Nursing Student Birth Doulas' Influence On the Childbearing Outcomes of Vulnerable Populations.

Of 1,511 women served by nursing student birth doulas (Birth Companions) between 1998 and 2014, 34.5% were identified as vulnerable (refugees, non-English speakers, teens, low income, low education). This retrospective evaluation of the Birth Companions Program showed that vulnerable mothers had more epidurals and smaller babies, and attempted breastfeeding less frequently than nonvulnerable.

Evaluation of a student-nurse doula program: an analysis of doula interventions and their impact on labor analgesia and cesarean birth.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe specific doula interventions, explore differences in doula interventions by attending provider (certified nurse-midwife vs obstetrician), and examine associations between doula interventions, labor analgesia, and cesarean birth in women receiving doula care from student nurses.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the Birth Companions Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing was conducted using t tests, chi-square statistics, and logistic regression models.

Results: In the 648 births in the sample, doulas used approximately 1 more intervention per labor with certified nurse-midwife clients compared to obstetrician clients.

Doula care: nursing students gain additional skills to define their professional practice.

Students enter professional nursing with a desire to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and provide nurturing support during life-changing experiences such as childbirth. "Community Perspectives on the Childbearing Process," an elective course at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, provides an opportunity to learn and use the skills of physical, emotional, and informational labor support as a "doula." As the first of its kind offered in a school of nursing, this service-learning opportunity offers students the unique opportunity to learn the skills of labor support through an in-depth, hands-on experience.

Lower epidural anesthesia use associated with labor support by student nurse doulas: implications for intrapartal nursing practice.

Interventions of baccalaureate nursing students, trained as doulas, were examined for their association with epidural anesthetic use. Doulas, trained to support laboring mothers, are associated with shorter labors and fewer medical interventions. Data from a convenience sample of 89 vaginal births attended between 1999 and 2002 were analyzed.

A community-based free nursing clinic's approach to management of health problems for the uninsured: the hepatitis C example.

Poverty, as an outgrowth of lack of opportunity in employment, basic education, affordable housing, and racism, directly affects disparities in health status. Health care providers are challenged to identify and overcome systemic barriers to health services for the poorest patients. This article describes the population of patients and the model of care offered by the Wald Community Nursing Center, a free nurse-managed clinic in Baltimore, Maryland.