Q&A with Shaunté Truick, Eddy Rose Scholar

Shaunté is our third Eddy Rose Scholar for Black Birthworkers, and we are so thrilled to be supporting this future Midwife. Her passion for Midwifery and her commitment to her community is truly inspiring, and we are eager for you to get to know her a little more!

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1.  How did your journey lead you to decide to become a midwife? 

Ever since I was a kid, I had a liking to helping people. I’m the eldest of four children and cared for all of my younger siblings. What led me to become a midwife was my love for kids and appreciation for women and their bodies. Midwives particularly sparked my interest due to the midwifery model of care. Birthing with a midwife is far more personal, intimate, and rewarding. I love how they connect with the mothers and make each pregnancy journey unique to the patient on a more personal level. I feel as if midwives have a more caring and connected approach to their patients, spend more time understanding them, and become an additional support system.  

I was always intrigued with the birthing process, especially after encountering the difficult birth of my baby sister when I was 14 years old. Watching her come into this world and surviving being born a little over 2lbs was remarkable. I grew a deep admiration midwives who attend births, as it can be life threatening for the mother or baby. Experiencing my mother flat-lining and coming back to life after a complicated cesarean-section due to placenta previa was such a traumatizing experience, yet also made me feel that I have a purpose in helping women of color just like myself. 

2. Who are some of the biggest influences in your life? 

My grandmother is my biggest influence. From attending my school plays, to taking me to health fairs, to handing me brochures on pregnancy, my grandmother is always there to cheer me on and support whatever it is I choose to take on in life. From an adolescent, it was my grandmother who taught me basic skills such as taking blood pressure, reading a thermometer, checking blood sugar levels etc. Little did I know I'd be using these same tools she taught me, to help her after her diagnosis of breast cancer. I was able to attend to her basic needs whenever she felt sick, especially after chemotherapy. Following her reconstructive surgery, I helped change her gauzes, leakage tubes, and dressed her scars with proper antiseptics and made her feel as comfortable as possible. Throughout my years as a young adult to now, I've had first hand experience with women's health because of my grandmother, my breast cancer survivor, my hero.  

My other influence is God. I grew up in church. My grandmother made sure my siblings and I attended every Sunday. My faith is what keeps me going and gives me the drive and ambition to do all things and conquer the unthinkable. I would not be the woman I am today without God and my grandmother. 

3. How do you see your role as a birth worker supporting equity for maternal health? 

Upon graduating as a midwife, I plan on gaining as much experience as I can in the field working in a hospital that has been using midwives for an extensive period of time and building a name for myself. I ultimately see myself opening a home-birth business, catering to all women and especially welcoming women of the BIPOC community.  

I believe that the work doesn’t stop. If you want to see change, you have to make change! Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth in comparison to white women. To more fully understand the maternal mortality issue amongst black women, it is important to address the root of the problem, health inequity and institutional racism, which I plan to highlight in future qualitative research. I’m currently working as a birth/postpartum doula advocating for mothers in the tri-state area. Birth work is my life. I was born to do this, and I will continue to use my education and experience to make a difference. 

Fistula Surgeries in Pakistan

March is Women’s History month and it also holds International Women’s Day on the 8th. It’s a chance to celebrate women’s health achievements and focus on ways we can work to increase equity and justice for women across the globe.

IMR started the month with a fistula surgery campaign in the Sindh region in Pakistan. A fistula is a preventable birth injury caused by obstructed labor or as we are seeing increasingly, from difficult cesarean sections in unskilled hands. Koohi Goth hospital is the country’s largest center dedicated to the training and care of women with obstetric as well as other fistulas. The center’s main fistula surgeon is Dr. Shershah Syed, an internationally known fistula surgeon and renowned advocate for women. He is joined by other skilled surgeons trained in repairs and a very capable team of scrub techs, nurses, anesthetists, and staff. The hospital is home to a 2-year midwifery training program that houses, feeds, and trains students from across the country. It’s truly a remarkable place full of dedicated professionals and supported by generous donations. Oh, and did I mention it is completely free. All surgeries, meds, deliveries, midwifery training, room and board, 100% free. All of it. While there, I worked with surgeons who came from across the country to further their vaginal and fistula surgery skills. 

