Community-Led Priorities for Re-Envisioning Midwifery Education to Better Support Black and Indigenous Students

Midwifery education has historically been framed from a lens of Whiteness, which has caused harm for students from racially minoritized (marginalized) backgrounds. To diversify the midwifery workforce, education programs need to support and graduate students who represent the communities being served. The purpose of this project was to develop community-led priorities to re-envision midwifery education to better support Black and Indigenous students.

This project was codeveloped and implemented by a Community Accountability Council of community stakeholders who have experienced impacts from midwifery education or the midwifery profession. We used the Research Prioritization by Affected Communities protocol to develop community-led priorities with 4 stakeholder groups: prospective midwifery students, current midwifery students, alumni from midwifery programs, and community birthworkers.

The priorities culminated in the following overall themes: (1) need to center Black and Indigenous students within midwifery education; (2) need for inclusive, expansive midwifery education; and (3) need for structures to support planning for admission, retention, and graduating from midwifery education programs.

The priorities developed in this project created a roadmap for educators and preceptors to re-envision their programs and teaching methods to better support students of color, which will ultimately help diversification of the midwifery workforce. We hope that midwifery programs consider using these priorities to create safer and more supportive avenues to becoming a midwife.