A new $300,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will support training for birthworkers across New Mexico, with a focus on rural communities, UNM Health Sciences reports.
The two-year award to the University of New Mexico College of Nursing runs from July 2026 through June 2028. It will fund career-development stipends and statewide trainings for midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, nursing students and others preparing for maternal health roles. “My hope is that this will help bring access to care in rural communities,” said Felina Ortiz, a certified nurse-midwife on the college’s Nurse-Midwifery faculty.
The grant builds on an earlier Kellogg award that funded 31 shared learning sessions, paired 49 maternal and child health mentees with mentors and provided 129 stipends. Ortiz is scheduling trainings from Taos to Las Cruces and works with more than 700 maternal health professionals statewide. After a workshop in Roswell last fall, local providers asked for hands-on obstetric emergency training, and UNM sent 10 instructors to teach it.
UNM’s Nurse-Midwifery program ranks No. 7 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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What's Next
Over the next two years, Ortiz plans to work with partner organizations on a maternal health pathways poster for exam rooms across the state.
Why It Matters
A larger, better-trained network of birthworkers can help more New Mexico families get maternal care close to home.
