Doula Right Thing

A partnership gives WERDCC residents the chance to pursue doula certification and build careers supporting new mothers.

Story by Marcus Wilkins. Photos by Garry Brix.

Seated in the education room in the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WERDCC) in Vandalia, eight women peer into their past, present and future. Students watch as Jordana Helmke, Doula Foundation trainer, manipulates a model of a human pelvis to illustrate the skeletal movements during childbirth.

Behind the eyes of the residents — nearly all of them mothers — this profound maternal moment is relived.

 Memories of pain, tears, joy, love, fear and uncertainty come flooding back. Each student also considers how she might apply the lesson in a professional setting after her release.

The participants, already trained caregivers who assist new and expectant mothers in WERDCC’s nursery wing, are working toward perinatal doula certification thanks to a new program developed by WERDCC nursery director Kim Perkins and the Springfield-based Doula Foundation.

Doulas — nonmedical professionals who provide physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth — have become increasingly popular over the past 20 years.

The career field has sparked passion among the enthusiastic nursery caregivers, some of whom requested transfers to WERDCC to participate in the program.

“I’m excited to learn about the natural birth process because I have five daughters, all C-sections, so it’s new to me,” said Katie Corum, WERDCC prison nursery caregiver. “We have been anticipating this for weeks, and we even read the book before the instructors arrived.”

Designed to accommodate incarcerated students, who cannot participate in live hospital deliveries, the class covers postpartum physiology and recovery, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, feeding and lactation, and much more. It began in late August, and staff hope to host a graduation ceremony in July 2027.

For some residents, the experience has provided a new perspective on lived experiences — and a foundation to support their community.

“I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety during my pregnancies, and as we’ve covered them, I’ve thought about how I can relate to a new mom experiencing it,” said doula program trainee Makayla Stokes-Michael. “Having a child while in prison is a scary situation, and they’re trusting other residents to care for their child and provide support. Knowing we have that certification will help build that trust.”

Nurturing Nature

For some students, swaddling a baby is second nature. Even so, students practice their swaddling techniques on lifelike newborn dolls before using those skills with future clients.

“Babies like to self-sabotage when they breastfeed, using their fingers to unlatch, then they get mad at you,” said Helmke, demonstrating a technique that keeps an infant’s hands from interfering. “A lactation nurse showed me this method and joked that it’s called ‘the straightjacket.’”

Just beyond the classroom, Perkins checks in on the moms in the playroom, where one four-month-old is babbling in a playpen and another squeals with delight and fidgets with her activity walker.

“The doula program evolved over the past two years because we wanted to provide more support to our moms,” Perkins said. “This is a really hard time for them. They are alone. They don’t have family and friends around them during their pregnancy and during childbirth. So I reached out to the founder of The Doula Foundation, Kimberly Costello.”

The Doula Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2000 to provide birthing care to underserved populations, has grown into a pregnancy and maternal mental health coalition that partners with more than 50 Missouri agencies.

“About 22 years ago, a woman walked into our building holding a newborn and said ‘my daughter just gave birth in prison, and we didn’t even know she was expecting,’” said Costello. “We provided supplies and support, and I still get wonderful updates about that little guy. So, when I met Ms. Perkins, I told her we would do whatever we can to help — whatever that looks like.

“This is a full-circle moment for me.”

Beyond the Nursery

The program has also netted positive outcomes beyond additional care and expertise for resident mothers. After listing her goals at the outset of the class, Stokes-Michael reconnected with her estranged daughter.

“When I lived through two difficult pregnancies, I experienced a lot, and I still don’t fully understand everything that was happening,” Stokes-Michael said. “Now I’m getting to learn the ins and outs and whys of what the medical team did and the psychology of new motherhood. And now I talk with my youngest every week.”

As class wraps up, residents excitedly chat about the day’s various topics — and prime themselves with questions for the instructors’ next visit. The energy is palpable.

For Tara Carroll, a WERDCC resident who has given birth twice while incarcerated — once to a stillborn baby — the opportunity to pursue this professional path is especially meaningful.

“This means I’m going to get to live a dream that I never knew I could have,” said Carroll, letting the tears flow. “My daughter’s going to see a mom who changed her life, did something with her life, and that I work in not just a job but a real career that I love.”