Doula's are trained professionals who provide physical, emotional, and informational support to birthing people. They may support just the birth, prenatal perod, postnatal period, or all three. Doulas have been associated with improved quality of care, patient experiences, and outcomes, including shorter labor, reduced likelihood of induction, reduced likelihood of c-section, higher Apgar scores, and improved feelings about childbirth. In addition, community-based doula support may be able to help mitigate the effects of social determinates of health. 

Dr. Larson is leading or contributing to multiple research projects that use implementation science methods to identify and test ways doulas can be effectively integrated into clinical care to lead to the best possible outcomes for birthing people. These projects range from the NIH-funded BE A MOM study (PI: Dr. Amutah-Onukagha), which is assessing the integration of maternal safety bundles and community based doulas to improve outcomes for Black women, to community-engaged mixed methods research at BIDMC that assesses how to effectively integrate doulas into clinical care to create a supportive environment. Dr. Larson recently presented the teams' findings related to doulas' roles in mental health support at the COVGEN International Summit. A critical part of this work is supporting mentees to develop their own research skills: three of Dr. Larson's mentees presented their work related to doulas at the 2021 APHA Annual Meeting.