New York City’s Citywide Doula Initiative, a free program that provides non-medical support from doulas to pregnant individuals and families, reached a milestone after having served more than 4,200 people across New York City since its inception in 2022.
How the initiative is reaching more New York families
On Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene celebrated the program’s work and several hospitals that helped complete the Citywide Doula Initiative’s Doula-Friendly Hospital Program, according to a news release.
“This milestone speaks to the power of one of our City’s most successful programs: the Citywide Doula Initiative, which has already supported thousands of families, including in communities that have been too often left behind by our health care system,” Mamdani said in a news release statement. “4,000 people served is only the beginning. We are expanding access through our public hospitals and to City employees because every New Yorker deserves support to bring a child into this world safely and with care.”
The initiative provides free, non-medical doula support to thousands of pregnant New Yorkers who are income-eligible for Medicaid, focusing on neighborhoods most affected by health and socioeconomic inequities. The program also aims to reach Black and Latino New Yorkers, as well as people who live in homeless shelters or foster care and those who will be teen parents, per the news release and the program website.
In 2025, 6.7% of New Yorkers who gave birth, more than 5,600 people, reported having doula support during pregnancy, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s 2026 “State of Doula Care in NYC” report. That marked an increase from 4.9% in 2022, when the Citywide Doula Initiative began. The report analyzed data from questionnaires completed by people who give birth in New York City as part of the birth certificate worksheet.
Bringing doula care into hospitals
The city’s Doula-Friendly Hospital Program brings together community-based doula organizations and maternity hospitals to strengthen collaboration between clinical providers and doulas and help hospitals adopt doula-friendly policies and practices.
Six hospitals were recognized as the first group to complete the program: Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan.
The program is implemented through partnerships with four community-based doula organizations: Ancient Song, Bronx (Re)Birth and Progress, Brooklyn Perinatal Network and Caribbean Women’s Health Association.
Expanding access to doula care
Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, MetroPlusHealth will also add doula coverage to its Gold Plan for city employees. The benefit will include up to eight prenatal or postpartum visits, plus one in-person labor and delivery support visit per pregnancy.
“At MetroPlusHealth, we are committed to advancing maternal health by connecting our members to the support they need before, during, and after childbirth,” Dr. Talya Schwartz, President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth, said.
She continued, “We are proud to help more City employees access the personalized support that doulas provide throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Expanding access to this type of care is an important part of improving maternal health outcomes and ensuring families have the support they need to thrive.”