Honors Theses

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Degree Name

BS

Department

Nursing

Faculty Mentor

Wilma Stuart, Ph.D.

Advisor(s)

Amy Davis, Ph.D. and Rebecca Graves, Ph.D.

Abstract

Background: The maternal mortality ratio in the United States is much higher than the mortality rate for women who live in other countries with similar Human Development Index scores. Black women are more likely to die than their white counterparts. Most of these deaths are preventable. Patients feel like they are being ignored, or that they are not being seen. Doula care is a possible solution to these problems.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess patient understanding and perception of doulas as well as comparing desire for doulas to demographics and past experiences to search for relationships.

Methods: This study is a small-scale descriptive study that uses a survey to answer the research questions. The survey was adapted to better fit the local population from a survey originally used for a study by Marudo et al. that was published in 2025. Surveys were distributed at the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital. The survey was distributed through REDCap. Participants were recruited using an advertising flyer that was passed out at perinatal education classes, birth facility tours, and to stable inpatient individuals. Any woman over the age of eighteen who was served by the USA Hospital system was eligible to participate in the survey.

Results: A total of 42 surveys were completed. 95.2% of the participants indicated interest in at least one aspect of doula care. There was no relationship found between history of pregnancy complications and desire to use doulas, insurance status and desire to use doulas, annual household income and desire to use doulas, or race and desire to use doulas. Participants were found to have generally adequate knowledge of doulas, however, all patients answered at least one of four true/false questions related to doula roles, insurance coverage, and history incorrectly.

Conclusions: The participants surveyed were amenable to the implementation of a hospital-based doula program (HBDP). Survey respondents understood the role of doulas, and expressed interest in using doulas if they were covered by insurance or paid for on a sliding scale. Hospital-based doula programs could tangibly and positively change the field of obstetrics in the United States.

Comments

©  2026 Sarah Laney ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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