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I was also invited to meet with staff and trainees at other hospitals across Karachi and performed prolapse surgery cases at the Jinnah Public Hospital. Later in the week, I traveled to the interior of Sind province to operate with the welcoming physicians at Sheik Zayed Women’s Hospital in Larkana, a historic city. The Sind province was devastated by historic flooding last year, and more than 6 months later, water still has not fully receded. Several fistula patients there needed surgery and it was an important opportunity to teach residents and students. 

Along the way, I was asked to share my thoughts with local TV and a national radio program. I used this opportunity to speak about health equity, human rights, and the vital role women, like our friend Dr. Shershah, play to advance these rights, especially for the poor and marginalized. I am thankful that IMR is able to partner with Koohi Goth hospital and other institutions that care for women with fistulas. In addition, I feel honored to help train the next generation of surgeons so that the end of fistulas may soon be in sight.

This Women’s History Month, a tax-deductible donation to IMR could go a very long way in our work to bring the best care to places that need it the most. Donate here.

Ambereen Sleemi

Executive Director, IMR

Meet our new Eddy Rose Scholar for Black Birthworkers, Shaunté Truick!

We are so pleased to introduce Shaunté Truick, a student midwife at SUNY Downstate, as the recipient of our third Black Birthworker scholar. We were impressed by Shaunté’s commitment to her community and feel so honored to support her in her journey to become a Midwife!

Shaunté Truck, student midwife and Eddy Rose scholar

My name is Shaunté Truick and I’m a Midwifery student at SUNY Downstate Health Science University. I sincerely thank the International Medical Response team for this pivotal moment, granting me this opportunity to receive this scholarship, as it will tremendously help me further my education and goals in health care. I am currently a birth/postpartum doula supporting birthing people throughout their pregnancy, labor/delivery, and postpartum journey across the tri-state area. As a future homebirth midwife, this scholarship will allow me to distill my knowledge, bring awareness to my community, and infuse the essence of autonomous birthing experiences to my patients. This moment will always remain a pillar, which will further catapult my quest for knowledge in this field. With much appreciation, humility, and grace, I thank you for aiding my vision.

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Maternal healthcare in the United States has seen a crisis over the last two decades with pregnancy-related mortality rate steadily inclining. While maternal death rates around the world have dropped by more than a third from 2000 to 2015, the rates in the United States has more than doubled since 1987. According to data from CDC, significant racial disparity in pregnancy-related mortality contributes to the increased rate. Between 2011-2016, Black women were 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. The maternal mortality rate for Black women during that same period was 42.4 per 100,000-- worse than 85 other countries around the globe.

 A solution to this epidemic must be multipronged, however we believe that one of the ways to decrease the disparity is by supporting more Black individuals who are committed to caring for birthing people. We have chosen future midwives and doulas as the focus of this scholarship because we believe that these two groups of birthworkers have the potential to majorly impact the outcomes of pregnant people. Studies show that when cared for by a midwife, women are less likely to deliver by Cesarean Section, a surgical procedure that can increase a person’s risk of hemorrhage, infection, blood clots and other surgical complications. It has also been shown that for people whose labors are attended by doulas (a person who provides emotional and physical support during labor, birth, and postpartum period), they were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal birth and less likely to require pain medication including epidurals.

 While we know that midwives and doulas can have a positive impact on birthing people, it is also evident that the community of birthworkers is currently overwhelmingly white. For example, according to the 2019 Demographic Report by the American Midwifery Certification Board, 86.9% of Certified Midwives (CM) and Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) in the United States identified as White or Caucasian and 6.31% as Black or African American. Black birthing people deserve to have access to care-providers from their communities. Our hope is that by offering this scholarship, it will decrease some of the financial barriers put upon Black students who desire to enter the profession.

Shaunté received $10,000 to support her Midwifery education through IMR’s Eddy Rose Scholarship Program. Please consider making a contribution to IMR so we can continue to award future birthworkers like Shaunté!

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Interview with Betina, Haitian Nursing Scholar

IMR has roots in the Destra region of Haiti. Residents of Destra, like many other regions of Haiti, has challenges accessing primary healthcare due to physical and economic constraints. IMR has sought to bridge these gaps by establishing a clinical presence there, as well as sponsoring a local aspiring practitioner to pursue formal training in healthcare.

This year, IMR provided a scholarship through our partner GOALS Haiti for Betina Perpulus to attend nursing school. She hopes to return to Destra to care for her community after graduation. We checked in with Betina to see how things are going.

