Essence reports: How birthFUND’s Elaine Welteroth And Mielle’s Monique Rodriguez Are Rewriting The Maternal Health Narrative

“… the duo announced their upcoming partnership—a multi-year investment in continuing the fight to close the gaps in the maternal healthcare system- working together to fund the inaugural birthFUND Milan Rodriguez Midwifery Scholarship program, named after Rodriguez’s late son, at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, created by the Black Midwifery Collective.”

Excerpt below and to read the full story click here or visit: https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/birthfund-elaine-welteroth-monique-rodriguez-midwife-scholarship/

What would you do differently if you knew that more than 8 in 10 deaths caused by pregnancy were preventable, with help from proper midwifery care? Journalist and author Elaine Welteroth, on one hand, is using her platform to educate her community about this statistic. She does so via her organization, birthFUND that funds access to midwifery-led care, and supports birth centers and providers.

Founded in 2024, the organization was, in large part, also inspired by her own personal challenges with the maternal health care system.  “While my early experiences in pregnancy with doctors in hospitals left me feeling demoralized and unsafe at a time when I needed real support more than ever, discovering midwifery care profoundly changed my understanding of what pregnancy and birth could be,” Welteroth tells ESSENCE. “My midwifery-led home birth experience was transformational and hands-down the most empowering experience of my life.”

Naturally, afterward, she continued to do research and found that, while midwifery care can help prevent many maternal health crises, it’s not an accessible option for many. “As both a journalist and a new mom, I couldn’t reconcile the fact that America has the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations—and yet we had somehow normalized this crisis,” she shares. “The statistics are devastating, but maternal death and birth trauma are not inevitable. They are preventable, and we have solutions within reach.”

Photo courtesy of birthFUND.