Walmart expands nationwide health care coverage for those employees who want doulas during pregnancy

(AP) — Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is expanding nationwide its health care coverage next month for employees who want to enlist the services of a doula, a person trained to assist women during pregnancies. 

The coverage was first offered to its employees in Georgia in 2021. 

Last year the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter offered the same benefit to employees in Louisiana, Indiana and Illinois. 

The exception is Hawaii, which has its own set of health benefits, Walmart said. 

Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, largely due to differences in the quality of health care, underlying chronic conditions and structural racism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.