The Collective was started by Nailah Dodd, CNM a native of Seattle who first worked as a doula before training to become a hospital-based certified nurse midwife to provide care for patients of color in a space where patients of color do not often see themselves reflected on their care teams. Along the way, the mentorship of community midwives and birth workers served as her compass as she witnessed firsthand the difference that providing racially concordant care in a hospital in Harlem made for patients.

After completing her training and working as a doula and midwife on the East Coast, Nailah returned to her hometown of Seattle in 2021 and joined the University of Washington Division of Midwifery as the only Black hospital-based certified nurse midwife in Seattle at the time. With the knowledge of a long legacy of phenomenal community-based support for Black birthing people in Seattle, she recognized that in the face of the crisis of Black maternal mortality and morbidity, a much-needed bridge between community-based support and large hospital systems was yet to be built. A need and opportunity existed for UW Medicine to incorporate the expertise of community-based organizations and birth workers in providing culturally concordant care that evidence shows improves maternal health outcomes. With the support of UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s Health Equity Institute for Pregnancy, Children, and Families, the Collective was born.

Community participation is key to the Collective’s success. The project team will include community-based organizations that are helping to design and implement solutions to address community-identified challenges faced by Black birth workers. The focus of the initial phase of our work is listening to the doula community and families and planning a program that reflects their needs and priorities.