Sister to Sister Community Doulas of Essex County
Connecting Essex County’s underserved women and men to community doula supports
Sister to Sister offers free community doula support for pregnant people who are residents of Newark, East Orange, and Irvington, NJ, from pregnancy up to 6 months postpartum.

What is a Community Doula?
An individual who is from your community that provides emotional and physical support for pregnant people during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.

What Sister to Sister Does
We support Black/African-American pregnant people who are pursuing a natural, medicated, unmedicated, vaginal, or c-section birth. We support fathers, partners, first-time parents, or people adding to their family.
How Will We Support You?
- Connect you to a Community Doula and a Community Health Worker
- Provide childbirth and breastfeeding information
- Support your birth choices and create a birth plan
- Conduct personalized prenatal visits
- Provide labor support during the birth of your baby, wherever you plan to birth
- Conduct personalized postpartum visits
- Advocate with you when needed and support your birth plan
Birth is What We Do.

Contact Us
How do I get a Community Doula?
Call (862) 214-2808 or e-mail: communitydoulas@spanadvocacy.org
Provide your name, estimated due date, and a phone number.
PROGRAM STAFF
Arelis Martinez
Co-Director/Supervisor
amartinez@spanadvocacy.org
(973) 489-0620
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Rachel Ruel
Co-Director/Supervisor
rruel@spanadvocacy.org
(973) 642-8100
Rachel Jean-Miles
Project Assistant
rjmiles@spanadvocacy.org
(973) 642-8100
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Danica Lafortune
Community Health Worker
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Juliza Garcia
Community Health Worker