Nonprofit of the Year Winner | Small: Doula Foundation of Mid-America Inc.

For 26 years, the Doula Foundation of Mid-America Inc. has helped expectant mothers give their newborns a healthy start in life.

Kimberly Costello, CEO of the nonprofit founded in 2000, said Missouri’s first community-based doula program addresses urgent needs faced by expectant and postpartum women and their babies.

They support families from prenatal care through early parenthood.

Costello says while traditional doula work is primarily focused on labor and delivery, the community-based model focuses on removing barriers for families experiencing poverty, trauma, domestic violence, mental health issues, substance abuse or shaky access to transportation, food or housing.

“It means someone who is part of their community understands the challenges they are facing,” she says. “Now they are creating a care plan to navigate all of those needs and connect them to the right resources to set them up for success.”

The nonprofit has 16 employees and a cadre of nearly 75 volunteers. They serve women who deliver in the Bolivar, Branson and Springfield areas.

“We provide 24/7 on-call services surrounding birth and postpartum time, and we provide home visitation as well,” Costello says. “We want to be able to reach them within an expedient amount of time.”

Over the years, the nonprofit has provided more than 350,000 hours of direct support. It recently experienced a 300% increase in requests for services.

Costello says doulas can help families sidestep issues.

“We are preventing families from child abuse and neglect. We are preventing them from foster care intervention. We are preventing low birth weight and pre-term deliveries,” she says. “We help them with preventative care so that they avoid emergent situations.”

The nonprofit established the Doula Foundation Academy, a state-approved training program for birth and postpartum doulas and perinatal community health workers. Costello says the nonprofit wanted to share what it learned.

“We have 26 years of providing that type of customized training,” she says.