Dayton doulas

In Fall 2021, community members began gathering regularly with University of Dayton faculty and staff at the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. One question dominated the meetings: Why are Black mothers and babies dying at such disproportionate rates — and what can be done about it?

The data shows good cause for alarm. From 2008 to 2016, Montgomery County recorded Ohio’s highest Black maternal mortality rate — 19.7 deaths per 100,000 live births — compared to the state’s overall rate of 14.7, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

In response, the Health Activation Think Tank, or HATT, launched in 2022 to improve Black maternal and infant health outcomes in the county. Backed by a three-year CareSource Foundation grant, the Dayton Foundation partnered with the Fitz Center to hire Sharon Hawkins as HATT’s director.

“We didn’t come into those early conversations with a top-down solution. Instead, we asked the people who were living it,” said Hawkins, a retired Cleveland Clinic nurse, nursing professor and public policy advocate.

DeShae Jackson, a Dayton native and certified birth doula — a nonmedical professional who provides emotional, physical and informational support to birthing people before, during and after childbirth — was among them, bringing her professional and personal insight to the discussions.

“I knew firsthand what mothers needed because I had seen the gaps myself. Those conversations gave structure and strategy to what we already knew was vital,” said Jackson.

Doulas aren’t in competition with OB-GYNs or midwives, Hawkins said. “They are chosen by the mother to be their advocate. When you train doulas, you’re supporting women to become advocates in the most critical moments of care.”

"When you train doulas, you’re supporting women to become advocates in the most critical moments of care.”

HATT’s community-rooted approach led to the launch of a doula training initiative in February 2024. Ten women from Dayton’s most affected neighborhoods received $1,600 stipends and certification through Doulas of North America, along with two years of professional membership.

Certified doulas in Ohio have been eligible to bill Medicaid since 2023 — a major development in a state where more than half of all births are Medicaid-funded.

Participants also receive business mentorship, with some launching their own businesses and others contracting with health care providers.

Jackson founded Here We Grow Doula Services, providing birthing and postpartum services, lactation support, home birth rental essentials and even plant propagation — a nod to her belief that “birth and growth go hand-in-hand.”

So when her younger sister, Dijon Jackson, learned of the doula opportunity, she was immediately interested.

“I struggled postpartum after delivering my son. When this program came up, I knew I could turn that pain into purpose,” said Dijon, who now specializes in postpartum care and mental health support.

“I struggled postpartum after delivering my son. When this program came up, I knew I could turn that pain into purpose.”

Graduates from the first cohort helped recruit and review applicants for the next round. DeShae Jackson, serving as a mentor, withdrew herself from evaluating her sister’s application.

“I told them, ‘Choose her only if she’s the right fit,’” she said.

They did. Dijon Jackson used her stipend to buy a laptop and became certified online in just four days.

“We know we’re in this together — to be advocates for families and for each other,” she said. “It’s powerful to be trusted by mothers and your peers. We don’t take that lightly.”

The Jackson sisters now work side by side through Here We Grow. They swap late-night texts, solve problems in group chats and share a mission strengthened by sisterhood and resilience.

And it all started with a question.

“We were asked what we needed,” DeShae Jackson said. “Then, we built it.”

“We were asked what we needed. Then, we built it.”

Photography by Sylvia Stahl

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2025 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 12. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE