Virginia Union University has become the first HBCU in Virginia to offer a doula training and certification program.

WRIC reported the university announced its historic partnership in a news release on Tuesday with Birth In Color and the Virginia Department of Health. Birth in Color is a nonprofit that employs roughly 145 doulas throughout Virginia.

The course aims to address inequities in Black women’s health during pregnancy. Additionally, Virginia Union will offer phlebotomy and CPR certifications through the VDH grant.

🚨 HISTORY MADE! 🚨 VUU launches VA’s 1st Doula Certification Program at an HBCU! In partnership with @birthincolor & VA Dept. of Health, we’re tackling racial disparities in maternal health. #HealthEquity #VUU pic.twitter.com/2OSrIcLy3B
— Virginia Union (@VAUnion1865) March 20, 2025

Doula training is six months of learning to reduce risks and help pregnant women and their families have healthier birthing and postpartum experiences.

Alveda Campbell, a recent program graduate, explained the importance of doulas to change the system.

“Of course, you always think you’re prepared, you’re ready,” Campbell told WTVR CBS 6. “‘Oh, I went through the training.They taught me so much. I got it,’ and then you get into it, and it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re sweating, we’re into it.’ But it was exciting. It was amazing. You know, it was something very fulfilling, to be able to be a support system for a mother to bring her child into this world.”

Kenda Sutton-El with Birth In Color said, “People feel a lot more comfortable talking to people who look like them when it comes to anything health-related. What we do see is a lot of doctors actually thank us because we’re giving them information that they may not have been able to get from the patient.”

WRIC cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics that Black women in Virginia die twice as often during childbirth as their white counterparts, while Black women nationwide die three times as often as white women.

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