Black Doulas of King County: We want to hear from you!

If you are a Black birth doula who supports births in King County, we invite you to participate in 1-hour focus group discussion or 1:1 interview that is part of a research study to help us learn more about your experiences as a doula. Your participation will help us design and implement a program for people who deliver at UWMC-Montlake to offer culturally-concordant doula services. Those who participate will be compensated.

What is this research study?

A group of people at the University of Washington Medical Center-Montlake (UWMC-Montlake) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gyneocology are designing a program called The Collective that will provide doula services to Black people who receive care at our hospital regardless of their ability to pay. Read more info about our program here.

Our vision is to create a program that centers the expertise of community doulas and perinatal service organizations in supporting clients to have childbirth experiences at our hospital that are filled with joy, dignity, and respect.

The purpose of this stakeholder analysis research study is to thoughtfully gather the input of the people who will be involved in this program: Black birthing people, community doulas, people who work at community-based perinatal service organizations, and UWMC-Montlake’s labor and deliver and postpartum unit staff. The information we learn by doing this stakeholder analysis study will help us design and implement this program in a way that is most useful to our patients. We also hope to be able to share our experiences developing this program with other people and institutions who might be interested in doing something similar. 

What will you be asked to do if you choose to participate in this study?

Being in this study involves: 

  • Completing a survey asking you some basic information about yourself and your experiences as a doula

  • Participating in a 1-hour focus group discussion or a one-on-one interview with a researcher on Zoom, led by one of our facilitators (read more about them below!). Topics that will be discussed will include your experiences with doula work, your thoughts about supporting Black birthing people, the needs you have in order to sustain and develop your career, and your thoughts about how we should structure a Black community-engaged doula program at our hospital. 

    Those who complete an interview will be given a $50 gift card. A report of the study results will be emailed to all participants once available, likely in early 2025.

To participate, you must:

  • Identify as Black or African American 

  • Have completed doula training 

  • Support births that take place in King County  

  • Be age 18 or older 

  • Speak English

  • Participate in a 1-hour focus group discussion or one-on-one interview

Focus Group Discussion and Interview Facilitators

Our stakeholder analysis is being conducted by a team of researchers who are passionate about our potential to make our hospital a place where doulas are integrated as part of the birth team to support their clients to have their best possible childbirth experiences. You can read more about the entire team developing the program here.

Leslie Coney, PhD(c) is a Chicago native, and a third-year PhD candidate in the Human Centered Design and Engineering program at the University of Washington. She is committed to the listening and sharing of stories by and for Black mamas, pursuing a deep understanding of how technology, community, and joy shows up in Black birth. She has dreams of becoming a doula herself to address maternal mortality in her community through both research and action.

Keemi Ereme, MD, MPH is an OB/GYN who practices at the University of Washington.  She is passionate about reproductive health and justice.  She works on research and advocacy that focuses on people of color and health disparities.  In her free-time she enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, weightlifting and cuddling with her two cats.