This year, World Doula Week begins in a landscape unlike any other since I attended my first doula birth in January 1987. While doula work has often been misunderstood—and at times, even undervalued—this is the first time its very essence has been directly attacked. Supporting the vulnerable, amplifying the voices of those often unheard, and advocating for autonomy in birth are not just aspects of our work; they are the foundation of it.

Doula work has always been political because it empowers individuals within a system. That’s why there’s so little funding for doula research, and why many doula programs exist primarily in the nonprofit sector. The work we do challenges established power structures. For years, our field has presented itself through lenses that feel safer to institutions—focusing on low-intervention birth strategies and improved lactation outcomes. But at its core, our presence in the birthing space is an act of resistance, whether against patriarchy, racism, sexism, or transphobia. To stand alongside a laboring or postpartum person, fully supporting their choices, is revolutionary.

When doulas work to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health, we are engaging in equity and justice. And yet, equity and justice have become politically charged, leading to the denial of funding for evidence-based programs—simply because they focus on saving Black and Indigenous lives. The current administration’s policies are stripping support for issues that affect birthing people, most of whom are women. Research into female reproductive health is being deprioritized, not due to lack of scientific merit, but because these studies focus on women’s bodies instead of men’s.

A January 2025 Executive Order quietly introduced a policy that flags specific terms in research grant applications, effectively halting funding for studies that focus on issues like racial health disparities, reproductive justice, and gender-based healthcare. (See the flagged NIH terms here). The Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement recently had its funding denied simply because its work focuses on saving the lives of babies from “diverse populations.” (Read more here).

The attack doesn’t stop with birth work. Breast cancer research is now at risk because different treatments work better for different racial and ethnic groups—but funding for these essential studies is being denied due to their focus on “DEI-type” research. (More details here).

And the effort to control and suppress women’s voices extends beyond healthcare. Federal legislation like HR 22 is designed to make voting inaccessible to women. The bill would require a person’s birth certificate name to match their driver’s license in order to vote. Who does that affect? The 83% of women who change their last name when they marry or sixty-nine million American women. (Take action here).

These policies are not coincidences. They are calculated moves to strip power from birthing people, caregivers, and women—anyone whose autonomy threatens the status quo. We do not have to wait for them to come for the doulas – “they” are already here for us and our clients: stripping funds from programs and research that support our work; stating clearly that saving Brown lives are not a priority; denying that anyone can have a non-binary experience of being in a body; and that control over reproductive decisions should be made by the government (in vitro fertilization, abortion, and contraception).

What You Can Do:

1. Reflect on Your Own Standpoint. Black and Indigenous communities have no choice but to fight—this is about their survival. Others have the privilege of choosing when and where to take action. Find your line in the sand – where and when will you stop thinking and start doing? Know your motivations for action and discuss with those you trust.
2. Find Your People. Organize, educate yourselves, and take action when the time is right. And don’t forget to laugh and find joy in the process—sustained resistance requires moments of lightness. We have to have the happy hormones – pleasure is also revolutionary.
3. Learn from Those Who Came Before. Talk to older activists and feminists. Hear their stories. Change takes time, but history shows that those who persist make a difference.
4. Hold Space for Complexity. Anger and fear fuel darkness; compassion fuels light. True change happens when we acknowledge and address the fears that drive oppression. Coming from anger or fear enables the dark. Coming from compassion and a desire to understand the fear and anger of others allows in the light. “To suffer with” is the literal meaning of compassion.
5. Recognize the Deeper Fear at Play. Women’s power—the ability to create and sustain life—has always been revered and, in turn, controlled. Patriarchy thrives on making women doubt their strength.

Now, more than ever, the work we do matters. There’s a growing spotlight on doula care, and we at DTD remain steadfast in our mission. We continue to offer evidence-based, trauma-informed, and collaborative birth and postpartum doula training. Our courses support nurses, providers, and caregivers across diverse communities. We acknowledge the need for reproductive justice and actively work toward inclusivity, offering financial aid, Spanish-language programs, and dedicated spaces for neurodivergent and trans learners.

We are here. We will keep educating, advocating, and standing alongside you. Forty years in, I’m not going anywhere.