Better Together: Support Services for African-American Moms and Families During and After Pregnancy
During Pregnancy
Here is a list of community resources and support services available for African-American women and families during pregnancy. If we’re missing a valuable resource, or you find a broken link, please let us know at contact@LABestBabies.org.
Other categories: After Pregnancy | Breastfeeding | Fatherhood | Family Planning | Support Groups | Parenting | Directories for Various Services | Social Media & Podcasts
Download the PDF version of this guide
An online prenatal and postpartum doula directory maintained by Black Women Birthing Justice, a group working to improve birthing experiences for Black/African-American women.
Baby Dove and Sista Midwife Productions a national birth advocacy, training and consulting agency partnered to launch the Directory in 2023 for Black birthing families to identify and connect with Black doulas across the country.
BreastfeedLA provides families with resources to get informed, empowered, and educated about breastfeeding, including a resource directory with information on breastfeeding education services, perinatal support groups, pump rentals, one-on-one lactation counseling, and breastfeeding-friendly medical providers; information on local milk depots – milk collection sites for donated breast milk; breastfeeding brochures and factsheets, including information on breastfeeding and lactation rights.
Founded by founded by Baby Dove, the fund provides immediate care to expecting Black moms and birthing individuals by increasing access to doulas as critical supports in the birthing journey.
A collective of birth workers of color providing trainings, workshops, and healing offerings for birthworkers, pregnant people, and their families.
A program that provides group support sessions and case management to African-American women 18 years or older and up to 30 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment.
A doula care program that provides free prenatal and postpartum visits, continual labor, birth, and immediate postpartum lactation support.
Open to all Black/African American women/birthing persons living or delivering in Los Angeles County.
Self-described as “an uplifting generation of community doulas on the frontline of birth in the black community co-creating and reclaiming family-centered narratives for generations to come.” Provides free prenatal and postpartum visits, continual labor, birth, and immediate postpartum lactation support.
Open to all Black/African American birthing persons living or delivering in Los Angeles.
Doula certifying organization that includes a search tool to find prenatal and postpartum doulas.
A warm line providing support to black families throughout the entire state of California.
If you are a Black pregnant or postpartum person who has a question or needs non-emergency support, text ‘DOULAHELP’ to 833.987.2908 to schedule a free 50-minute call or text session.
The hotline operates Monday – Sunday, 7:00am – 10:00pm PST. You can call as many times as you would like.
This pilot program is in partnership with Black Women Birthing Justice.
An online directory that helps families find free in-home support during and after pregnancy. Some programs continue to provide service up to the child’s 5th birthday.
Paired with a trained professional, in the comfort of their home or in another preferred meeting spot, moms and dads get tips on having a healthy pregnancy and caring for a newborn, plus support with breastfeeding, developmental screenings for the child, and connections to helpful resources in the community
Provides midwifery care, doula support, lactation consulting, support groups for mothers and fathers and educational workshops, including prenatal classes on breastfeeding.
The center provides free workshops and healing and preventive health care services, including fatherhood/parenting workshops, prenatal classes and breastfeeding classes.
An online resource directory to help moms find help in L.A. County for depression and other mental health concerns during pregnancy and after giving birth.
Mobile and Texting Apps
All of these guide pregnant women through pregnancy milestones, provide health information, and help track the baby’s growth and their own body changes. Additional features are listed next to each one. Unless otherwise noted, these apps are available free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Emotional Wellness Self-Help Tool
Provides basic education about the transition to motherhood and the emotional changes that often occur during pregnancy and the period following delivery. - BabyCenter (App Store | Google Play)
This app can help guide pregnant women through pregnancy milestones, provide health information, and help track the baby’s growth and their own body changes. The BabyCenter app (available on the Apple App Store and Google Play) turns into a daily parenting guide once baby arrives, with tips on caring for the newborn – and themselves. See babycenter.com for information designed just for Black and biracial parents. - my baby. by Dignity Health (App Store | Google Play)
Helps pregnant women find a doctor, schedule a birth center tour and prenatal classes, and connect to services like nurse support. - Peanut (App Store | Google Play)
Helps pregnant women meet, chat and learn from other women who are also on the journey of pregnancy and motherhood. - Sprout Pregnancy (App Store | Google Play)
Checklists and tools to help pregnant families prepare for the arrival of the baby, plus a weight tracker, kick counter and a contraction timer. - The Bump (App Store | Google Play)
Articles on pregnancy and parenting, plus a planner to help prepare for each doctor visit. - Text4Baby (App Store | Google Play)
An app and text messaging service that helps expecting and new parents get essential health, nutrition, safety, and baby development information. Text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 to start receiving texts. - What to Expect (App Store | Google Play)
Popular pregnancy app includes weekly videos and guides to important tests/screenings and useful baby products. - WebMD Pregnancy (App Store)
Lots of health information, plus a section specifically for dads/partners. (iOS devices only).
A wearable device that communicates soothing, daily messages for each day of an expecting mother’s pregnancy progression, with a goal of serving as pregnancy support and a companion. Along with general audio content available for all English speakers, Respect Black Beginnings is culturally specific audio content tailored for African-American families.
Tribe Midwifery provides a variety of services using the midwifery model of care, including women’s health care services, such as Pap smears, pelvic and breast exams, STD screenings, and blood work; family planning services; prenatal care; midwifery childbirth support; childbirth education classes; postpartum care visits
Services are available to women in the Los Angeles area for a fee, but complimentary consultations are available.
Other categories: After Pregnancy | Breastfeeding | Fatherhood | Family Planning | Support Groups | Parenting | Directories for Various Services | Social Media & Podcasts
Download the PDF version of this guide
Disclaimer: LA Best Babies Network provides this content as a service to the community. Listing a community resource/support service here does not necessarily imply endorsement. Please contact the organizations directly for more information on any of these programs.