Janine's Journey - Becoming a Black Nurse Midwife

Overview 

Disparities in maternal and infant mortality as well as the experience of racism and inadequate care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum in Wisconsin are inexcusable and must be addressed urgently. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, “the death rate for infants born to black mothers is the highest in the nation and is getting worse.” Between 2016 and 2018, the Black infant mortality rate in Dane county was nearly three times that of white infants. Black infants in Dane County are twice as likely to be born at low birth weight than white infants, and Black Wisconsinites are 5 times more likely to die during pregnancy. The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness cites 10 critical and consistent themes as drivers of these disparities, namely:

~Racism, discrimination and institutional bias
~Bias and cultural disconnect in healthcare delivery experiences
~Economic insecurity
~Housing insecurity and high cost of living
~Poor access to health-supporting assets
~Inadequate social supports
~Gaps in health literacy, education and support
~Disconnected and hard-to-navigate community resources
~Systemic barriers to individual and family advancement
~Chronic stress

According to the Saving our Babies report (2019), most black women interviewed cited the need for professionals of color at every level of the medical system. Many of the critical themes listed above can be addressed by supporting and funding the education and advancement of Black care providers, especially Black midwives. The midwifery model of care addresses the needs of the whole person and currently Wisconsin has only a handful of black midwives. There is a clear and urgent need to support and fund Black midwives in training.

Janine Gardner is a Black full-spectrum birth doula and aspiring midwife who has served many families in the greater Madison Wisconsin area through her work with Harambee Village. She has degrees in Gender & Women’s Studies and Health Promotion & Health Equity from UW-Madison,  and she is also certified as a lactation counselor. She now needs our community's support as she gets ready to start an accelerated nursing program at UW-Madison in the fall (the next step towards becoming a community midwife).

Janine's Background & Philosophy

Birth work is a calling for Janine - she has known since her first pregnancy that she was meant to work with pregnant people. She has personal experience with infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, and birth as she grew her family with seven children and her long-time partner, Chris. She knows firsthand that these vulnerable and life-changing experiences can be traumatic or empowering and that the kind of support that a family receives has a great impact. Janine aims to ease families' burdens, fight for their rights and needs, and empower them to fight for themselves. She has given back to this community via volunteer work for Pregnancy Options Wisconsin (P.O.W.E.R.S.), interning for Public Health-Madison/Dane County, and as a member of the board of directors for the Broom Street Theatre. 

Dreams for the Future & How this Money Will Help

She begins the next step of her journey toward becoming a midwife as she starts UW-Madison’s accelerated nursing program in the fall. Her mission, now and in her future endeavors, is to support those who have health disparities and those who may have trouble navigating the system because of biases. Thus she focuses her support on the BIPOC, queer, and fat communities and those with large families. Her ultimate goals include giving full-spectrum, client-centric midwifery care to folks at all ages and stages. Before she knew about birth work she used to dream of owning a bed and breakfast, but now that bed and breakfast looks more like an accessible, diverse birth center. She also dreams of being a midwife in a community where exchange of services is the norm. We share Janine’s vision of this beautiful future where she is a community midwife, and we are excited to see her already amazing healing & leadership skills grow even further.

Janine needs help paying for her education - this is where you come in. We are hoping to raise enough money to cover all expenses for her first semester in the accelerated nursing program at UW this Fall:

Tuition & Fees: $5,373.00

Books & Supplies: $575.00

Housing & Meals: $6,100

Personal: $1133

Transportation: $400

Loan Fees: $33

Total: $13,644

Let's work together to support Janine on her journey to becoming a community nurse-midwife!