The University of Michigan’s School of Nursing is dedicated to improving maternity care and diversifying the midwifery profession. One of the programs they have established is the Michigan Maternity Care Traineeship Program, which aims to increase the number of midwives in minority communities that face higher risks of childbirth complications. In collaboration with Metro Detroit Midwives of Color and Birth Detroit, a Black-led nonprofit community birth center, the program has already admitted 13 students, with more groups expected to start in the fall.
Funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the grant will provide nearly $1 million annually for the next four years to support the Midwifery program at the university. Lee Roosevelt, a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan, emphasizes the impact of discrimination on quality of care and mortality rates. She explains that racism can lead to chronic stress, affect how providers listen to pregnant individuals, and ultimately impact health outcomes. Overloaded schedules due to a shortage of providers in communities can further diminish the quality of care, even for well-intentioned providers.
Roosevelt stresses the importance of increasing the number of midwives and diversifying the workforce to improve the quality of care and bridge the gap in healthcare provision. To learn more about
