Health & Medicine Policy Research Group has led the movement to increase access to high-quality, community-based birthing options in Illinois for almost four decades. Today, our work to address the state’s maternal health disparities continues through two complementary initiatives: the longstanding Birth Center Task Force, including the development of a strategic plan to expand out-of-hospital birthing options in BIPOC and rural communities across Illinois, and the newly launched Doula Landscape Initiative. 

Since 1987, our Birth Center Task Force has worked to bring freestanding birth centers—home-like, non-hospital settings for low-risk pregnancies—to the State of Illinois, particularly serving communities that lack equitable birthing options. Birth Centers help improve access to care, enable families to have more control of their birthing experience, and provide safe, cost-effective prenatal, birth, and postpartum care.  Birth Centers also serve as trusted hubs for other essential health services such as family planning, annual gynecologic exams, pap smears, and health screening. 

Thanks to tireless advocacy, Illinois now has five operating birth centers, with three more under development in central and downstate regions. These efforts have culminated in significant wins, including the passage of the Birth Center Licensing Act, the Illinois Licensed Certified Professional Midwifery Practice Act, and increased Medicaid and other third-party reimbursement for out-of-hospital births. These legislative wins are helping to address maternity care deserts by expanding access, improving provider staffing, and increasing the number of community-based birth providers. They also represent significant progress toward building a more sustainable and equitable maternity care system in Illinois. 

Funded by the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, the Birth Center Task Force is involved in a project titled “Expansion and Strengthening Birth Options in Illinois.” This project addresses sustainability and barriers to community birth options, specifically Birth Centers and Home Births.   

The Birth Center Task Force’s impact is built on collaboration with midwives, community-based providers, administrators, and policy leaders who meet bi-monthly to ensure people giving birth—especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)—can do so in sustainable, safe, and culturally respectful environments that honor their choices and experiences. 

Building on our legacy of reproductive health advocacy, Health & Medicine launched the Doula Landscape Initiative to further advance equitable maternal care. Funded by the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, this project seeks to strengthen Illinois’s doula and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) workforce—particularly in underserved rural areas and historically excluded communities. 

The initiative will map the current doula and CPM landscape, identify workforce gaps, and create recommendations for expanding access through Medicaid reimbursement and other sustainable financing mechanisms. By collaborating with community-based partners like the Black Midwifery Collective, BA NIA Inc., and Hathor Doula Services, the initiative centers voices with lived experience and ensures solutions are community-led. 

As of January 1, 2024, Medicaid reimbursement is now available for doulas in Illinois, providing a crucial opportunity to make this transformative care more widely available. Doulas offer emotional, physical, and educational support throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum—and their presence has been shown to reduce the risk of cesarean birth, improve birth satisfaction, and reduce racial disparities in maternal outcomes. 

These two initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to reproductive justice, fighting for birthing people’s right to safe, supported, and self-directed care. Whether advocating for policy change, guiding new birth center development, or expanding the perinatal workforce, Health & Medicine is working to build a future where all Illinois families can thrive. 

As we continue this work, we remain focused on removing systemic barriers, amplifying community voices, and ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, income, or geography, has access to respectful, high-quality birth experiences. 

To learn more about our reproductive justice work or get involved, contact us at info@hmprg.org.