Certified Peer Support: Phase 2

Pilot to Serve Black Mamas and Doulas

In October 2020, 2020 Mom was awarded a grant from Cigna, to pilot the use of the certified peer support model of training through partnering with three Black doulas/doula organizations in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles California.

In 2022 we concluded the pilot which was titled:
Peer Support for Black Mamas: Tackling Isolation and Depression

The aim of the grant and study was to learn:

Whether the maternal mental health certified peer support training could be effective in providing support to Black pregnant and postpartum people, and what adjustments might be necessary if so. The program aimed to train those who suffered from high levels of mental distress during the perinatal period, which may have included the doulas who currently serve the Black birthing population.

This phase also included evaluation, of both the base training in which maternal mental health was embedded and an additional course called the I.N.S.P.I.R.E. journaling method, provided to participants by The Shades of Blue Project.

The project was managed by our partners at POEM including their Birth Equity project, RI International, and The Shades of Blue Project, and supported by our doula partner communities:

Diversity Uplifts Inc (Los Angeles)
SisterWeb (San Francisco)
Capital Midwifery – Martine Wilson (Sacramento)

Read the full report and infographic here.

To learn more about 2020 Mom’s work to study and proliferate the use of certified peer specialists to support maternal mental health, click here.