Mary’s Hands Network
Someone in your corner — alongside the medical team, never in place of it.
- Provide continuous emotional support through pregnancy, labor, and the early weeks
- Offer physical comfort measures — counter-pressure, hip squeezes, rebozo, positions
- Share evidence-based information for informed decisions
- Stay through shift changes — nurses rotate, doulas do not
- Help clients advocate with their medical team
- Support non-pharmacological pain relief: breath, movement, water, touch
- Diagnose or treat medical conditions
- Perform clinical assessments — vitals, exams, fetal monitoring
- Prescribe or administer any medications
- Override the decisions of nurses, midwives, or doctors
- Give medical advice — that belongs to the medical team
- Replace medical providers in any way
Every birth deserves a doula.
A Louisiana 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Founded 2023. Recruiting, training, and matching community doulas with families across Southeast Louisiana — at no cost to the client.
Care across the whole arc
Birth Doula Support
Prenatal visits, continuous labor presence, postpartum follow-up.
Postpartum Doula
In-home care, breastfeeding support, newborn help through the fourth trimester.
Bereavement Doula
Specialized loss and grief support for families experiencing perinatal loss.
Text-a-Doula
On-demand text-based support for families outside our matching capacity.
Doula Hotline
Centralized phone triage: (225) 424-7532. First point of contact for any family.
Virtual 1:1
Prenatal education, birth planning, postpartum guidance statewide.
Spanish-Language Care
Bilingual doulas and translated materials for Louisiana’s Hispanic community.
Resource Navigation
WIC, SNAP, mental health, housing, insurance enrollment — connected in real time.
By the numbers
May 2023 — May 2026.
* Documented deliveries attended by MHN doulas total closer to ~202 clients; the 108 figure reflects only births with complete hospital records enrolled in the IRB study.
Better than Louisiana. Better than the nation. Every metric.
Measured across 110 IRB-tracked births. Statistically significant (p<0.05) in expanded 156-birth dataset. Exceeds Healthy People 2030 targets on all three metrics.
Source: MHN 3-Year Impact Report · IRB Protocol #2025-001
Sources: HCUP/AHRQ National Inpatient Sample (cesarean cost) · March of Dimes (NICU cost) · MHN IRB Protocol #2025-001 (108 births)
Sources: Louisiana Vital Records (annual births) · HCUP/AHRQ + March of Dimes (cost) · MHN IRB Protocol #2025-001 (outcome differentials, p<0.05)
Where we’re going
Geographic Expansion
Lafayette, New Orleans, and rural parishes — scaling to Louisiana’s highest-need regions.
Medicaid Reimbursement (LA Act 228)
Actively enrolled with Healthy Blue Louisiana and Louisiana Healthcare Connections.
Training Scale-Up
6–8 cohorts annually. Target: 500+ trained doulas statewide by 2027.
Hospital Partnerships
Formalizing with Baton Rouge General. Expanding community doula integration across the region.
Peer-Reviewed Research
Submitting IRB-approved outcomes for publication — strengthening the evidence base for state and national policy.
Our partners & funders
Hospitals, foundations, and statewide organizations who make this work possible.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
Junior League of Baton Rouge
of Baton Rouge
No one walks
through birth alone.
www.maryshandsnetwork.org