Insurance now covers doula care for eligible families.
Starting September 1, 2026, Partum Health is in-network for doula care with eligible UnitedHealthcare plans in Illinois and Michigan.
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What is a doula?
A doula is a trained companion who supports you emotionally, physically, and practically, before, during, and after birth. They are not a replacement for your doctor or midwife; a doula and your care team work together, so you have what you need at every step of the way.
Continuous doula support, from birth planning through postpartum recovery is linked to shorter labors, fewer interventions, and better recovery outcomes.
Here's what that support looks like at each stage:
- Prenatal: birth planning, education, and getting ready for what's ahead.
- Labor & delivery: continuous, hands-on support and advocacy in the room.
- Postpartum: building confidence, learning hands-on care skills, and getting real time to rest and recover.
New to all this? Read our full guide on what a doula does →
How it works
- 1Tell us your insurance
For UnitedHealthcare, this takes under a minute.
- 2We’ll work with you to verify your coverage
Working through insurance takes patience — we stay with you through it.
- 3We match you & help every step of the way
An in-network doula, matched to you. Or, flexible cash, HSA/FSA, and employer benefits for care beyond what insurance covers.
What's covered through
UnitedHealthcare
Starting September 1, 2026, Partum is in-network with eligible UnitedHealthcare plans in Illinois and Michigan. Options for reimbursement may be available to members in Texas.
Illinois
- Eligible members can receive up to 35 hours of doula care and continuous labor and delivery support
- Aligned to an Illinois law requiring fully insured plans based in the state to cover doula care
- Benefits for IL members may vary based on the plan’s home state, the type of plan, and other factors
Michigan
- Eligible members can receive prenatal and postpartum doula care and continuous labor and delivery support
- Aligned to UnitedHealthcare's national doula benefit
- Benefits for MI members may vary based on the plan’s home state, the type of plan, and other factors
Additional insurance plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, are expected to follow.
Why families choose Partum
- The one-stop shop. Lactation, pelvic floor PT, mental health, and nutrition alongside doula care — all in one place.
- Years of billing experience. Insurance billing isn’t new to us — doula care is just the latest service we’ve added.
- Providers you can trust. CPR-certified, active liability insurance, reference-checked.
- Highly rated. Consistently strong satisfaction from the families we've supported.
- Real, hands-on care. A telehealth visit can't hold your newborn at 3am. We show up in person.
Questions families ask
Insurance coverage for doula care varies by plan. Partum works with you to verify your specific coverage, in plain language, before you commit to anything. Working through insurance takes patience, so this may take some back-and-forth, but we stay with you through it, and we'll always tell you clearly where you stand.
Most insurance benefits for doula care cover a set number of hours or visits, and once they are used, continuing typically means paying out of pocket. With Partum, we will notify before your insurance benefit is exhausted, and give you the option to continue at our cash rate.
Not every insurance plan covers doula care. Even where a state requires it, the law only applies to insurance plans based in that state, and many employer self-funded plans are exempt. If your insurance does not include a doula care benefit, Partum gives you four ways forward: our cash rate, HSA/FSA funds, employer benefits including Carrot Fertility, or, if your insurance accepts it, a superbill you can submit for full or partial reimbursement.
A doula is a trained, non-medical care provider who supports you emotionally, physically, and practically before, during, and after birth. You can have both a doctor or midwife and a doula. Partum's doulas work alongside your existing care team to provide comprehensive care.
At the hospital, your doula provides continuous, hands-on support through labor and delivery: helping with movement and positioning, helping you cope, and making sure your preferences are heard by your care team. At home, postpartum support looks different: hands-on help with newborn care like feeding, soothing, and swaddling, alongside your own physical and emotional recovery. Some families keep the same doula for both birth and postpartum support; others bring in a dedicated postpartum doula. Partum coordinates whichever setup works best for you.
Babies need round-the-clock attention, and that's exactly what an overnight doula is there for. Your doula is the first point of contact when your baby wakes, needs changing, or needs settling back to sleep, working the way you want to feed: bringing your baby to you in bed if you're breastfeeding, or handling a full bottle feed if you prefer, so you can focus on rest and recovery. You can learn more about postpartum doula care here →
Every Partum doula goes through a comprehensive interview process to confirm they have the foundational skills for success, and every doula is CPR-certified, carries active liability insurance, and is reference-checked before joining our team. Doula certification isn't standardized nationally, and vetting varies a lot by state, so it's worth asking any provider, or the doula directly, how they're trained. Read our guide to interviewing a doula →
Maternal care providers vary a lot in experience, in what other support they offer, and especially in whether they've ever billed insurance before. Partum is a multidisciplinary practice, lactation, pelvic floor PT, mental health, and nutrition, alongside doula care: one team, in one place. Insurance billing isn't new to us. What's new is that insurance now covers doula care too, and we already know how to make that work for our families. You also get a dedicated care team supporting you at every step, so you're never doing this alone.
Continuous labor support, the kind a doula provides, is linked to shorter labors, fewer interventions, and higher satisfaction with the birth experience. In July 2026, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists went a step further, releasing new guidance that recognizes doulas by name as valuable members of the maternity care team and calls on OB-GYNs to build stronger partnerships with them. That's the model Partum builds every match around, so you get real, personalized support at each stage.
