If you are pregnant in Stockholm and Swedish is not your first language, there is a form of free support that many newcomers never hear about. A cultural doula, or kulturdoula, is a trained companion who speaks your language and stays with you through pregnancy, the birth itself and the first weeks at home. In the summer of 2026 Region Stockholm decided to make the service a permanent part of ordinary maternity care rather than a time-limited project, as SVT Nyheter reported. That change matters most to the people it was built for: parents who are new to Sweden and unsure how the system works.
What a cultural doula actually does
A doula is not a midwife and does not replace medical staff. She offers continuous practical and emotional support around birth. A cultural doula adds a second layer. She shares your language and often your cultural background, so she can explain what is happening, help you ask questions and make sure your wishes reach the midwife. According to Kulturdoula Stockholm, the support ranges from cultural interpretation during appointments to physical help during labour, such as massage, breathing and changing position, as well as reassurance during a first birth in an unfamiliar country.
The support does not stop when the baby arrives. A cultural doula can also help in the early days as a new parent, when questions about feeding, recovery and the next healthcare contacts pile up fast. That is roughly the point where the regular Swedish system takes over, starting with the BVC child health checkups that follow every child from birth.
Why the service exists
The reasoning behind it is a documented health gap. Socialstyrelsen, the National Board of Health and Welfare, has found that foreign-born women run a higher risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth than women born in Sweden. In Stockholm county, foreign-born women account for roughly a third of all births, so the group is large. Language barriers, unfamiliarity with the care pathway and limited time in the appointment room all play a part.
The idea is not new. It began as a small project in Södertälje about ten years ago and grew from there. During 2025 around 865 women in Region Stockholm received support from a cultural doula, according to the reporting by Nyhetsbyrån Järva. Demand has consistently run ahead of supply. The organisation behind the service has said it had to turn down about a fifth of the requests it received from midwife clinics last year, which is one reason the permanent status and a larger budget matter.
Which languages are covered
Region Stockholm has around 40 cultural doulas. Kulturdoula Stockholm says the group can give support in more than 25 languages, which covers many of the languages spoken by families who have arrived in recent years. Availability in any single language depends on who is active at the time, so it is worth asking early rather than assuming your language is not on the list. The service is free for the pregnant woman.
How to get a cultural doula in Stockholm
The most reliable route runs through the regular maternity care system. When you register your pregnancy, you are assigned a barnmorskemottagning, a midwife clinic that handles antenatal care. Tell your midwife that you would like support from a cultural doula. The clinic can then make the request on your behalf, since referrals typically come from the midwife clinics.
A few practical points make the process smoother:
- Ask early in the pregnancy. Because demand is high, an early request gives the best chance of a match in your language.
- Say which language you prefer, and mention any second language you manage in, which widens the pool of available doulas.
- You can also read about the service and find contact details directly at Kulturdoula Stockholm, or ask about it through the region, which describes the work under its cultural initiatives in healthcare.
- If you are still looking for care staff who work comfortably in English, our guide to finding English-speaking healthcare covers the wider picture beyond birth.
Where it fits in your first year in Sweden
A cultural doula bridges one of the hardest stretches for a new arrival: the months around a birth, when the stakes are high and the vocabulary is unfamiliar. It sits alongside the rest of the support that comes with having a child here. Once the baby is home, attention shifts to registration, benefits and the paperwork around parental leave, and to settling into daily life, which our first-weeks checklist walks through step by step. Knowing that free, mother-tongue support exists before, during and just after birth is one less thing to worry about, and now that it is a permanent part of the care offer in Stockholm, it should stay available for the families who need it.
Senast faktagranskad: 11 juli 2026