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I get to make a living serving families at a fantastic time in their lives. There
isn’t a better job I could imagine. Birth and settling in with a new baby are
significant transitions in our human existence. I love working for myself. I decided
on this path because of my interest in infant mortality rates that I learned about,
especially amongst African American women. According to King, J.P., Gazmararian,
J.A. & Shapiro-Mendoza, C.K. (2014). “In 2002, US infants born at 34–36 weeks
gestation, often called “late preterm infants,” accounted for 74.4 % of all preterm
births and 7.7 % of all singleton births. Infants born late preterm have been found to
have an infant mortality rate three times that of term infants (7.9 vs. 2.4 per 1,000
live births), to account for nearly 10 % of all infant deaths, and to be at greater risk
for many neonatal complications than their term counterparts” (p.1). This is just one
example of why I am passionate about the work that I do because it helps save lives.
I like to know that my contribution help decreases recovery time in a mother who
has just delivered. Also, help reduce the use of an epidural, resulting in less medical
intervention for a pregnant mother.
Work Cited
Callaghan, William. “240: Explaining the Recent Decrease in US Infant Mortality
Rate, 2007-2013.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 214, no. 1,
Elsevier Inc, 2016, pp. S141–S142, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2015.10.278.
Davis, Dána-Ain. “Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth.”
Reproductive Injustice, vol. 7, NYU Press, 2019, doi:10.2307/j.ctv12fw5vq.
King, Gazmararian. “Disparities in Mortality Rates Among US Infants Born Late
Preterm or Early Term, 2003–2005.” Maternal and Child Health Journal, vol. 18,
no. 1, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Jan. 2014, pp. 233–41,
doi:10.1007/s10995-013-1259-0.
Kozhimannil, Hardeman. “Modeling the Cost‐Effectiveness of Doula Care Associated
with Reductions in Preterm Birth and Cesarean Delivery.” Birth (Berkeley, Calif.),
vol. 43, no. 1, WILEY, Mar. 2016, pp. 20–27, doi:10.1111/birt.12218.
Langford, McIntyreHall. “Finally Addressing Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates in
Virginia: Black Women in the Commonwealth Die in Childbirth at an Alarmingly
High Rate.” The Washington Post (Online), WP Company LLC d/b/a The
Washington Post, 2019.
McDaniels, Andrea. “Baltimore Enlists Doulas to Help Bring down Infant Mortality
Rate: Pregnant Women Will Be Assisted before, During and after Childbirth with
Nonmedical Matters.” The Washington Post, WP Company LLC d/b/a The
Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2017.
Mottl-Santiago, Mottl-Santiago. “A Hospital-Based Doula Program and Childbirth
Outcomes in an Urban, Multicultural Setting.” Maternal and Child Health Journal,
vol. 12, no. 3, Springer US, May 2008, pp. 372–77, doi:10.1007/s10995-007-0245-
9.
2
“U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Fell Steadily From ’05 to ’11.” New York Times (Online),
New York Times Company, 17 Apr. 2013.
