Childbirth can be an unnerving and joyous experience. With each push, women exude inexplicable power by creating life. While 3.6 million women had children in the United States in 2023, nearly 98% of those births occurred at a hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control. So why are more Black families avoiding traditional healthcare facilities during these milestone moments? For an increasing number of households, the answer lies within the lack of safety, widespread bias, and tropes against Black families. From feeling unseen and unheard in the hospital room, the culture is seeing a shift in doula care. As Black Maternal Health Week kicks off, BET is raising awareness of the significant role doulas play in the Black community with their sacred hands.

Jazmin Culver, 33, is a doula—a non-medically trained professional in childbirth who provides emotional, physical, and educational support to mothers who are expecting, experiencing labor, and those who have recently given birth, as reported by the American Pregnancy Association. Doula work might seem like a novel practice, but it’s a profession that dates back to before slavery. While in the childbirth space for nearly 2 years, Culver has gained an eye-opening perspective that promotes the expansion of widespread doula care. 

In 2025, there were reportedly 2,232 registered doulas in the U.S., while California led with 7.5%, as cited by The Conversation. That’s roughly 167 doulas for the 395,295 babies predicted to be born that year in California, according to a birth projections report from the state’s Department of Finance. 

As families seek alternatives for care in the birth space, the demand for doulas is becoming highly sought after. In 2024, “499 doulas and 37 doula groups had registered their services with Medi-Cal providers in California,” as reported by the National Health Law Program. Then in 2025, the California Healthcare Foundation determined that, “66% of Black women prefer doula care, including 27% who say they would ‘definitely’ want doula support for their next birth.”’

As of March 2025, Medi-Cal had registered 1,354 doulas. 

“It is not enough of us in the space,” says Culver, while adding that it’s also “not always easy” for “the community to find us.” 

A study conducted by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Awareness found that “Doula care in the U.S. is currently largely limited to middle- and high-income women who can afford to pay for such services out-of-pocket, who are disproportionately white, and doulas serving these women tend to be of the same race and socioeconomic class.” The survey also found that most medical insurance, including public and private plans, does not cover doula services.

Currently, 26 states, including California and New York, among others, offer doula assistance through Medicaid, per Georgetown University. Implementation in seven other states is currently underway.

Culver says working as a dual full-spectrum doula and a certified lactation consultant is her way of meeting the growing demand by being "interconnected" with those who need the services most.

“I believe in rebuilding Black family legacy,” says Culver, who is also the founder of maternal wellness brand, The Suckle Center.  “Being able to show up and support Black moms so that they know they are loved, that they matter, that they can have a joyous time with their baby, and that it doesn't have to be difficult because we're giving support during birth but also the continued resources [after].”

As an expert in birth care and a mom who's also expecting, Culver’s experience has equipped her to be “patient and graceful” as she supports young moms in their 20s on their motherhood journey. This is something she says is integral to the success and foundation of the Black community. 

“When you learn people's backgrounds, you understand that you might literally be the only person that they have ever experienced love, care, and tenderness from,” she says. “[That] makes you want to engulf as much [support] into them as you possibly can.”

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of Black women who have reported mistreatment in hospital settings after going into labor. Last year, a post on TikTok went viral of a Black woman who went into labor in an emergency room while a nurse seemingly delayed care to receive intake information. This, including the fact that Black women face disproportionate mortality rates after giving birth compared to white women, as cited by the CDC, illustrates why non-hospital births are becoming a thing of the past for some. 

For Culver, her job as a doula is more than a job; it’s an essential gateway for new life.

“I take it seriously. I want to do it to the best of my ability,” she says. “I want to do it in a way that doesn't just impact their birth, but daily [life] as they begin raising their babies or maneuver in the community. That's the biggest thing.”

Birthing a child into the world is truly remarkable, but Culver emphasizes that the true test commences postpartum. She says this is when the demands of motherhood can instantly peak.

“When we talk about doulas, we focus a lot on the birth, but really it's what they're able to utilize far past the birth, because that's really just a starting point. They are about to engulf life, and this might be their first time being responsible for anything. That's a hell of a responsibility to step into, especially being Black in America.”

And yet, another postpartum angle lingers—death, causing Culver to sound the alarm on greater awareness because it happens more “than people realize.”

According to the World Health Organization, “Maternal mortality is unacceptably high,” as “about 260,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2023." The organization says most of these deaths could have been prevented. 

In the Black community, it’s even more staggering because “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.” 

For this reason, Culver says, “We must start prioritizing postpartum doula care just as much as birth.”