Every birth deserves a doula.
Our mission is to empower families, promote birth excellence, and bridge the health equity gap in our community.
Families
Apply for a free volunteer doula to support you through labor, birth, and the first eight weeks postpartum. Application takes 15 minutes.
Start your applicationBirth workers
Become part of the largest volunteer doula network in Louisiana and help change maternal health outcomes in your community. Apply now to join our next ICEA-certified cohort.
Apply to join the networkCommunity supporters
$50 funds a birth kit. $950 funds a training seat. Every gift is tax-deductible and goes to a specific line item we can show you.
See ways to giveSomeone in your corner, trained to walk with you through pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum weeks.
A doula is a non-clinical support person who stays beside you during labor and the days afterward. Doulas don’t replace nurses, midwives, or doctors. They sit alongside the medical team and make sure you have a steady hand, a familiar voice, and answers to your questions when you need them.
- Continuous emotional support through pregnancy, labor, and the early weeks
- Physical comfort measures: counter-pressure, hip squeezes, rebozo, birth ball, hands-and-knees positioning
- Evidence-based information so you can make informed choices about your care
- Stay through transitions: nurses change shifts; your doula does not
- Help you advocate with your medical team by translating your hopes into clear questions
- Non-pharmacological pain support: breath, movement, water, music, touch
- Diagnose or treat medical conditions
- Perform clinical assessments like vitals, vaginal exams, or fetal monitoring
- Prescribe or administer any medications
- Override the decisions of nurses, midwives, or doctors
- Give medical advice. That responsibility belongs to your medical team.
- Replace your medical providers in any way
For families served by Mary’s Hands Network, our IRB-tracked outcomes show a 65% reduction in cesarean rate and an 84% reduction in preterm births compared to Louisiana state averages. Continuous, culturally humble doula support is one of the most evidence-backed interventions in maternal health, and we believe it should be free for any family who wants it.
More broadly, continuous doula support has been shown to reduce cesareans, lower preterm birth rates, increase breastfeeding initiation, and improve overall birth experience. The evidence for doula care is among the strongest in maternal health.
A network growing across Louisiana.
Built one cohort, one family, one birth at a time.
trained since 2023
served
across the state
Three pillars, one mission.
Tap any card to see what’s inside.
Family Support
Free doula care, education, and community gatherings for the families we serve.
Family Support
- Free doula care for any Louisiana mother who applies
- 24/7 Doula Hotline at (225) 424-7532
- Bereavement support for loss families
- Bilingual support, apoyo en español
- Community baby showers and resource distribution
- Prenatal, postpartum, and parenting classes (coming 2027)
Workforce Development
Training the birth workers who serve our communities, to ICEA and MHN standards.
Workforce Development
- ICEA-approved doula training, 254 doulas trained since 2023
- Postpartum doula training
- Bereavement specialty training
- Customized industry trainings to ICEA and MHN standards
- Spanish-language doula training (sponsor-supported)
- Ongoing professional development for active volunteers
Community Impact
At community events, in policy rooms, and in the outcomes data.
Community Impact
- IRB-approved outcomes research with Baton Rouge General
- 65% reduction in cesarean rate
- 84% reduction in preterm birth
- Outreach and tabling at community events
- Policy and advocacy participation
- Resource distribution to families in need
Sixteen cohorts and counting.
Every doula in our network is trained alongside their cohort, then certified to serve Louisiana families.
In partnership with.
The hospitals, foundations, and statewide organizations who make our work possible.
