BOSTON — The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation today announced $360,000 in new grant funding to support 12 organizations working to improve perinatal health across the Commonwealth, including supporting access to doula care for pregnant people in communities of color.

 

Berkshire Nursing Families will use the grant to support the next phase of its partnership with Springfield Family Doulas to train and mentor Black doulas and lactation counselors in Berkshire County. 

 

The Perinatal Health Initiative grant program is part of the Foundation's broader strategy of grantmaking and policy analysis aimed at better understanding and disrupting structural racism and eliminating racial inequities in health.

 

The Foundation's grantmaking team met with over 30 community organizations and leaders working in perinatal health to inform the design of the Perinatal Health Initiative.  Several grant partners are focused on the doula workforce, which is comprised of trained, non-medical professionals who support people during and after pregnancy.  MassHealth recently began covering their services to improve maternal health and reduce health disparities affecting communities of color.