Our initiative grew out of an Early Childhood Racial Equity Leaders Cohort formed in 2021 by the Great Start Collaborative of Muskegon County.

Through discussions about health disparities and infant mortality rates for babies of color, and with support from various local organizations and nonprofits, a group of women leaders in Muskegon formed the How YOU Birth Doula Initiative.

We connect doulas, families, and community partners to increase access, availability, and awareness to Doula Services. We connect:
- Prospective doulas to training opportunities
- Registered doulas to one another for peer-to-peer learning
- Families to doulas
- Doulas to billing support
- Medical providers to doulas
- Community members with information and education about the benefits of doulas
Members of the How YOU Birth Doula Cohort are independent contractors. They are on the MI Doula Registry and have been trained by a MI-approved Doula Certification Program. They are also certified by at least one medical insurance plan.

About Us

Group of women of diverse ethnicities standing and sitting on a colorful rug, smiling for a photo indoors.

How YOU Birth Doulas

Our Executive Team

We connect community doulas to one another, and to birthing people in search of support across West Michigan. We aim to increase compassionate, culturally competent support for birthing people of color, regardless of financial barriers. We’re providing an easier way for families to connect to community doulas, and we are convening local doulas for peer-to-peer support.

Close-up of a smiling Black woman with natural curly hair styled in an updo, wearing earrings and makeup.

Catrina Rule

Board Chair

Certified Doula

Woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing glasses and a black and white striped jacket, smiling outdoors with a blue sky and body of water in the background.

Jamie Hekker

Board Secretary

A smiling woman with shoulder-length wavy reddish-brown hair, wearing a white top and earrings, indoors with a ceiling and some furniture visible in the background.

Allison Keessen

Board Treasurer

Woman with curly hair in a white blouse sitting outdoors in front of greenery, smiling.

Kimberley Sims

Doula Coordinator

Woman with long red braided hair speaking into a microphone at an event.

Hillery Ross

Board Member

Certified Doula

A woman smiling outdoors with autumn leaves in the background, wearing a green sweater and a silver necklace.

Hilary Marine

Administrative Director

Close-up of a pregnant woman's belly with hands and fingers forming a heart shape on her stomach, nails painted pink.

Our Vision

Our vision is to reduce health disparities by improving birth outcomes in populations of color through coordinated doula access and culturally competent care.

Our Mission

Our mission is to connect community doulas to one another and families for the purpose of increasing compassionate support to birthing persons of color, regardless of financial barriers.

Our Goals

  • We are working to build the community doula workforce with free training, ongoing education, startup materials, administrative backing, billing support, and referrals for a growing number of doulas.

  • We are leveraging Michigan’s Medicaid coverage for doula services to expand access in Muskegon County and surrounding counties, thereby reducing health disparities, particularly for women of color.

Our Accomplishments

  • Recruited and trained 4 birth doulas 

  • Recruited and trained 8 postpartum doulas

  • Recruited 2 grief and loss doulas

  • Cross-trained 16 doulas

  • Recorded 48 doula-assisted births

  • Next training cohort starting this July!

A person lying down, smiling, with their hand near their face, wearing rings, on a white fabric surface.