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.
Progam Staff
Danica LaFortune
Co-Program Director/Community Health Worker Supervisor/Community Doula
(973) 666-5403 cell/text
Chidesha Judd
Community Health Worker/Community Doula
(973) 932-6497 cell/text
Rhea Malone
Community Health Worker/Community Doula
(973) 980-7501 cell/text
Elina Alston
Community Health Worker
(973) 666-4187 cell/text
The Essex County/Newark Community Doula project is funded by a health service grant from by the New Jersey Department of Health.