"In the Room" explores the work of women of color doulas laboring in Chicago in an era where doulas are increasingly hailed -by the state and by activists- as precisely the innovation that can save black mother's lives. Professor Nash's analysis draws on twenty-three interviews she conducted in 2018 with birth doulas-many of whom describe themselves as "bodyguards" -- working in the Chicago metropolitan area. She explores the complicated tensions around professionalization and the medicalization of birth that underpins their practice, and considers the place of their work in the ongoing effort to eradicate black infant and maternal mortality.