U Chicago partners with Partum Health to staff doulas around the clock. Partum Health doulas pose for a photo at doula training at U Chicago Medicine. Starting Tuesday, doulas are available 24/7 at UCM Birthing Center in Hyde Park. Partum Health Starting Tuesday, a team of full-spectrum doulas with Chicago-based startup Partum Health will be working around the clock alongside the doctors, midwives and nurses at the University of Chicago Medicine Family Birth Center in Hyde Park. "This is just a really exciting way that we have been able to partner to take legislation in a way that it actually touches patients and is going to be improving health equity and birth outcomes, patient satisfaction and efficiency in a hospital," said Dr. Melissa Dennis, Chief Medical Officer at Partum. She said having doulas on staff 24/7 means patients don't have to worry about pre-arranging doula support. Historically, patients would have find doulas and pay for them on their own. Partum Health "Now, what we're doing is creating an environment where, when patients show up to the family birth center, there will be a doula available to support them in labor if they have not pre-arranged to have a doula supporting them," Dr. Dennis said. Doulas are trained non-clinical professionals who offer personalized physical, emotional and informational support to patients. Dr. Dennis said research shows that when patients work with doulas, they have a better birthing experience. "Most of our doulas who we have hired are from the community or have always served the community in the South Side of Chicago and are committed to health equity and to ensuring that these voices are heard," she said. She said it's part of a larger goal where a higher standard of care is the new standard of care. "This is just a way that they have that additional support that they need to make this the safest and most joyful experience that they can have while entering to give birth," she said.

The maternal health start-up provides expert support for growing families through proactive care from pre-conception through early parenthood.CHICAGO, Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Partum Health, the Chicago-based maternal health startup that offers direct-to-consumer interdisciplinary pregnancy and postpartum care, is expanding to Dallas, the brand's third market. Partum was founded in Chicago in 2021 and expanded to Houston in November 2023 after raising $3.1 million in seed funding.In the United States, more women die each year of pregnancy-related complications than in any other developed country, with the majority of those deaths happening between one week and one year of giving birth. And in Texas, the need is especially acute. A 2022 study published by the Texas Medical Association ranked the state 50th among all states in access to high-quality prenatal and maternal care, citing barriers to health care before and after their hospital stay as a key factor. Moreover, a report last year by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found that 90% of the state's pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, recommending an improvement in care coordination and access to comprehensive health services to achieve better outcomes.Partum Health was founded with a mission to change the standard of maternal care after its founders witnessed the huge gap between the care they needed and what they actually received during their own families' perinatal experiences.In addition to a comprehensive network of postpartum specialty providers across lactation, mental health, physical therapy and more, Partum families also have a dedicated care coordinator