Abortion Doula Programs Across the United States: A Review of the Current Landscape

TL;DR

Abortion doula programs in the US are mostly community-run, volunteer-based, and free for patients, with limited clinic partnerships.

Contribution

This study maps and characterizes active and inactive abortion doula programs in the US, highlighting their community-based and volunteer nature.

Findings

17 active abortion doula programs were identified, primarily community-based and volunteer-run.

Three programs have partnerships with local clinics, and three clinics have in-house doula programs.

Most programs train their own doulas and provide services free of charge to patients.

Abstract

Abortion doulas support patients who are receiving abortion care. Understanding the abortion doula landscape is critical for patients, clinicians, doulas, and those interested in expanding programs for doula support. We aimed to describe the state of US-based abortion doula programs through a mapping review of the grey literature, documenting programs' characteristics from their online presence (websites, Facebook, Instagram, X). We identified 17 active abortion doula programs. In addition, we identified 30 programs which appeared either to be inactive or to not provide abortion support, primarily in states with post-Dobbs abortion bans. Most active abortion doula programs are community-based, volunteer-run, and free for patients. Three doula programs have partnerships with local clinics; three clinics have in-house doula programs. Most train their own doulas. Most US-based abortion doula programs independently provide community-based, no-cost, volunteer doula services.

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