Welcome back to another episode of MedCity FemFwd, a podcast dedicated to exploring the breakthroughs and challenges in women’s health. In this episode, we’re joined by Meghan Doyle, CEO of Partum Health.
We discuss the company’s new partnership that offers 24/7 access to doula support at University of Chicago Medicine Family Birth Center – Hyde Park, and what Partum hopes to achieve in this partnership.
Here is an AI-generated transcript of the episode:
Marissa Plescia: Welcome to MedCity FemFwd. I’m Marissa Plescia, reporter from Med City News. In this episode, we’re joined by Meghan Doyle, CEO of Partum Health. Partum Health recently launched a partnership with UChicago Medicine at Hyde Park that provides 24/7 access to doula support.
Marissa Plescia: Hi Meghan. Thank you so much for joining MedCity FemFwd.
Meghan Doyle: Thank you so much for having me. I am really looking forward to the conversation.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah, absolutely. Maybe just to start, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself and Partum Health?
Meghan Doyle: Definitely. So my name’s Meghan Doyle. I am the CEO and one of the co-founders here at Partum Health.
Um, the brief version of my background, I, I started my career in the consumer world and mentioned that because I always think about serving our patients really as consumers. And then spent, uh, about eight years doing payer provider and health services work at BCG. And then I had two kids. And that experience of becoming a mom really helped me identify firsthand a lot of the gaps in our maternal care, uh, system.
And that’s what led me to start Partum. Um, and I’m happy to share a little bit, just a brief overview of partum. Um, we are really focused on elevating the standard of care for every family as they navigate pregnancy and postpartum. And we do that by bringing together multispecialty. Providers that includes both birth and postpartum doula support, lactation, nutrition, physical therapy, and behavioral health.
And the goal is really to remove a lot of that fragmentation and friction that we know is so hard, uh, to deal with when you’re going through any major life transition or health issue. Um, and we see that particularly present in pregnancy and postpartum. Um, and we know from data and research that when you get patients.
This type of support when you get them preventive care, especially in these areas, we can avoid some of the most common complications and some of the most costly complications, um, by getting patients that stepped up support. So Partem does that through a mix of telehealth and in-person care. Um, and we wrap it all with digital care navigation.
So we really make an ideal complimentary partner to a lot of that primary maternity care that patients are receiving from an OB or a midwife.
Marissa Plescia: Thank you so much. And going off of that, you recently announced a partnership with U Chicago Medicine and Hyde Park. Can you talk a bit about what this partnership looks like and why you felt it was important to create this partnership?
Meghan Doyle: Absolutely. Um, and I’ll just, I’ll say with the University of Chicago partnership, you know, we really are striving to be, um, partners that really fit with what the health system needs. And so the origin of this, we had met, um, as we were building relationships in Chicago, which is our, our home market and one of our, um, most established markets.
And one of the things that’s happened over the last several years is that the state has passed legislation. So not just Illinois. Actually now, you know, more than half of the states have. Reimbursement occurring for doula care through their Medicaid program. And we knew this was gonna be a big catalyst.
We knew it would expand access, so a lot more families would have the opportunity to work with a doula. And we met some amazing clinicians at University of Chicago. Um, really Dr. Abby Cordick. She has led the charge there and partnered with our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Melissa Dennis. As well as our amazing team, AB doulas and our lead doula, Gianna Valdo, to really dream up this goal of expanding access so that more patients would have this type of emotional and physical support.
Um, and with University of Chicago, we picked the entry point around labor and delivery. So our aim is always to get patients as much. Prenatal labor and delivery and postpartum support as we can. Um, but in our conversations with University of Chicago, we saw this opportunity to really ensure that patients who were coming into labor and delivery would have access to work with a doula.
And this is without a referral. This is at no charge as it’s covered currently by Medicaid. Um, and they’re able to, in this really. Sometimes intense, um, beautiful, but also can be really overwhelming moment. They’re able to have the support of a Partum Health doula, um, during their labor and delivery. So this is the initial phase of this partnership with University of Chicago.
