The Bridge Doula Standards and Certification Pathway

About this Project

The Bridge Directory is a nationally recognized platform that connects families to perinatal providers of color while partnering with institutions to advance research rooted in community priorities and solutions. At its core, The Bridge is creating a new standard for maternal healthcare. From this foundation, they launched The Bridge Doula Standards and Certification Pathway—the first community co-designed, lifetime certification for doulas. Grounded in reproductive justice and ancestral traditions, this pathway removes financial and systemic barriers, validates community-based training, and establishes a trusted credential that enables doulas to partner with hospitals and access insurance benefits, including Medicaid reimbursement. By expanding doula access and professional recognition, they are improving outcomes for thousands of families—particularly Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities—ensuring care that is not only accessible, but dignified, culturally rooted, and life-affirming.