AABN hosts Community Convening for community-based doula training initiative
Photo by Yvonne Kemp
On Thursday, April 27, 2023, the African American Breastfeeding Network (AABN) hosted a Community Convening meeting to share its plans to train and certify 21 people to become community-based doulas at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, 101 W. Pleasant St. This event brought together elected officials, families, health care providers, community/birth workers, and other stakeholders to weigh in on what changes they would like to see in maternal-infant care practices. Dalvery Blackwell, AABN Executive Director said, “We’ve known for decades that the community-based model for doula care are most effective in black and indigenous communities of color. As a person recruited, trained, employed, and residing within the community, a doula provides unique support unmatched by other maternity, health, or social services.” In January, AABN partnered with HealthConnect One (HC One) to replicate its nationally recognized and evidence-based, community-based doula model. As part of this initiative nine people will complete a training-of-trainers (TOT) corse to learn how to facilitate the HC One model to teach others to become doulas.