We have 24 7 coverage. Um, the doulas are all really experienced, so, um, we’re starting with a team that really knows the patient population they’re serving. And is also, uh, highly trained, highly skilled. They’ve all attended many, many, many births. So walking into a situation, um, where they’re able to build rapport quickly with patients and help them, um, really navigate this moment, which can, as I said, be overwhelming with a, a new and differentiated level of emotional support, physical support, and, you know, practical information and guidance.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah. Thank you. And can you go into a bit more detail, um, as to the benefits that doulas provide and what this support really looks like for a patient?
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, absolutely. So we know from research that’s been done in many different settings, um, that working with a doula can help improve, uh, when it’s happening in the prenatal period, we know it can help improve.
Um, birth outcomes, even some of, as I mentioned, our most costly complications like preterm birth and low birth weight. We’ve seen, um, through research that working with a doula can help improve outcomes on those fronts, um, when it comes to labor and delivery itself. Improvement in the, um, lowering the, the C-section rate.
So working with a doula can really help promote vaginal birth. Um, we’ve seen higher APGAR scores, so that measure of how newborns are doing right after delivery, as well as, um, I improvement in the satisfaction with the birth experience, which. Is really important as well. Uh, there’s lots of data that that shows that the emotional toll, um, of, of birth is something that can really go on to affect, uh, mental health, you know, for the birthing person.
So those are some of the impacts that we’ve seen, and I think our partnership with the University of Chicago, it spans everything from patients who are already in really complicated situations and need that extra level of support to. You know, uh, labors that are prime for low intervention and ideally, you know, optimizing the opportunity for a vaginal birth.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah. And what, oh, I’m sorry. Was there more you were about to add?
Meghan Doyle: I was just gonna say the other thing that we know, um, we didn’t talk yet about the postpartum period, which as we’re starting this partnership with the University of Chicago, as I mentioned, the. Primary focus is on labor and delivery, but we are also then helping to navigate patients to that postpartum support.
So while they’re on, you know, inpatient, in hospital, we can help provide information, education and navigation, so all the shows, um, so that those patients can find support a. That postpartum support is so important. We see increasingly in the data around maternal mortality and morbidity that so many of those complications arrive in the postpartum period.
And so having that continuous support from patients post discharge, um, that can be incredibly helpful in reducing the incidence of perinatal mood, anxiety disorders, and also helping patients understand. What’s normal, right? So many things happen during labor and delivery. You get discharged and it’s really challenging on little sleep, caring for a newborn around the clock to also know when you’re experiencing problematic symptoms.
So it’s, we’re really thinking about the full spectrum of care, um, and how we can ensure that patients have this support, both labor and delivery postpartum, and, you know, prenatally as well.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah, that’s so important to add. Um, so when they get referred for postpartum care, is that with a partum health doula as well, or is that, um, referred elsewhere?
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, so they can work with a partum health doula. Um, it doesn’t have to be with a partum health doula, but we do have a, a team that supports patients coming out. You know, right now, one of the big challenges, not just for partum, but in all of the states where we’ve expanded coverage. Where reimbursement is, you know, market rate is just keeping up with the demand.
Um, so this is a relatively new part of the maternal healthcare workforce. Uh, we do have our own training and certification, um, program. So we are able to train doulas. It’s aligned to the state standards so that those doulas can then go on to, um, credential and work, you know, through Medicaid and serve families with Medicaid.
So they can work with a Partum Health doula. They can also work with community-based doulas. There are a number of amazing organizations, um, in Chicago that, that work with patients. But the main thing is we know today, so many patients don’t even know what a doula is, don’t know how to access them. Um, and so it’s really important that we’re able to give them that information and guidance.
And you know, if you haven’t been able to engage prenatally, then you have this opportunity to work with someone at Labor and Delivery, and then we’re able to get the information, you know, to them about postpartum care as well.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah, absolutely. And with partum health based in Chicago, is this support provided in person or is it virtually
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, the support is provided in person.
Um, you know, labor and delivery is one of those things that even in our AI world is very physical. Uh, so we think about, you know, how do we use technology to ensure they’re smooth and ongoing communication, but, but physically being there with people is a really important part of what we do.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah. Well said.
Um, and why did you choose U Chicago Medicine and Hyde Park as your partner in this?
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, well, like I said at the beginning, this was really, um, through a conversation that a couple members of my team, so both our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Melissa Dennis, and then Emily McCarran, who’s our strategy and partnerships lead.
