Alexia Doumbouya’s journey through two turbulent pregnancies revealed a dire need for enhanced support for Black mothers. Her experience was the tipping point that led her to launch CocoLife.black, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that provides Black women with perinatal services alongside local healthcare providers. They offer comprehensive doula training, holistic pregnancy care, and ongoing community engagement to improve birth outcomes.

CocoLife.black launched a partnership with Penn Medicine: University of Pennsylvania Health System, the largest provider of birthing services in the greater Philadelphia region. The organizations collaborate on a community advisory initiative which engages key maternal health stakeholders to share best practices on building community engagement. They are actively working to improve care and outcomes for Black women and birthing people by building a bi-directional model of care where they will offer direct doula and mental health services. Penn Medicine also supports other Black maternal health equity initiatives like CocoLife.black’s annual summit, mixers with maternal and public health providers, and monthly sessions centered on childbirth education, parenting, and community resource navigation for parents.

CocoLife.black and Penn Medicine are working to fund, develop, and launch a doula accessibility project to expand doula availability and deepen their presence within Penn’s maternal health services.

“We don’t compromise,” said Doumbouya. “Our goal is to ensure that every single birthing experience is enhanced by knowledgeable, unbiased, compassionate care. We need collaborative and intentional change to get there.”