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CHICAGO – The South Side Healthy Community Organization (SSHCO), a state-funded nonprofit healthcare collaborative working to close health gaps across Chicago’s South Side, has announced a free doula services program, delivered in partnership with Chicago Birthworks Collective (CBC). The program provides expectant parents who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid with no-cost doula care, including 3 prenatal visits, 2 postpartum visits, birth and postpartum preparation and education, labor and delivery support, and postpartum wellness services. Responding to persistent inequities in maternal health outcomes, this partnership will provide more than 80 families across Chicago’s South Side with free, trusted, culturally centered care throughout pregnancy and beyond.

“Inequities in maternal healthcare on the South Side are not inevitable. They are the result of systemic gaps in access and trusted care,” said Kimberly Hobson, CEO of SSHCO. “Doulas play a critical role in improving continuity of care and ensuring families are heard and supported at one of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. By investing in this program, SSHCO is embedding that support into the healthcare experience and building a model that addresses these systemic gaps.”

According to the Illinois Maternal Mortality Data Report released last month by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Black women in Illinois were three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions than white women during 2021-2022.

SSHCO’s partnership with CBC is designed to directly confront these inequities by ensuring consistent, culturally affirming support at every stage of pregnancy and postpartum care. CBC’s doulas provide emotional support, evidence-based guidance, and advocacy, helping parents navigate complex healthcare systems and self-advocate with greater confidence.

“Too many Black mothers in our communities continue to face preventable risks during pregnancy and childbirth,” said Tayo Oyafemi Mbande, Co-Founder and CEO of CBC. “Culturally competent maternal care is not optional, but essential. Support from our doulas restores dignity to the birthing experience, allows families to feel empowered and safe on their parenthood journey, and ultimately saves lives. We are proud to partner with SSHCO to ensure more families on the South Side receive the care and respect they deserve.”

“Every parent deserves to feel supported, respected and safe throughout their pregnancy journey,” said Keyonna Tompkins, Maternal Health Program Manager at SSHCO. “By partnering with Chicago Birthworks Collective, we are not only removing financial barriers but also ensuring families receive care that reflects their culture, values and lived experiences. This program is about restoring trust and dignity in maternal healthcare on the South Side of Chicago.”

Incorporated in the fall of 2021, SSHCO was established through the State of Illinois’ Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives initiative to address long-standing health disparities by coordinating care across medical and social systems on the South Side. Serving 15 ZIP codes and prioritizing residents who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid, SSHCO operates as a community-wide network, active in clinics and emergency rooms. The organization subsidizes 90 new primary care and obstetrics providers, as well as 50 new specialists, and embeds Community […]

The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries, and the issue continues to be a health crisis here in Illinois.

When we zoom into Chicago, rates are even worse, especially for Black women and those with lower socioeconomic status. Three out of four people living in the South Side and South Chicago are Black. An obstetrical desert continues to plague these neighborhoods, forcing mothers into risky situations.

What’s happening on the South Side?
The South Side of Chicago and the Southland have lost over half of their labor and delivery beds between 2000 and 2020 as hospitals and clinics closed their obstetric units.

UChicago Medicine’s first Chief Obstetrical Transformation Officer Dr. Sarosh Rana points to financial issues. Many hospitals in the area are providing care to a huge population of mothers on Medicaid, Dr. Rana explained.

“They’re oftentimes having to weigh the expenses of keeping a service open to what they’re actually being reimbursed,” South Side Healthy Community Organization’s Sarah Janvier added.

What’s the impact of a maternal healthcare desert?
Because there aren’t many options for pregnant people in the South Side, they often have to leave their communities for care. Janvier said some patients must travel 30 minutes or more to seek care. And not everyone can do that.

“Because of all the constraints around time, having to take time off of work and transportation, they’re making the decision to forgo care altogether,” Janvier said. “Which starts to create complications later on in the pregnancy because they’re not accessing care in an earlier state.”

According to Dr. Rana, Black individuals are at an increased risk of complications during pregnancy especially because a disproportionate percentage of the population starts pregnancy with other health problems like hypertension and obesity. And lack of access to high quality health care continues to exacerbate the issue.

How is this being addressed?
UChicago Medicine is working with groups like South Side Healthy Community Organizations and federally qualified health centers like Friend Health to bring maternal-fetal health specialists to local clinics without making mothers travel outside of their neighborhoods, Dr. Rana said.

“A mother can go in and have that service done in the same appointment as opposed to seeing her physician at one location and getting an ultrasound at another location,” Janvier said.

On top of health services, this partnership aims to help patients with transportation, housing and food insecurity.

Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons spoke with UChicago Medicine’s Dr. Sarosh Rana and South Side Healthy Community Organization’s Sarah Janvier.