Doulas are birth workers who provide health education, advocacy, and physical, emotional, and non-medical support for pregnant and postpartum persons before, during, and after childbirth, including support during miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion.
Doulas may offer other types of support, including health navigation; lactation support; birth plan; and links to community-based resources. Doula services can be offered virtually or in-person, in any setting but not limited to, homes, office visits, hospitals, shelters or alternative birth centers.
- L.A. Care Medi-Cal members may receive free doula services if they are pregnant or pregnant within the past year (12 months).
- Doula care can be provided for prenatal, labor & delivery (including resulting in a stillbirth), postpartum, abortion, or miscarriage.
- A written recommendation can be submitted by a physician or other licensed practitioner of the healing arts acting within their scope of practice or contact us to learn more about how to be connected with a doula or doula organization for services.
Doula visits include:
- Initial 90 minute visit
- At this visit the doula will answer questions and talk about a birth plan.
- Up to 8 more visits
- These visits can be pre-birth and after birth.
- The doula can be there at the time of labor/birth to offer support.
- Pregnancy that ends in a stillbirth, abortion, or miscarriage is covered.
- Up to 2 additional after birth visits
- Talk with the doula about breast-feeding, mental health, sleeping patterns or any other concerns.
- Visits can last up to 3 hours.
Finding a Doula Organization
You can find a doula organization in our provider directory by following the instructions below:
1. Visit L.A. Care’s Provider Directory
2. Select L.A. Care Medi-Cal
3. Select the Facility tab
4. Choose "Ancillary Organization" for the Facility Type and "Doula" for Specialty
5. Select on the blue button that says Find a Facility
For more information, view the doula benefit flyer:
Doula Benefits (English)
Doula Benefits (Spanish)
Contact L.A. Care Member Services or send us an email for more information.
Also, view a flyer about additional free doula services offered by L.A. County DPH African-American Infant Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative.