Briana Wine is expecting her first child Milo next week.

"I’m ready for him to come in his own time, but I’m excited to see him," Wine said.

Wine is receiving doula services because of the New York State Doula Pilot Program, an initiative that provides Medicaid coverage for doula services for pregnant and postpartum people. Under a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul, more people could easily access doula services if the state removes the requirement for physician's approval.

"I’m like in touch with myself, so I knew that going more so the doula route would help me stay in touch with myself versus having clouded judgment and really going more so how I feel, how my body feels," Wine said.

Shannon Johns and Njeri Motley are doulas working with Wine. Johns says a doula is someone who is professionally trained to aid and assist moms during pregnancy in preparation for birth.

"So I tend to primarily their non-clinical needs. So emotional, physical, informational support around pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum care, healing, recovery and breastfeeding," Johns, a doula, said.

Motley says in her seven years as a doula she’s seen an increase in the number of people having a doula assist them, especially with the piloted medicaid program which has helped more than 1-thousand people since 2019.

"When you're planning for a baby, there is a financial burden that comes along with that. And so when the Medicaid program was piloted, it actually released that, you know, financial burden for a lot of women," Njeri Motley, a doula said.

Shannon believes that increase comes with more women understanding the value and benefits of using a doula. She says data from the Erie County pilot of the program shows the outcomes of families are different when a doula is present during a birth.

"When the doula is present, they are more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth. The rates of C-section is lower. The rate of trauma, but more or more to overall their, um, their perception of satisfaction with their birth experience is more enjoyable," Johns said.

She says it makes a difference, particularly in the African American community. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than a white woman.

"So things that have been shown to reduce those numbers is having a doula present with them or someone that now looks like them and is working on their behalf to really, truly support them through continuously throughout the laboring time in the birthing process as well," Johns said.

Johns says she likes the proposal.

"The referral process can be a hindrance, but also can be a barrier for some to actually receive dual care, dual support services. If the provider that they're working with doesn't have the information on doulas, you know, they don't necessarily think the looks are necessary or require or they don't see the benefit to their patient of utilizing a tool. So they may not recommend it," Johns said.

Plans like this made by Wine with the help of the doulas can offer to-be moms like herself more confidence for going through childbirth. Her message to her son, Milo.

"I’m gonna start crying but we love you and we are so excited for you to get here… especially me," she explained.