Transcription:
Paola Peralta (00:08):
Welcome to Perk Up, a podcast about workplace culture and benefits brought to you from the team at Employee Benefit News. I'm Paola Peralta, your host for season three. Well, we're now about halfway through our season on what it takes to be a parent, and today we're diving in a little deeper into the pregnancy experience and how the right healthcare can support employees who are preparing to give birth. I'm talking to senior reporter Deanna Cuadra, who spoke with the National Medical Director for Women and Children's Health at Carelon, as well as a doula with the Doula Network about what pregnant people need from their healthcare experience. Hey, Deanna, welcome to the podcast.
Deanna Cuadra (00:42):
Hey, it's good to be back.
Paola Peralta (00:44):
So we're diving into pregnancy and the birth experience today. More specifically, what it means to deal with the healthcare system here in the US when you're pregnant. And to be candid, neither of us has ever gone through this process, but I'm guessing parents could use all the help that they can get.
Deanna Cuadra (00:58):
Yes. So unfortunately, the US does have the highest maternal mortality rate among countries with comparable economies. The darker your skin, the more dangerous it is to give birth Here, according to the CDC, black women's maternal mortality rate is 2.6 times out of white women at nearly 70 deaths per a hundred thousand births. So for any parent, but especially parents of color, it could be lifesaving to have someone by your side who can help navigate the healthcare journey with you and advocate for your needs when talking to providers, and that's where doulas come in.
Paola Peralta (01:27):
This week you spoke with not only a doula, but also an obstetrician, a physician who specializes in pregnancy and childbirth.
Deanna Cuadra (01:34):
Yes, it's a great combo because these two care providers are critical to ensuring the pregnant person's experience is safe and well as comfortable as possible. I spoke with Sharon Lonix, a practicing doula, as well as the doula support pillar lead with the doula network, which helps birthing parents connect with duals across the country. I also spoke with Dr. Tiffany Inglis, the National Medical Director for Women's and Children's Health at Carelon, a healthcare service company dedicated to delivering whole person care.
Paola Peralta (01:59):
Well, like I said, as someone where this experience is a little bit further into the future for me, it's going to be really exciting to hear about the insight that this duo has for parents and employers who are hopefully looking to up their healthcare benefits game. So let's get right to it.
Deanna Cuadra (02:12):
Well, first for Sharon, I would love to ask, can you tell me a little bit about what being a doula entails? How do you help moms during pregnancy, during the birthing experience, as well as after?
Sharon Lonix (02:24):
So a doula is someone who is educated to support through education, physical and emotional needs of the client. And so before birth, it would be preparing them for their birth. So during those prenatal visits, it is preparing them, getting to know the client, seeing what they would like their birth to look like, what they want, what they don't want. If they have questions about different things that's going on, maybe they feel uncomfortable with something that their doctor said. And so we're empowering them to just speak up and ask those questions with their healthcare provider. And then during the labor, we are there to help support them physically and letting them know that this is normal, that their body is working and they're going to get through that. And then after birth, we're supporting them, making sure that they have everything that they need.
Deanna Cuadra (03:14):
And Tiffany, how do doulas and doctors work together to ensure that their birthing patients are having the safest experience possible?
Dr. Tiffany Inglis (03:25):
So traditionally, physicians, midwives, nurses, they're clinical folks, they really focus on clinical needs. And then the doulas are very socially focused. They have a much deeper lens into the home environment and family dynamic, because seeing that component that we don't always see in the clinical space, and as we learn more about this journey for people, they're very equally important. Our social health, our physical health, our behavioral health is all exceedingly important. And so as we work together and we build the bridges to bring these two units together to create a shared care team, the goal isn't really to replace one another. It's really to augment what the other one does so well. A lot of women, especially women, were at risk of disparate outcomes or poor outcomes will tell you, I didn't feel valued. I didn't feel heard, I didn't feel understood. I didn't feel like people were listening to me. So I think it's really about opening up both sides and both parts of the team and really being open to creating these new powerful relationships that can be very helpful because in the end, we all have the same goal. We all want healthy babies, healthy moms.
Deanna Cuadra (04:40):
And what are some of the common challenges you see come up for women of color as they're trying to get through what is ultimately a very dangerous or possibly deadly healthcare experience?
