Legislation introduced in mid November would require hospitals and birthing centers to allow doulas to accompany mothers before, during, and after childbirth. A doula is a woman, typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor

The legislation was introduced in the State Senate by State Senator Renee Burgess (D- Essex). State Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and State Senator Nellie Pou (D-Passaic and Bergen) co-sponsored the legislation in the State Senate.

“Every woman deserves a positive, safe, and secure childbirth experience by having the knowledge and support of what resources are available to make that possible, no matter what your zip code is,” stated State Senator when she introduced the legislation.

Under the measure, hospitals and birthing centers would be required to adopt policies allowing for the presence of doulas in their facilities and would be mandated to tell maternity health providers and patients about those policies in writing.

Each hospital and birthing center would also be required to have a staff member who serves as a liaison between the facility and doulas. The legislation was also introduced in the Assembly by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union). Signing on as co-sponsors of the Assembly measure were Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D-Essex) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex).

The legislation is currently in the Senate Health Committee and Assembly Health Committee. If favorably released by either committee the measure would go before the entire body of that particular house for consideration.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. A recent March of Dimes report gives New Jersey a C+ for its rate of babies born preterm — 9.3% in 2022, higher than in 2021. The preterm rate for Black babies is one and a half times higher than the rate among all babies, the report says.

The Journal of the American Medical Association in July released a report pointing out that the rate of New Jersey Black women dying while pregnant, during delivery, or one year after birth doubled from 1999 to 2019.

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