Sonya Miles’ second labor and delivery went right according to her plan. She safely delivered her son, Sedrick, on Jan. 28, 2022, at UPMC Magee-Womens in Williamsport, with the support and advocacy of both a #doula and a nurse #midwife. Doulas are trained and certified birth coaches who provide continuous educational, emotional, and physical support during the pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum periods. Midwives are trained health professionals who help during labor and delivery. “Having a doula was important to me because of our country’s high maternal death rate for black mothers,” says Sonya. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates. Sonya labored at home for about 14 hours, all the while in contact with her doula, Gerria Coffee. When it was time to go to the hospital, Gerria worked in coordination with nurse midwife Mary Hostetler, CNM, to help Sonya deliver her baby. After only 90 minutes, Sonya delivered not-so-little Sedrick, who weighed in at 9 p...