We’re doing some outreach to the team at University of Chicago, and as we talked about, you know, the work we were doing to help expand the doula workforce and thinking about how can we really get this type of care available, accessible to every family. We just found really strong alignment with the clinical leaders at University of Chicago.
Um, you know, I think one of the things that we touched on is how big of an impact having a doula, uh, can make. And, you know, this is really something that is really needed. If you look at all the maternal health outcomes. We’re lagging across the board relative to our peer countries. And then there are incredible inequities, um, and disparities that we see in those outcomes.
And so being in a partnership with University of Chicago, which, you know, like many urban hospitals does serve, um, a, a pretty significant portion of their patient population has Medicaid. Um, it’s on the south side of Chicago where we know there are beyond University of Chicago Limited, um, options, not as many birthing hospitals.
And so being able to really integrate this care in a place where the patient population, you know, has the need and we know that they’re already facing a lot of, um, systemic. Racism and other challenges is, was really attractive to us because the goal is to make an impact, right? Make this accessible to more families, like I said, and ultimately move the needle on our maternal health outcomes.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah, so well said. And so maybe three years down the line, what are some things that you hope to achieve, hope to have achieved in this partnership? And what are some specific metrics that you’ll be tracking?
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, it’s a great question. So, you know, I think, um, one of the things that, as I’ve talked about, this idea of going beyond labor and delivery, thinking about full spectrum access, uh, three years might be aggressive, but I think, you know, ultimately we would love.
For more and more patients to be connected with a doula throughout their pregnancy. Um, and then that extra layer of support at labor and delivery isn’t their primary mode of working with a doula. Um, it’s really just an extra layer for most people who’ve already kind of had awareness. Had the opportunity to connect, um, and then continuing in that postpartum period.
So one thing for us is really how do we think about getting more patients access across the full spectrum of care? Um, and then, you know, we’ve focused a lot on doula care, in part because. The reimbursement in this area is so new, but it’s really just one piece of the puzzle around the maternal health journey.
And so we would love to also be able to, you know, work on expanding access to lactation care, to behavioral health, um, and not just in those instances when patients screen and already have a complicated issue. But how do we follow the guidelines that say preventive care, you know, for people who are at risk, which we know is a significant portion of.
The maternal health population, right? So we’re really thinking about not just doula care, but pt, lactation, mental health, nutrition. These are all essential components of the care that, you know, we know can really benefit families. So that’s what we’d love to see is continued expansion both across the spectrum of.
Prenatal all the way through postpartum and, you know, continuing to round out that experience with, with more care and whether that’s happening through a, a partnership, a combination of University of Chicago, partum Health, other community-based organizations. But, you know, that’s the mission that, that we’re focused on.
Marissa Plescia: Yeah. Yeah. And do you have plans to expand this, um, or, you know, launch similar partnerships with other, uh, hospitals, whether that’s in Chicago or in other, um, other cities or other states?
Meghan Doyle: Yeah, we do. And it’s been really exciting to see the interest from health systems. Um, so we have another partnership that’s in the works right now, um, and other conversations that are active.
And you know, I think when we initially sit down, there’s often this, oh, okay, well we have some components of this. Um, but I think what we’ve heard loud and clear from clinical leaders is that they know patients can really benefit from. This expanded support, and a lot of times this in-home continuous care, right?
This is not exactly in the wheelhouse of a lot of health systems, and so they see this benefit of partnering to fill in the gaps where. It’s less a, a bullseye. And then they also wanna be able to focus on what they know they do best, um, which is serving patients in that primary maternity, you know, managing the inpatient experience and labor and delivery.
So we’re really excited about this as a, a way for us to continue to grow. Um, and as I mentioned to just. Serve that mission of getting more patients this elevated level of support. So yeah, absolutely. We are excited to continue to work with health systems in this manner and, um, you know, it may look a little bit different at, at other partners as we think about what are the specific needs of that system and the patient population they’re serving.
Um, but we, we expect this to continue to grow.
Marissa Plescia: Absolutely. Well, best of luck with this initiative and with this partnership and expanding. Um, Meghan, this has been such an interesting conversation. Thank you so much for joining MedCity FemFwd.
Meghan Doyle: Thank you for having me. Really appreciate all the spotlight on women’s health.
