BIRTH & POSTPARTUM DOULA SUPPORT IN CHICAGO
Chicago Volunteer Doulas (CVD) provides free and low-cost birth and postpartum doula support in Chicago, including care after pregnancy loss. We serve all families, with a strong commitment to eliminating maternal morbidity and mortality among Black birthing people and those who are resource-denied in pregnancy and birth care. Led by experienced community birth workers, our trained, professional doulas offer compassionate, culturally responsive support, and we provide free doula training to grow community-rooted birth care across Chicago neighborhoods.
WHO IS A CHICAGO VOLUNTEER DOULA?
A CVDoula is a trained birth and postpartum support professional who commits their skills and energy to serving pregnant people and their families throughout Chicago. Our doulas come from many walks of life — they are social workers, caregivers, educators, community organizers, artists, health professionals, and parents.
​
Every CVDoula has completed our 100 Doulas Rising program, a comprehensive DONA-based training that prepares them to provide professional, full-spectrum birth and postpartum support. While not all are yet certified, each is eligible for DONA certification and has met our program’s high standards for skill, professionalism, and community engagement.
​
Before becoming CVDoulas, all applicants are carefully vetted during the selection process for our 100 Doulas Rising training program. We look for alignment with our mission, readiness to serve diverse communities, and a commitment to the highest standards of care. Those who complete the program reflect the racial, cultural, and gender diversity of Chicago, and bring lived experiences that deepen their empathy and understanding for the families they support.
A Doula's work is sacred work.
It is life-giving, life-saving, ancestral work.
Its practices are rooted in the wisdom
of Black and Indigenous healers and midwives.
ROOTS &
CULTURE
OUR MISSION
Chicago Volunteer Doulas (CVD) connects pregnant and birthing people to free and low-cost compassionate labor, postpartum, and pregnancy loss support and information rooted in Black feminist wisdom and healing.
​
Led by principles of birth justice and anti-racism, CVD works to eliminate stigma, shame, fear, morbidity, and mortality among Black women and all those marginalized within pregnancy and birth care.
OUR VISION
CVD envisions a world where all pregnancy and postpartum experiences and outcomes are met with empathy and care, the labor of those who provide full-spectrum Doula support is recognized and celebrated, and everyone has the resources and autonomy they need for their lives, families, and communities to thrive.
CVD ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES