New scholarships will help educate midwives in Rhode Island | ABC6

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) –$900,000 federal dollars will soon allow one local organization to better support pregnant mothers in the Ocean State.

Quatia Osorio, Executive Director of the Urban Perinatal Education Center, is introducing new scholarships to educate more midwives in Rhode Island.

“So we are covering full scholarship, actually, for students to be able to go to this program, which is truly an honor to be able to do,” she told ABC 6.

The scholarships are $30,000 each year for 10 different students for a three year program.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, home births are one the rise – recently reaching their highest levels in 30 years.

“We are actually seeing a nationwide movement for the demand of midwifery across the all of the states right now and even globally,” said Osorio.

Additionally, scholars have found disparities in the adequacy of pre-natal care for women of minority.

“Midwifery is really grounded in knowing the identity of individuals, respecting their identity, their cultural practices, their cultural norms. It’s all embedded in our training and our teaching,” added Osorio.

“We’re working with chiropractors, OBS midwives, nurse midwives in the hospital, body workers, doulas, having them come in and really provide that supplemental education and support of their academics,” she said.

The scholarships will also provide travel assistance, and connect students with several professionals to enhance the holistic nature of their care.

Osorio said she looks forward to increase the accessibility it will provide the community.

“[It] will create more providers accessible to families and community, for families who never saw this type of care available to them, to be able to have it,” she said.

You can learn more about this new scholarship opportunity by attending an informational classroom visit at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 13 at 215 Cottage Street in Pawtucket.