Big news for birth workers in Illinois: Two new Illinois maternal health bills have passed. These bills directly impact how, where, and for how long birthing people can receive support. As doulas, we are uniquely positioned to help families navigate these changes.
We can support Illinois families in knowing their options and rights under these new bills. Doulas must stay up to date with the latest information.
Here’s what doulas need to know:
Expanded Birth Options: Home Births & Midwifery Access
One major piece of legislation allows certified nurse midwives (CNMs) to attend home births and staff birth centers across the state. As doulas, we know that evidence supports home birth as a safe option for healthy, low-risk families. But we also know laws impact who can actually easily navigate a planned home birth.
Previously, midwives in Illinois faced significant restrictions, particularly outside of hospitals. This bill changes that. Thankfully, there should be more community-based and out-of-hospital birth choices.
As a doula, this will hopefully mean more collaboration with midwives in homes and birth centers. Which also means a possible increased demand for doulas trained and experienced in supporting out-of-hospital birth. At the International Doula Institute, we strive to ensure certified doulas are equipped to support families in all birth settings (with a qualified midwife or physician present).
It will be important that you be ready to educate clients about their expanded birth options. Provide evidence-based information so they can make the decisions that feel right for them. You can provide essential support in helping families feel truly supported if they opt to birth at home or in a birth center with midwives.
Illinois Maternal Health Legislation Pumping Protection: Paid Breaks for a Full Year
The second Illinois maternal health legislation bill requires Illinois employers to offer lactating employees paid pumping breaks for up to one year after birth. This updates previous law that only mandated “reasonable break time” and didn’t guarantee compensation.
This left a lot open to interpretation and did not guarantee a lactating employee would be paid during breaks. It also could mean a lack of breaks.
As a doula, you can inform the families you serve about their rights and how to advocate for them with their employer.
If you’re also trained as Certified Breastfeeding Counselor, you can help parents prepare for their return to work, including:
- Creating a pumping schedule
- Talking to HR or management
- Knowing how to store and transport expressed milk
This policy may also reduce early weaning and help improve long-term lactation rates. It might also reduce postpartum stress, and feelings of isolation that parents often face when juggling breastfeeding and work.
What Does This Mean For Illinois Doulas?
If you’re a doula working in or near Illinois, here are a few ways to respond to this news:
- Stay informed about the implementation. These bills still await the governor’s signature (as of July 2025), and rollout details may evolve.
- Update your client materials to reflect the new rights and options.
- Network with local CNMs and birth centers. These spaces may now be looking for doulas to refer to their clients.
- Support working parents. Learn more about lactation rights, workplace policies, and how you can bridge the gap between home and employment support.
If you are not a doula in Illinois, this information can serve as a model for advocacy. For those who participate in local and federal government advocacy, you can use the models from states that are trying to improve maternal health.
As doulas, we are not just birth companions. Doulas are educators, advocates, and community connectors. These legal changes give us even more room to do the work that transforms outcomes for families.
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Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff
Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification. She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report, Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...