VUU becomes first HBCU in Virginia to offer doula certification class

By Clare Gehlich

Virginia Union University (VUU) made history Tuesday morning as the first historically Black university in the state to offer a doula training certification class.

According to an announcement from the University on the morning of Tuesday, March 18, the private university announced its partnership at Wilder Library at 11 a.m., with the birth center Birth In Color and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to offer a doula certification program. The class is designed to address the inequities surrounding women’s health during childbirth.

The six-month program will train people to become certified doulas to work with families expecting a baby to help, and reduce risks to provide the expecting mother with a more satisfying birthing and post-birthing experience.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Black women die during childbirth at three times the rate of white women nationwide, while Black women die at twice the rate of their white counterparts in Virginia.

As part of its Health Equity Initiative, VUU will launch Allied Health certifications, beginning with Phlebotomy, which means collecting blood from patients and preparing the samples for testing, and CPR to highlight “new sectors” for the University,” the announcement reads.