Fors Marsh Prioritizes U.S. Maternity Care Shortage with Innovative Onsite Birth Doula Employee Benefits, in Partnership with Stork Club

SAN FRANCISCO, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fors Marsh, a company comprised of researchers, advisors and communicators working together to shape systems that shape our lives, has expanded their partnership with Stork Club by offering nationwide onsite birth doula care coverage for their employees. The Stork Club managed doula care program significantly reduces the rate of high-risk pregnancies by providing access to a clinically designed set of services offered by 600+ vetted birth doulas across the country? virtually, in the labor room, and at home ? at all stages from pregnancy through birth and postpartum. The employer initiative is a step forward to support mothers of all races to have healthier births and babies born while providing culturally concordant care.

While doula care has become more popular in the U.S. amid the maternity care crisis, multiple studies show that having a birth doula in the labor room can reduce the rate of unnecessary C-sections and, as a result, reduce postpartum readmissions and lower the overall maternity employer cost.

"Fors Marsh is proud to expand support to our employees expecting to welcome a baby into their family with an inclusive network of onsite birth doulas. As a remote-first organization with a diverse talent pool, we consider access to inclusive maternity care a must-have. We are pleased to offer this resource and others managed by our long-term reproductive care benefits partner, Stork Club, as part of our well-being benefits," said Christina Daugherty, Chief People Officer, at Fors Marsh.

In 2024, over 18% of Fortune 500 companies provide birth doula support through a reimbursement arrangement where covered employees search and vet these providers and pre-pay for services before being reimbursed. This process leaves room for errors and creates obstacles for many people trying to utilize the benefit.

This is why Stork Club launched managed birth doula care in 2023. The program showed remarkable clinical outcome improvements: a 45% reduction in C-sections and a 58% decrease in preterm births among Stork Club study participants. Additionally, the Stork Club birth doula care program shows a substantial return on investment ? 169% ROI due to a reduction in medical interventions and readmissions and healthier mothers and their babies.

"Growing maternity care deserts put pregnant people at serious risk and create a cycle of unacceptable health inequalities for their children. A primary factor behind these care shortages is the scarcity of healthcare professionals, which restricts access to vital preventative, prenatal, and postnatal care. Add the scarcity of maternity care providers from diverse backgrounds to this, and you get the ongoing maternity crisis we're experiencing in the US: Black women dying three times more often due to maternity events than white women. At Stork Club, we are laser-focused on enabling clinically designed care managed through vetted providers nationwide to improve access to care for all and address the social determinants of health to lessen these inequities. Thanks to Fors Marsh for choosing us as their trusted partner for many years in a row," added Jeni Mayorskaya, Founder and CEO of Stork Club. This commitment highlights the importance of culturally concordant care and equity in health access, aligning with the broader mission to provide comprehensive reproductive care at all stages of life for all people.

Beyond the onsite birth doula care initiative, Fors Marsh's partnership with Stork Club extends to a broad spectrum of family-building and reproductive health programs. For over three years, Fors Marsh has offered employees inclusive coverage for fertility treatments, prescription medications, adoption, and surrogacy, underlining their dedication to the diverse needs of today's families. Central to this support system is the Stork Club care partner, providing one-on-one care plan guidance and connecting members to a plethora of experts ? including leading fertility and pediatric nurses, OB/GYNs, doulas, lactation consultants, sleep consultants, and more ? available to assist at every stage of life.

Join the Stork Club Founder and CEO, Jeni Mayorskaya, in a critical dialogue on maternity care at the Business Group on Health (BGOH) 2024 Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Ms. Mayorskaya's speaking session on "Mitigate Health Inequity and Improve Maternal Outcomes with Birth Doulas" will take place on April 10th at 5:20 PM local time. At the session, the speakers will discuss ways onsite birth doula care improves clinical outcomes for mothers and babies and reduces employer healthcare costs.

For more information about Stork Club, its birth doula program, and its 100% cost-at-risk performance guarantees, please visit Stork Club's website.

About Stork Club
Stork Club is an enterprise end-to-end reproductive care benefits solution built for employers to help them win, retain, and engage top, diverse talent while making their people healthier and significantly reducing overall reproductive care costs. Stork Club offers a flexible suite of programs to support every person at all stages of their reproductive journey, including fertility care (e.g., IVF, egg freezing, natural conception); support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, as well as with inclusive reproductive midlife care like menopause, men's health optimization, and adult gender-affirming care.

Stork Club has received recognition as an EHIR Academy alumni and has been recognized in the CB Insight Digital Health annual report as one of the 150 most promising digital health companies transforming healthcare worldwide. Headquartered in San Francisco, Stork Club has raised $32.7M from investors, including General Catalyst, Bowery Capital, and Slow Ventures.

To learn more, visit: www.joinstorkclub.com. You can subscribe to our news here and follow Stork Club on LinkedIn.

About Fors Marsh
At Fors Marsh, we take on issues that matter. As a team of researchers, advisors, and communicators, we work together to shape the systems that shape our lives. Fueled by empathy and grounded in evidence, we bring together the science of research and the art of communication. We look at human behavior from all angles to design targeted solutions that influence decision-making and move people to action. Fors Marsh is a certified B Corp and a Just employer and, for the fourth straight year, among other workplace recognitions and awards, it has been named a Top Workplaces USA awardee. More information is available at forsmarsh.com.

Media Contacts
Simone DeMarco
Head of Marketing, Stork Club
[email protected]

SOURCE Stork Club Fertility, Inc