers and babies of color: Black mothers die from pregnancy or childbirth complications at 3.3 times the rate of white mothers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These deaths are preventable.
Additionally, the South Ward and surrounding area don’t have enough primary care physicians to serve residents, leading to dependence upon emergency room use. Some 77% of South Ward residents visit a hospital emergency room at least once a year for medical care. But relying on the nearest ER for treatment can’t provide the ongoing care needed to address basic health needs.
Maternal mortality in New Jersey is nearly twice the national average.
Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth complications than white women.
In the Lower Clinton Hill section of the South Ward, 44% of all residents and 75% of children under 5 live below the Federal Poverty Level.
At 12%, Essex County has one of New Jersey’s highest rates of Medicaid preterm births.
The benefit
Doula-assisted mothers and their babies are twice as likely as others to avoid a birth complication. And involvement with a doula has consistently been found to help improve health for mothers and families nationwide.
The South Ward program is offered in coordination with University Hospital and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and is grounded in the nationally recognized HealthConnect One curriculum for community-based doulas.
In January of 2025, the program graduated its first cohort of 13 CPHA credentialed doulas.
I’m very excited that I’m part of the first cohort. That means a lot to me, knowing that I can lead the way with my intention of giving back to the women of this community and being an advocate for healthy choices and healthy beginnings.
– Lenise Wills, participant in the South Ward Healthy Beginning Community Perinatal Health Associate Training Program
