A growing share of Americans, especially in rural areas, are losing access to reproductive health care. At the same time, American women are dying during or after pregnancy at higher rates than in any other high-income country.

As a result, many U.S. health care providers and policymakers are looking for ways to improve maternal care.

We believe doulas – care workers who provide nonmedical support before and during pregnancy, labor, birth and the postpartum period – may be a part of the solution.

We are a physician-researcher specializing in high-risk pregnancies and breastfeeding and a Ph.D. candidate in sociology focused on reproductive health and health care disparities.

As hospitals adopt more favorable policies and states expand insurance coverage for doula services, doulas are becoming part of the mainstream U.S. maternal health system.

But there are still significant barriers to access, including awareness, costs and challenges to full partnership with doulas in hospitals.

Pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period are vulnerable times, and many parents-to-be and new parents find it can be difficult to navigate. Doulas advocate for their clients, helping them voice what they need. They can also help address mistreatment and guide them to appropriate resources.

Doulas do not perform clinical tasks, such as giving medical advice, making medical decisions, providing prescriptions or delivering babies. Rather, they provide nonmedical support. This will look different depending on the type of doula parents hire.

Fertility doulas assist people who are trying to get pregnant. They offer emotional support throughout the fertility journey, complementing the medical care, diagnostics and interventions provided by fertility doctors.

During pregnancy and labor, birth doulas help their clients identify normal symptoms and those that may be

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