FIRST STEPS & BEYOND FOSTERS COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN NURTUREPA AND DOULA GROUPS

PITTSBURGH, PA – February 9, 2026 – NurturePA is proud to announce its collaboration with doula services MAYA Organization and Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge. The collaboration illustrates the critical role doulas play in maternal and infant health outcomes while expanding access to comprehensive perinatal support services. 

The collaborations reflect a robust network of resources and support for mothers that Allegheny Health Network’s First Steps & Beyond program has created in our Region. “Allegheny Health Network's First Steps & Beyond not only supports families, it connects support systems to improve maternal and infant health and reduce mortality. Parenting can feel like a high-wire act. First Steps is weaving the net to make sure women and children land safely and are in a position to thrive,” said Susan Crookston, Executive Director of NurturePA.

Unlike medical providers, doulas focus exclusively on the mother’s comfort, advocacy, and emotional well being. Birth doulas support families during labor and delivery, while postpartum doulas help with newborn care, breastfeeding support, and the transition to parenthood. Doulas do not perform medical tasks but work alongside healthcare teams to ensure mothers feel informed, supported, and empowered throughout their birth experience and beyond.

Research demonstrates the significant impact doulas have on birth outcomes and maternal well being. According to a 2017 Cochrane Review, support from doulas during labor resulted in shorter labors, reduced use of pain medication, decreased rates of cesarean births, and higher satisfaction with the birth experience. Studies have also shown that doula support is associated with improved breastfeeding initiation rates and reduced postpartum depression.

Partnership in Action

“This collaboration creates natural referral bridges, ensuring mothers receive layered support throughout their perinatal journey,” said Crookston. Doulas can connect their clients with NurturePA's ongoing text-based mentoring, while NurturePA mentors can refer mentees to doula services for hands-on birth and postpartum support.

“It's so impactful to be able to support our partner organizations in the community. NurturePA enables families to have 24/7 access to support through their texting platform. By connecting them with doula groups like Kangaroo Birthing, First Steps is creating a truly powerful team,” said Takiyah Durham, Director of First Steps & Beyond.

“In collaboration with First Steps & Beyond and NurturePA, we ensure every family receives consistent, culturally responsive, and dignity-centered care across the full perinatal continuum,” said Syreeta Gordon, Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge.

“The childbearing year is a time when parents really need personalized, accessible support. By working together, we create a web of support that meets the needs of the whole person. With NurturePA's postpartum text support, Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity's postpartum doulas, and MAYA's live classes and birth doulas, parents have the tools they need to empower themselves,” added Christy Cozby, Executive Director of MAYA Organization.

The connection between doula work and peer mentoring is deeply personal for some NurturePA team members. Kelly Bareford, who joined NurturePA as a volunteer in 2020, discovered her calling through mentoring new mothers. “NurturePA helped me find my passion and my life’s purpose," said Bareford, who has since become a postpartum doula and continues working with the organization. “My love and passion is mentoring new moms and supporting new families.”

About NurturePA

NurturePA provides free, confidential, text-based peer mentoring to mothers from pregnancy through their child's fifth birthday. Through trained mentors who are also mothers, the organization offers judgment-free support, evidence-based information, and consistent encouragement during the critical early years of parenting. With 48 active mentors who have exchanged more than 67,000 text messages with families in the past year alone, NurturePA continues to develop a model that connects mothers with both personalized mentoring relationships and informational resources – including doula care.

About First Steps & Beyond

First Steps & Beyond builds bridges between Pittsburgh's diverse networks of care providers to address both medical and social needs of families, reducing disparities and improving outcomes for mothers and babies throughout the region. Through partnerships with community-based organizations, birth workers, medical systems, and government agencies, First Steps & Beyond works to decrease infant mortality rates, reduce preterm birth rates, increase knowledge about safe sleep recommendations, and provide comprehensive support during the critical fourth trimester.

About Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge

Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge provides wraparound doula care from pregnancy through the fourth trimester, including nutrition, education, emotional support, and labor and postpartum care. Through partnerships with the American Heart Association’s Food Is Medicine program and the Food Justice Fund, families receive fresh fruits and vegetables through Freedman Family Farms, along with community-based and online postpartum nutrition education. With prenatal appointment support, monthly check-ins, meals, transportation, and emergency concierge services through our NurturHer app, Kangaroo Birthing ensures families receive consistent, whole-person care.

About MAYA Organization

MAYA's miss

ion is to empower BIPOC and marginalized birthing people and birthworkers, and to create positive change in the systems that impact them. Maya’s support services include doula service, perinatal and postnatal classes, mentorship, and baby supplies.