How is the nursing program running?

Betina: The nursing program is going very well. I always go to school on time, the teachers make it easy to understand the program, and I always complete my homework on time. I'm always studying my lesson every day to make sure that I'm moving forward with my nursing program.

What did you learn which is interesting in the nursing program?

B: What I've learned in the nursing program I find interesting is taking blood pressure, giving IVs to patients, how to do the injection with a syringe, how to take temperature, and control the level of blood sugar in the patient. All of these are very interesting to me. 

What are some challenges or difficulties you faced in the nursing program?

B: One of the difficulties I had in the nursing program is where I live and there's a river that is called La Rouyaume. It was flooded due to heavy rain, and everyone in my community could not cross the river and go into town. I missed a lot of days of school because of the flood and was very behind in my class assignments. I had to stay up late at night to study harder so I would not be left behind in my class. Luckily for me, all that hard studying paid off, and I was able to pass on to the next level of the program. 

What do you enjoy in the nursing program?

B: What I enjoy the most in the nursing program is injecting IVs for patients and taking blood pressure, I like it when I’m taking the level of the blood sugar of the patients.

When you graduate from the nursing program what will that mean to you, and what positive impact will it have on your community?

B: Graduating from the nursing program will have a significant impact on me because my dream was to graduate from high school and continue to go to school so that I could have a degree in nursing. Also, the impact it will have on my community because there isn't any hospital in Bossan where I live. Therefore, I will be helping people in my community when there's someone who is sick. Often late at night, we have people who get sick and don’t have transport to go to the hospital in the town. Soon I will be able to give these people the first aid treatment they need to get well. All thanks to GOALS and their supporters which I will forever be thankful. 

Mountains for Mamas

A note from our board member, Gillian Green, who is climbing Ama Dablam in Nepal to raise awareness and fund for our obstetric fistula repair program

I write to you from Ama Dablam base camp in the Himalayas. Base camp is a temporary home at the foot of a mountain where hopeful mountaineers acclimatize, take rest and refuge, and the point from which they make at attempt at reaching the summit of their dreams.  

Climbing to the summit of Ama Dablam, once a crazy, unattainable idea, is shifting from a dream to my imminent reality. I am humbled by my surroundings and your support. 

For this climb I am raising awareness and funds for International Medical Response, an organization for which I have been honored to serve on the board for the last several years. IMR's mission is to supplement, support and enhance healthcare systems in communities across the world that have been incapacitated by natural disaster, extreme poverty, and/or regional conflict. I encourage you to read more about our mission and programs on our site https://www.internationalmedicalresponse.org/aboutus. 

One such program is our campaign to end obstetric fistula, spearheaded by IMR's Executive Director Dr Ambereen Sleemi. Obstetric fistula is preventable and most often occurs during labor in regions with inadequate access to comprehensive maternal healthcare. Having been a young mother, I cannot fathom having my first few days and months with Penelope being in preventable physical suffering and social isolation as is often the case for these mothers. And so this program is dearest to my heart. Thus was born our campaign in 2019: Mountains for Mama's.

Ama means mother and Dablam means jewel box in Nepalese. Mothers are the jewels of this good earth and deserve the best possible healthcare to ensure they can take refuge in their bodies. The work we do is their proverbial base camp - we provide them with surgical care so they are free from suffering when they climb to meet the demands and gifts of mothering.  

If you believe in the work we do at IMR, may I ask that you spread the word and if you're in a position to do so, give any amount as all is appreciated (a link can be found below).  We are a small organization with extremely low overhead and powered mostly by volunteers so your gift goes directly to the execution of our global programs. 

For each of you, I am humbly filled with gratitude greater than these mountains that surround me. Thank you for being my proverbial base camp. 

Mostly, thank you for your support of IMR throughout the years. 

Gillian

2021 Year in Review

Nothing has been the same since the COVID pandemic started in March 2020 but we have found ways to continue supporting our partners both domestically and internationally. We are thrilled to share with you some of the bright spots we have achieved this year.

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PPE PROJECT

We have continued to supply PPE through the summer to our partner sites in NYC. Large PPE donations were also made to our partners in Liberia, as well as hospitals in the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines after the volcanic eruption. 

VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO

In the fall, we were finally able to return to Vieques, Puerto Rico with guidance from the island's epidemiologist. While IMR continued to support the island’s test and trace team with PPE, it was wonderful to be back in the community. We continued home visits and worked with community leaders on building a resilient hospital on the island. 

LIBERIAN FISTULA PROJECT

In December, we were so excited to finally return to Liberia where we evaluated over 30 women and performed over 20 operations to fix obstetric fistula. Many are women who have waited years for this surgery. We were thrilled not only to provide life changing surgery but our patients were also able to receive COVID vaccinations prior to their procedures. 

HAITI

The ongoing pandemic, political turmoil, and safety concerns in Haiti made it impossible for IMR to return to Haiti this year. However, we continued to support our Haitian colleagues and partners by donating medical and surgical supplies so they are able to continue caring for women with birth trauma and fistula especially after the tragic earthquake this summer. 

We also received an update from our local partner GOALS about a pregnant woman that IMR cared for during our previous visit. At the time, IMR had helped coordinate an emergency transfer to St. Boniface Hospital due to severe preeclampsia, a life threatening complication in pregnancy. The baby, who was born by emergency c-section, is now a toddler who is thriving. We were so happy and relieved to hear that both mom and child are doing well and cases like this remind us of why we do what we do.  

LOCAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT

This year, we established a relationship with our new local community partner Life Of Hope, supporting their community baby showers in central Brooklyn that promote safe motherhood and birth in the Haitian/Caribbean diaspora and the community-at-large. Please consider donating to our wishlist which gets needed supplies to the large number of pregnant Haitian migrants that are newly arriving in Brooklyn.

We also donated at-home electric blood pressure cuffs to pregnant patients at a community health clinic in Los Angeles. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy can be deadly and making at-home monitoring accessible to people in low-income households could help save lives.

EDDY ROSE SCHOLARS

Carlos Horacio Rose finished med school this year with our support! He’s in Nicaragua and is now applying for surgery residency as he finishes his internship in Managua.

We also continued our annual tradition of awarding $10,000 to a Black midwifery student at SUNY Downstate. Arielle Sooknanan is our much deserved awardee this year, and she is working hard in her final year to complete her studies to become a midwife.

“I can hardly believe the year is already ending. Classes this semester were challenging especially with finals occurring on the heels of this omicron variant wave and in the midst of some family health issues. However, my amazing classmates and I pulled through with some study groups and I’m so excited to embark on this last upcoming semester. I’m looking forward to the end and finally being able to work as a midwife.”

-Arielle Sooknanan, Student Midwife and Eddy Rose Scholar

In addition to Carlos and Arielle, IMR began sponsoring a Haitian nursing student, Bettina Pepilus. Bettina came to us through our local partner, GOALS, and hopes to provide care in Destra where she would play an integral role in extending care to the area.

"Receiving this scholarship is very important for my life because I like nursing and I know my family cannot afford to pay for nursing school, and thanks to GOALS and IMR I have their support so I can now go to school. It was a great joy for me and my family when I knew I was awarded this scholarship. My family and I want to say a big thank you and God bless you to the people that sponsored this scholarship.

The impact I can have will help young girls, boys, and elders with how to protect themselves and show people how to be careful with their health in life. I would like to inspire others to be a nurse.”

 – Bettina Pepilus, Eddie Rose Scholar

We look forward to supporting Bettina and strengthening our ties with Destra while the region endures continuing political instability.

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Finally, THANK YOU to all of our supporters who have made this work possible. The last two years have been challenging to say the least, and we truly could not have done this without you. We look forward to sharing more new good news in 2022.

-Ambereen, Josh and Mayano

IMR Update from the Team

What a year we’ve just come through! There’s an end in sight and we at IMR cannot wait to get back to the work that’s been put on hold. We want to thank everyone who has supported us through it all.  

2020: Shifting Gears and Meeting Changing Needs

2020 started out for IMR, as for most people, fairly routine. Our project in Liberia had a renewed sense of accomplishment and support from Phebe Hospital’s Administration, a new commitment of support from UNFPA Liberia and a continued growing trust from our patients and vital staff members. We had just finished a successful fistula campaign in Dec 2019 and were back 4 weeks later to continue to work and follow up with our patients. 

The next month, February, we returned to provide medical relief to southern Puerto Rico where earthquakes had wreaked havoc. Our team delivered supplies and then returned to Vieques where we followed up with patients, attended community and partner meetings focused on getting a much-needed hospital to this island.

In early March, we held our Board meeting in Miami and all returned home to a changed and disrupted world.  The world was beginning to feel the burden of COVID.  

Towards the end of March, we quickly mobilized our medical supply contacts and shifted to supplying critical PPE to 20+ NYC healthcare partners. This ranged from Emergency Rooms, Labor and Delivery wards, homeless/indigent care clinics, inpatient Covid wards, nursing homes and more. 

In response, we launched a successful fundraising campaign and raised over $150,000 in a few weeks, with the focus on PPE distribution across NYC.  Almost 12 months later, we are still delivering PPE, including medical-grade masks, face shields, gowns, gloves, shoe/hair covers and cleaning/disinfectant supplies. We expanded our shipments to Vieques healthcare workers and contact tracers, checking in frequently on their needs. Along the way, we’ve developed strong relationships and are proud of the partnerships we’ve made. 

Honoring Eddy Rose’s Legacy

IMR has also responded to the world’s calls for equity and active antiracism. We expanded our Eddy Rose Scholarship to support a Black Birthworker--SUNY Downstate Midwifery student Tyla L. was chosen from a pool of highly dedicated practitioners. This was a direct response to the  recognition of how inequity manifests in maternal mortality here in NYC. We are looking to raise funds to expand this award to black doula students as well as indiginous/Native American birth workers. 

Globally, IMR’s ongoing support of local scholars has been fruitful. Our Nicaraguan scholar, Carlos Rose, is set to graduate from medical school in Managua this year and Jesumene, our Haitian nursing student scholar has had her studies interrupted by COVID. She’ll return, with our continued support as soon as she is able. 

New and Continuing Partnerships

We have an exciting new partnership with a Haitian community advocacy group in Brooklyn, called Life of Hope. LOH is a Central Brooklyn organization serving marginalized communities to advance healthcare information, advocacy and mentorship. We’re now part of their Sante Se Lavi health initiative, which includes health outreach monthly at the local Flatbush Caton Market, mentoring under-represented minority high school students in healthcare careers, and creating a Health-Hub that will be a source of health screening, advocacy and information. 

IMR has maintained regular communication and strategic meetings with our partners in Haiti, Liberia, Malawi and Vieques with community health advocates. All sites have suspended most non-critical services, but we plan to resume fistula and UROGYN operations and primary care clinics once vaccines become more available and our partners feel it’s safe for us to return. 

Until then, we’ll continue to provide support the best way we can, by advocating for global equitable access to the COVID vaccine. We are planning for our first medical trips to begin this summer.

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I hope this gives an overview of our work last year and how we hope to proceed this year. We are very eager to continue to bring the best care everywhere.

-Ambereen, Josh and Mayano

A quick update on our PPE project

As Covid-19 cases rise to over 9 million and we pass the tragic mark of over 228,000 people who’ve died in the US, we have continued to provide weekly personal protective equipment (PPE) deliveries to our NYC healthcare partners for the last 7 months. All current data shows that COVID cases and hospitalizations are increasing here in NYC. This is supported by what we’ve heard from the doctors and nurses we check in with weekly. We are fully committed to supporting our partners through this next wave of cases. From our ER partners in Queens, “We are definitely seeing more cases coming into our hospital.”

The requests have ranged from respiratory mask and isolation gowns, along with face shields. We expect the needs to change over the next few months. Each partner site has unique PPE needs and we hope to be able to keep our emergency supply cabinet stocked to meet this need. 

Thanks to everyone who has supported our work. We couldn’t have done it without you! We’d like to continue to be able to support our healthcare workers. Please consider a donation.

In other news, we’re so proud of one of our partners, Nurse Amy Sullivan from Wykoff ER who was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most info people for 2020. Congratulations Amy and a big cheer to all healthcare workers around the globe doing the most amazing work of caring for all who’ve been suffering through this pandemic. 

Announcing our 2020-2021 Black Birth Worker Scholarship recipient

“I believe that midwifery meets at the crossroads of many fights – whether it be racial justice, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, abortion access or medical malpractice and mistreatment – and is birthed from the struggles of my ancestors.”

-Tyla Leach

We are ecstatic to introduce Tyla Leach, the recipient of IMR’s scholarship for Black Birth Workers through Eddy Rose Excelente Fund! She will be awarded $10,000 which was partly funded by our generous partner, Actions@EBMF.

