Dads to Doulas: Empowering fathers to advocate amid maternal health crisis 

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer 
msayles@afro.com

In the face of an escalating Black maternal health crisis, a new program is empowering Black men and expectant fathers with the education and training needed to advocate for their families from pregnancy to infancy. Dads to Doulas was launched in 2024 by Dear Fathers, a St. Louis-based platform, in an effort to reduce disparities in Black maternal and infant health outcomes.

Brad Edwards, community engagement and program strategy director for Dear Fathers, designed the program alongside Kyra Betts, a full-spectrum doula, lactation counselor and infant care specialist. Edwards was moved to create the program after the stillbirth of his twin boys in 2017. 

“There was nothing that I could say to blame the medical system. Their mom was in Chicago finishing pharmacy school, and I was in St. Louis. I went to one doctor’s visit during her pregnancy,” said Edwards. “I didn’t know that things could go left so quickly, and I didn’t know that there were so many different things I needed to do to prepare myself for that process.”

He thinks if he had been a part of a program, like Dads to Doulas, he would have navigated the situation differently. Later, Edwards began working on a mental health initiative with friends from college. The work introduced him to more Black families who experienced their own tragedies during childbirth. 

“I had a unique opportunity to interview all of these Black moms that were doctors and high-earners—everything you think would save you from a horrific experience, yet they all had these traumatic stories,” said Edwards. “The one thing I noticed was that they were all avoidable if they would have had medical staff that understood or a partner that could properly advocate for them.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their White counterparts. This disproportion becomes even more troubling given that 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.

After collaborating with Betts on virtual maternal health workshops, the pair decided to formalize the coursework with the Dads to Doulas program. The six-week curriculum covers topics, including the history of birth, pregnancy and labor physiology, perinatal mood disorders and intervention, partner advocacy and infant care. 

“One thing that I’ve learned in my time as a doula is that we don’t give dads enough to do and, therefore, we have very low expectations of them,” said Betts, curriculum designer and lead facilitator for Dads to Doulas. “We have created a culture in which they’re not involved, but there’s such a place for them.” 

She pointed out that since women typically only receive minimal instruction on reproductive health, men’s knowledge on the subject is likely even more limited.  

“We need our partners to be informed and to be able to be present and supportive,” said Betts. “So much of that is going to have to come from the right education.” 

Many of the program’s concepts were not new to Julian Pearson, father of five daughters. His wife is a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse. Over the years, he’s absorbed much of her knowledge through a kind of osmosis—learning about medical racism, the Black maternal mortality rate and the roles of doulas and midwives. 

“My biggest thing was if my wife can’t speak for herself at the moment, I have to know exactly what to say and what to do—not only for her, but for my daughter,” said Pearson. “That’s been my stance five times over.” 

Pearson joined Dads to Doulas last August to learn about other fathers’ experiences. 

Though he said he and his wife were fortunate to never encounter racial bias during their reproductive journey, his second daughter’s birth was somewhat traumatic. 

After a long labor at home caused by what they believe was a miscalculated due date and a difficult fetal position, their midwife recommended a hospital transfer out of concern for blood loss. But, before they could make it inside, his wife gave birth in the emergency room bay. He said the experience was so intense that hospital staff still recall it today. 

Dads to Doulas has helped Pearson to better understand the intricacies and nuances of what the mother’s body endures during pregnancy and labor. It also provided him with more knowledge about the postpartum recovery process and how to offer meaningful support during that critical period. 

Pearson praised Betts for engaging him and the other fathers and holding them accountable for their coursework, which he called “phenomenal.” He said his participation in the program has reaffirmed that he has a voice in the reproductive journey, and he can use it to stand up for himself, his wife and his children. 

“You can support your partner. You can support yourself. You can stand up for what you believe in. You can make your birth plan and stick to it. You can feel confident that if you’re being pressured into something you can stand on what you wanted to do,” said Pearson. “That’s what the course taught all of us.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their White counterparts. 

The maternal health crisis becomes even more critical to address as more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.