The 2026 Global Celebration of

Black Doula Day™

"Black Doulas on the Frontlines of Black Maternal Health Liberation"

The Black Maternal Health movement has been greatly and positively impacted by Black Doula care providers, community leaders, activists, and advocates-who continously center the liberation, health and wellbeing of Black families. This year we honor and celebrate Black Doulas on the frontlines!

April 11th, 2026

Global Black Doula Day™ Celebration

Coined in 2022 by Okunsola M. Amadou with five-honorable proclamations designating every April 11th as Black Doula Day™. The Black Doula Day™ Global Launch took place on April 11, 2024 in partnership with Black Mamas Matter Alliance and 6-National Black Doula organizations.

This year’s Black Doula Day™ Global Celebration is a powerful declaration that our future lies in the wisdom of our past. As we launch this movement on a global scale, we center the timeless knowledge of our ancestors, embracing community-based birthwork, holistic restoration, and sustainable Black maternal health efforts.

Black doulas have always been the keepers of sacred birth traditions, acting as healers, advocates, and guardians of life. Through this year’s theme, we call on doulas, midwives, birthing people, and the broader community to reclaim and restore ancestral birthing practices that have sustained us for generations—practices that prioritize care over profit, relationships over institutions, and healing over harm.

Ways to Honor & Activate Black Doula Day 2026

1. Commission a Black Doula Day Proclamation or Resolution in your City or State

When Black doulas lead and win, every family, woman and birthing person wins. This year we're calling all Black doula leaders and care providers to ensure Black doulas are honored and celebrated every year in their communities and respective states. Commissioning a proclamation and resolution is 1-way to engage community, city and state officials to support, protect, invest in and uplift Black Doulas. Learn more in our Proclamation & Resolution Toolkit.

2. Community Lunch & Learn at a Local Park

Celebrating Black Doula Day in nature is both a grounding and joyful way to honor the work of community doulas, while sharing music, stories or poetry over a nourishing meal with community members. This year lets get outdoors and have fun Family Reunion style, in honor of Black Doulas across the globe.

Reconnecting with Nature & Plant Medicine – Provide opportunities for doulas to teach and share knowledge around plant medicine, nutrition, and postpartum healing from Black and Indigenous traditions while outdoors through a local hike or herbal plant identification walk.

3. Building Sustainability in Black Maternal Health Work

The Black Doula Day Global Celebration (April 11th) – A nationwide mobilization highlighting this year's theme and the Black Doula Day™ 7-core demands to protect, push, and uplift the Black doula profession.

Policy & Advocacy Forums – Engage in discussions on birth justice, Medicaid expansion for doula services, and dismantling systemic racism in maternal care.

Community Doula Training & Mentorship Initiatives – Uplifting the next generation of Black doulas by making education accessible and community-led.

Funding & Economic Support for Black Doulas – Promote equitable compensation, grant funding, and cooperative economic models to allow the sustainability of Black-led birth work.

MEET THE PLANNING COMMITTEE

7 CORE DEMANDS FOR BLACK DOULA DAY ™

1 Eliminate misconceptions of the doula scope of practice, including the difference between a doula and a midwife.
2 Doulas should be paid an equitable reimbursement wage via private and Medicaid insurance at a minimum global reimbursement rate of $3000 USD, with variations at the rate based on country of service.
3 Community-based and BIPOC-led organizations and Doulas in the state must be “included” as “experts” in the process of drafting legislation for reimbursement or in lieu of service (ILOS).
4 Doulas should not be used or exploited as a solution or bandage to the biased health care system.
5 Mental health care must be prioritized for BIPOC doulas who are continuously traumatized while attending births along with managing complicated personal lives due to the sacrifice of being on call and carrying the burden of the system.
6 Doulas belong to the community not the state. States should not limit the type of trainings that doulas can take and certify with.
7 It is important to emphasize the care components of the profession using terms such as Birth Companion, Family Support, etc… over the colonialist term Doula.