Sharon Lonix (04:50):
So I think it's definitely a trust issue. Women of color for generations, there have been a lack of trust on the healthcare side. There've just been things that have happened that have put that there. And so since it's taken so long to get there, it's going to take a while for us to work through that. But doulas try to work alongside healthcare providers to bridge that gap. I know that I've had clients myself who have come to me and have just been like, I don't feel like they're listening to me. Can you help me make them listen? And so it's just rehearsing with them, no, this is your body. You have a say on what goes on with your body. And you can ask them questions. You can ask them, well, can I have a reason why you want to do this? As doulas, I love to say that I advocate for clients, but also I make them their own advocates. I make sure that they feel empowered, that they can advocate for themselves
Paola Peralta (05:49):
And we'll be right back after this brief message. So it kind of sounds like you have to come prepared with dialogue for your doctors instead of just going with whatever they initially tell you.
Deanna Cuadra (06:01):
Yes. You definitely have to trust yourself to know what's best for your body, and a doula can give you the knowledge and the encouragement to take more control over your healthcare experience. It's not necessarily enough to have a robust health plan to give birth.
Paola Peralta (06:14):
But employer benefits that focus on doula access aren't really that common, are they?
Deanna Cuadra (06:19):
No, not really. We're seeing that more employers are focusing, of course on fertility benefits, paternity leave, childcare, but doulas, at least up till now have been sort of missing from the equation. But the business group on health estimates that 27% of employers are considering adding doula care to their suite of benefits in 2024 or 2025.
Paola Peralta (06:39):
So would you say that doulas and access to doula care could be an important benefit trend for employers to keep their eyes on?
Deanna Cuadra (06:47):
Definitely. It could definitely take an employer's family benefits to the next level. Doulas are still an underrated part of the healthcare industry and a benefit that helps employees connect with the doula and offers coverage for their care could set companies apart from their competitors. And we'll go ahead and get into those resources right now. How can moms find doulas? What are the costs and availability challenges that come with that process?
Dr. Tiffany Inglis (07:11):
I think we still see about 6% of the population uses a doula, so we still have very low usage. Some people are starting to see this as a healthcare benefit. So they're starting to see this whether in Medicaid or in the commercial space, they're starting to see this coverage. Then how do you find one? I would still say there's a significant doula shortage in some of our areas, especially as we get more rural.
Sharon Lonix (07:36):
People can go to the doula network.com and they could click a link where they can see all of our doulas that are with the network, and then they can put in a referral. And then once the referral comes in, then our intake team will then call them. They will see what their preferences are because what we do know is that a client has a better outcome when they feel like they were supported by someone that they felt comfortable with. So whether that's race, religion, gender, whatever that is, we try to make sure that the client has the doula that fits their needs.
Deanna Cuadra (08:15):
Why would it be incredibly vital to working parents or to aspiring working parents for employers to include a benefit that would give access to doula care?
Dr. Tiffany Inglis (08:28):
I think what we see and what the research shows is over and over again, this benefit can help improve outcomes for all and closes disparity gaps, especially for our black moms. And we also see a reduction in postpartum depression and anxiety for our families and our moms especially. And so as you think about adding this as a benefit, what we see is that we're improving outcomes for all. We're reducing disparities in a population that we know have a two to three times higher rate of many of these things. And we're really starting down that path of meeting families in this space where this social support building trust back into their experience from a healthcare community perspective is so needed in order to really shift the tide and turn the tide around what we're seeing as these poor outcomes. And then in the end, that family is healthier, that family unit is healthier, they're less likely to spend time in the nicu, they're more likely to have that time to engage with their child, and then children are healthier over the course of their lives. So as we look further and further out and we get more and more of this data, we just continue to see this huge impact. And I think that's why it's so vital that this consideration is made and adding the services can be so helpful to employer groups with their employees and with their families.
Paola Peralta (09:54):
Thanks, Deanna. It was honestly really great to hear about all of these resources and how employers can actionably support birthing parents in new and innovative ways.
Deanna Cuadra (10:02):
It's just so important for the health of the parents, and then of course, the health of the baby to ensure the right and affordable resources are in place. And as we know, healthy employees are happy employees.
Paola Peralta (10:12):
I couldn't agree more. Well, that wraps up our fourth episode of Perk up. I'm Paola Peralta, and thanks again to Deanna Cuadra at EBN, as well as Sharon Lonix with the Doula Network and Dr. Tiffany Inglis from Women's and Children's Health at Carelon. Stay tuned for episode five in just two weeks. This episode is produced by Employee Benefit News. Rate us and review us wherever you get your podcast and check out more content from the EBN team at www.benefitnews.com.