Madeline LeBlanc originally set out to become a nun, inspired by her youth spent with the Sisters of St. Joseph. Instead, she devoted her life’s work to helping people navigate the birth process, becoming Maddy the Doula Lady, and establishing Mary’s Hands Network to reshape the maternal healthcare landscape with one conviction: every birth deserves a doula.

Since founding the organization in 2023, LeBlanc has put more than 250 volunteer doulas, decked in the lavender scrub jackets they receive at graduation, into the community charged with walking alongside mothers and their families during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. And she has the data to back the power of their care—a prematurity rate of less than 2%, an average birth weight of 7.5 lbs and demonstrated statistical significance in decreasing the C‑section rate by more than 60%.

“More than 50% [of the mothers served] identify as Black or African American, and more than 70% of our clients use Medicaid for their primary insurance,” she says. “That is the population, statistically, that is more likely to have poor birth outcomes, and yet, our C‑section rate is hovering right at 13%, which is phenomenal.” According to the CDC, the percentage of all live births that were cesarean deliveries in Louisiana was among the highest in the nation at 36.1% in 2024.

While studying at Belmont Abbey College, LeBlanc worked at MiraVia, a Catholic nonprofit that provides housing and support for pregnant college students and mothers in need. Since then, her heart has remained with guiding women through the miracle of birth. And whether at the bedside as a labor and delivery nurse or combing through data on global birth outcomes to earn her PhD, she has taken charge to change the maternal healthcare landscape. Through her journey, she concluded that every birth deserves a doula. And she’s making that vision a reality through Mary’s Hands Network.

“I was attracted to birth because it’s that perfect moment where we all start out fresh,” she says. “And working as a labor and delivery nurse, I realized that is not true at all. My rose-colored glasses came off, and I decided, ‘Well, I’m doing something about it.’”

She developed a doula training curriculum and pitched it to a local university, though funding for the program ultimately fell through. She turned that “no” into Mary’s Hands Network, partnering with the Diocese of Baton Rouge’s Walking with Moms initiative to host the first training.

LeBlanc jokes that she lovingly cornered Bishop Michael Duca with a simple challenge: if the diocese was going to publicly champion families and mothers, it needed to back that commitment with concrete support. She brought him her already‑written doula curriculum and laid out Mary’s Hands as a practical way to walk with moms in real time. With his backing, the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge stepped in to sponsor and host the first training, earning Bishop Duca, in her words, the affectionate nickname “Bishop Doula.”

“I hoped four people would show up to that first training. We had 19,” LeBlanc says with a clap.

Today, doulas dressed in lavender serve hundreds of Louisiana families, helping to close the gap on birth inequities one hip squeeze, hand hold and conversation at a time. “The only secret sauce is that it is community members helping community members,” she says. “Mary’s Hands Network is community members who are on teams serving women in their same community.” Learn more about upcoming trainings, sponsorship opportunities and the resources available for mothers-to-be and their families at maryshandsnetwork.org.