Doula Foundation Helps Families Through Pregnancy and Beyond

For Kimberly Costello, helping a mother through pregnancy is only the beginning.

Sometimes a mom needs someone beside her at the hospital. Other times she may need diapers, clothing, housing or simply someone who can point her toward the right resources.

That’s where the Doula Foundation comes in.

Costello, CEO of the Doula Foundation, has spent more than 30 years working in nonprofit maternal health and helping families find the support they need.

“When our families are thriving, our community is thriving,” Costello said.

Originally from East Texas, Costello moved to the Ozarks more than 30 years ago. During the 1990s, she sang at Silver Dollar City while finishing college at what was then Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University.

She met her husband here, and the couple has been married for 30 years.

Costello eventually found her calling in nonprofit work, particularly helping families with children.

That path led her to the Doula Foundation.

Costello said she was drawn to the organization because its work goes well beyond pregnancy. The foundation supports mothers during pregnancy, attends childbirth with them at the hospital, and continues helping during the early months of parenthood.

That support can include home visits, education, and classes.

But for some families, the needs are much greater.

The foundation works with women dealing with homelessness, domestic violence, and other difficult situations. Some grew up in the foster care system and are now preparing to raise children of their own.

Through case management and care coordination, the foundation helps connect families with housing, mental health services and other resources.

“We work with them through case management and care coordination to really get them connected in the community with resources,” Costello said.

Sometimes helping a family means meeting very basic needs.

The foundation’s Blessings Boutique provides items such as diapers, wipes, and clothing. It can also help provide household items for women starting over.

Costello said the organization was recently helping a woman who had to leave everything behind. The foundation helped her secure housing and then began helping her find the basic household and baby items she needed.

Those situations are also why community support remains important.

“We would not be here without our community partners,” Costello said.

And helping doesn’t always mean donating money.

Costello said volunteers can help with programs such as the Blessings Boutique. Community organizations can also help simply by spreading the word about the foundation and the services available to families.

Costello said Missouri Medicaid now covers doula services and education for those who qualify. Making sure families know that help is available has become another important part of the foundation’s work.

Maternal health remains a concern across Missouri, Costello said.

She pointed to the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review report and said mental health concerns, substance use disorder and domestic violence are among the challenges facing mothers.

For the Doula Foundation, that makes prevention an important part of the job.

Costello said the organization works to reduce barriers that can keep families from receiving medical care and other resources. Its education and support services also focus on issues including child abuse and neglect, low birth weight and premature deliveries.

The work doesn’t stop at the local level.

Costello said the Doula Foundation is also involved in state advocacy, working to make sure families across Missouri have better access to help.

“We do a lot of state advocacy work so that we can really work to champion for families to get the support and resources they need across the state to help reduce these barriers,” she said.

After more than three decades in maternal health, Costello keeps coming back to a pretty simple idea.

Help families when they need it. Give parents the tools and support to move forward. And give babies the best start possible.

For Costello, helping families grow stronger also means helping the community around them grow stronger.

“When our families are thriving, our community is thriving,” she said.