NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday signed legislation to establish a statewide doula directory, aiming to improve New Yorkers’ access to childbirth experts and to combat a recent nationwide rise in infant mortality.
The bill requires the state Health Department to create and maintain a doula database, promoting the use of doulas.
Hochul also outlined more than $4 million in state funding for regional health care centers focused on the periods before and after birth.
Doulas are trained to provide crucial counseling during the process of childbirth, but do not deliver babies.