Tyla is currently a student at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s Midwifery Education Program. We were inspired by her commitment to serving Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ birthing people and impressed by her ability to lead and bring communities together.

Currently in the US, Black women are 3x likelier than white women to die of complications related to pregnancy. IMR strongly believes that representation matters especially when it comes to decreasing these racial health disparities. We believe that receiving care from Black birth workers is one important way Black birthing people can feel safe and empowered during pregnancy and childbirth. Our Eddy Rose Excelente Fund Black Birth Worker Scholarship Program aims to increase diversity within the profession by supporting Black students who desire to enter it.

There were many more highly qualified applicants than the number of scholarships available. If you share our commitment to supporting Black birthing people and Black birth workers, please donate here. Your contribution will allow us to award more scholarships to amazing students like Tyla!

The Eddy Rose Excelente Fund- The Black Birth Worker Scholarship

Over the years, IMR has provided support for practitioners in resource-poor regions pursuing a formal education in healthcare through the Eddy Rose Excelente Fund. The fund was created in honor of Nicaraguan Ob/Gyn Dr. Eddy Rose, a great doctor and friend that our Executive Director Ambereen had known since 2001. In his spirit of caring and kindness, we established the Eddy Rose Excelente Fund (Fondo Excelente) that provides scholarship to help pay the grantee’s tuition in their program of choice. We currently support two scholars through this fund and we’re excited to add a third. Currently, these are our scholars:

• Destra, Leogane, Haiti: We met Jesumene Jean Paul, a former nursing student and resident of Destra who had to discontinue her education due to financial constraints. Her devotion to caring for others as well as to her childhood home made her an excellent addition to the IMR family as a collaborator.  Since then, IMR has funded her re-entry into nursing school to continue honing her clinical skills.  Jesumene also assists IMR by conducting follow up visits and providing meds to the patient population established during IMR clinics.

• Managua, Nicaragua: Carlos Rose is Eddy’s nephew who is currently a fourth-year medical student in the five-year medical program at Managua American University (UAM). Carlos has been supported by the scholarship since his second year and has worked with IMR’s Executive Director Ambereen in the operative room when she works in Granada, Nicaragua. He plans to become a surgeon and practice in Nicaragua. Carlos, who is kind, gentle and dedicated, was inspired to go into medicine by Eddy.

In addition to our two current scholars, IMR will be offering a scholarship to support Black birth workers. Maternal healthcare in the United States has seen a crisis over the last two decades with pregnancy-related mortality rate steadily inclining. While maternal death rates around the world have dropped by more than a third from 2000 to 2015, the rates in the United States has more than doubled since 1987. According to data from CDC, significant racial disparity in pregnancy- related mortality contributes to the increased rate. Between 2011-2016, Black women were 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. The maternal mortality rate for Black women during that same period was 42.4 per 100,000-- worse than 85 other countries around the globe.

A solution to this epidemic must be multi-pronged. However, we believe that one of the ways to decrease the disparity is by supporting more Black individuals who are committed to caring for birthing people. Representation matters and can be vital to promoting safe, equitable and respectful maternal care. We plan to support future midwives and doulas as the focus of this scholarship because we believe that these two groups of birth workers have the potential to majorly impact the outcomes of pregnant people. Studies show that when cared for by a midwife, women are less likely to deliver by Cesarean Section, a surgical procedure that can increase a person’s risk of hemorrhage, infection, blood clots and other surgical complications. It has also been shown that for people whose labors are attended by doulas (a person who provides emotional and physical support during labor, birth, and postpartum period), they were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal birth and less likely to require pain medication including epidurals.

While we know that midwives and doulas can have a positive impact on birthing people, it is also evident that the community of birth workers is currently overwhelmingly white. For example, according to the 2019 Demographic Report by the American Midwifery Certification Board, 86.9% of Certified Midwives (CM) and Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) in the United States identified as White or Caucasian and 6.31% as Black or African American. Black birthing people deserve to have access to care-providers from their communities. Our hope is that by offering this scholarship, it will decrease some of the financial barriers put upon Black students who desire to enter the profession. We will inaugurate this scholarship with an award to a midwifery student at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY.

For more information or an application, please email info@internationalmedicalresponse.org.