Outcomes

• Decrease rate of cesarean sections, post-partum depression, pre-term labors, length of labor
• Increase healthy infant birth weight, mother-infant interactions, psycho-social benefits and enhanced mother and neonatal outcomes
• Women learn about choice over their body
• Families create healthy attachments to each other
• Decrease in system involvement
• Intervene in cycle of adverse childhood effects
• Decrease in cultural barriers

• Creating space for communities to take control over their births and lives with new family
• Providing support for women in labor by women who have lived through similar experiences
• Job opportunities for women
• Job opportunities where training and support are provided
• Safe places for people to join around events related to their new families decreasing feelings of isolation
• Free access to birthing education and resources helping families be better informed about their choices

• Fluid process for families and children
• Decrease system costs-health care systems costs savings, reduced resource utilization *despite the health and cost effectiveness of doula care, in one national survey only about 8% of women have had doulas present at their births (Sakala, Declercq & Corry, 2002)
• Education around birthing trends and how it effects each provider shared in a collaborative way
• Trainings offered to breakdown cultural barriers, leading more efficient approach to healthcare

• The NASW Code of Ethics requires all social workers to “critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice” (NASW, 2000, 5.02 [c])
• Provides strong evidence-based work to inform advocacy practice for the Somali community
• Provides strong evidence-based work to inform funders of benefits of One Birth enabling services to be provided for free in a sustainable manner