Access to reproductive health care can be limited for women in correctional settings, affecting access to contraception, prenatal care, abortion services and postpartum support.
Claudia Vergara, 91ÑÇÉ« PhD candidate, is investigating how women in Ontario's correctional system navigate those challenges and where opportunities exist to strengthen care.
Her work has earned provincial recognition through the 2026 Ontario Women's Health Scholars Award, which supports university researchers advancing knowledge, health services and health outcomes for women. She is one of three doctoral scholars selected by Ontario's Universities to receive funding of up to $35,000 to advance her work.
"I am incredibly honoured to receive the Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Award and appreciate the recognition of the importance of this research," says Vergara. "This work is deeply meaningful to me and grows out of my years of frontline experience in birth work, prisoner health advocacy and community harm reduction. The award will allow me to meaningfully engage with people with lived experience of incarceration and other community birth workers to shape more accessible and community-based approaches to care."
A doctoral student in 91ÑÇɫ’s , Vergara is studying how stigma, institutional practices and barriers to services shape reproductive health and well-being in correctional environments.
The project examines access to reproductive health services through interviews with women who were formerly incarcerated, correctional staff and community birth workers. By bringing diverse perspectives together, the research aims to deepen understanding of how care is delivered and identify ways policies, programs and partnerships can improve to support women in custody.
Vergara is interested in the role community-based doulas and birth workers could play in addressing gaps in care. Doulas and birth workers provide support before, during and after pregnancy. and the study will look at how these services might contribute to more accessible, person-centred care.
The research also considers how experiences may differ for Indigenous and racialized women, whose interactions with health systems and correctional institutions can be shaped by distinct social and systemic factors.
As part of the project, Vergara is examining prison doula programs in the U.S. to determine whether similar models could be adapted for Ontario. The study will assess how these approaches could help improve continuity of care and support reproductive health outcomes.
Vergara says she hopes the findings generate evidence that can inform future policy and practice, while contributing to more equitable access to care for women in correctional settings.
"This research will strengthen our understanding of the reproductive health needs of incarcerated people and the barriers they face in accessing care. By identifying gaps in existing services and exploring community-based approaches, the findings can inform policies, programs and partnerships that improve access to safer, more affirming care for incarcerated people in Ontario," she says.
Vergara holds a MES and a graduate diploma in refugee and migration studies from 91ÑÇÉ« and is a certified full-spectrum doula.