Virtual doula support can reduce need for C-sections by 60%

Approximately one in three mothers in the U.S. undergoes major surgery — a C-section — during childbirth. Employers can help reduce this number by offering access to a doula as part of their health benefits package.

New research from virtual health clinic Maven found that virtual doula support can reduce C-sections by 20%. For Black mothers — an especially vulnerable population in the healthcare system — and members with a prior C-section who seek to deliver naturally, this number increases to 60%, comparable to in-person care during pregnancy. The study, which pulled data from almost 9,000 of Maven's members, found that in as few as two virtual doula appointments prior to labor, the birthing experience can be improved. 

"There's only so much you can get done in a punctuated 15-minute visit in the [doctor's] office," says Dr. Neel Shah, Maven's chief medical officer and an obstetrician-gynecologist himself. "Doulas observe deep truths that are often beyond the gaze of the medical establishment, and they bring all kinds of context to guide, advise and support people who are pregnant." 

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Most Americans lack access to doulas for geographic reasons, as well as a supply and demand issue, says Shah. The option of virtual doula care, especially when offered as an employer-sponsored benefit, opens up access to this level of support to anyone, anywhere. For businesses, this is both a show of support for women's health and a huge cost savings. 

C-sections are the most common major surgery done in America, and are around double the cost of a vaginal birth. If the use of the procedure was reduced by 23%, employer savings would be over $1 billion a year, according to the Harvard Business Review. A big driver behind unnecessary C-sections is mothers being unprepared and unsupported, which access to a doula can change, Shah says. 

"Pregnancy, labor and childbirth is a marathon, and it's much harder to run a marathon if you don't have people cheering you along the way," he says. "That coaching and support and encouragement makes a huge difference."

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Supporting women during pregnancy, childbirth and beyond is an area for employers to focus on health in a more affordable way — and that means looking outside the box of what's typically available in the healthcare space, says Shah. 

"Every person who becomes pregnant is stressed about what that's going to mean for work, and they're very interested and engaged in what their benefits are," says Shah. "We see very high enrollment rates in these programs compared to other kinds of benefits, and when people enroll, they engage — people tend to meet with their doulas multiple times. Employees are super excited to have [this kind of] support from their employer."